El Rancho del Arte Increasingly Praised in National Media

A report on November 2, 2015
Arizona TOD Blended Affordability, Arts and Activism
Community Development Partners is benefiting from motivating residents with artistic components in the community.
Creative Place Making and Transit-Oriented Development with the collaboration of public and private interests is regenerating the New Urban Downtown Mesa.
Last night Valley Metro held a Meet-and-Greet in the community room for the planned expansion of light trail transit to Gilbert Road [subject of earlier post on this site]

The opportunity to develop new affordable multifamily housing that was on the new light rail line and had the potential scale for multiple phases worked with our vision to create a catalyst for future development in the immediate area,” CDP’s Newport Beach, Calif.-based CEO Eric Paine told MHN. “We also appreciated the relationship we had with the city of Mesa and their commitment to the arts and to the revitalization of downtown.”

Community Development Partners (CDP) held a ribbon cutting on October 15, 2015 to officially open El Rancho del Arte at 719 E. Main St. The  66-unit residential community offers two- and three-bedroom units with expansive floor plans and energy-efficient features. It was first written about in its construction phase on March 02 on this site.
At center right you can see Eric and Kyle Paine with Michael Trailor, head of the Arizona Department of Housing who spoke at the opening. Left to right are Michael Hughes of New Leaf, Keenly Sands from Icon Builders and Very Ponce from Integrity Builders. They are standing in front of the stunning ironwork in the front of the building with mandala design elements by Mesa-born artist Zarco Guerrero.
His family is one of the pioneer families in the City. His grandfather founded the first sign company in the state of Arizona on Main street, Mesa in 1918 and Rosarita Beans Factory on Broadway in 1948.
El Rancho del Arte’s mandalas include environmental features, natural shapes, forms and patterns found on ancient baskets and pottery in the Mesa region.
The more distinctive element of El Rancho del Arte is its ability to benefit residents and non-residents alike through the use of public art installations, community garden boxes, learning spaces, educational classes for adults, after-school programs for children and community-building events. The community also includes an inner atrium/courtyard playground, barbecue and picnic areas, media room, pool, computer center, structured under-building parking, bicycle parking and light rail access.