WATCH OUT for Wishful [+ Misleading] Public Statements By City of Mesa Officials

Evolution of the suburban core: Proximity to the ‘good stuff’
By Peter Madrid | MadridMedia

Posted on September 23, 2016 by ULI Arizona

Source >> Urban Land Institute

 

Peter Madrid starts off like this: " It’s hard to get a beat on what’s happening in America’s suburbs as trends point to people moving back to the city, particularly the urban cores. . . . "

Say What ?? It's hard to get a beat on. ... Huh? Let's not go there for what all that statement might refer to but consider what drum this dude is pounding,

My observation is that "trends" are accelerating in both directions - urban and suburban at the same time. Living in both and the option "rural" would be the best of both worlds.

What's not clear is why development outside of cities is called sub-urban - it's a misnomer to say the least implying that the different palaces where we chose to live are either inferior or superior to one another.

People move yes they do with the split-decision between the quality of life and the location of jobs. Where to live and where to work that's the turning point.

Peter Madrid cites four examples introduced by The suburbs are alive and well. At their core, they’re centers of change, cultural activity, and economic growth. The case studies presented prove that point right here in the Valley.

He mentions only two suburban examples and two downtown examples when in fact that there are many others.

• Verrado: Not sprawl, but a neighboring town 25 miles from Phoenix bordering the White Tank Mountains. A center of gravity all its own. A town center. A mix of uses. Balance. Proximity to the “good stuff.”
• Chandler Viridian: Suburban infill. A great site because of its proximity to the freeway system. The Price Road employment corridor. Plans for more than 170 businesses, including 40 restaurants. Class A office building. A hotel. A 335-unit Alliance Residential project.
• Gilbert Heritage District: A 30-year vision of creating a destination in the downtown core. More than $24 million in private capital invested. More than 300,000 square feet of residential and retail under construction. Popular restaurant concepts already in place. More growth on the way.
• Downtown Mesa: When it comes to its urban core, the City of Mesa has a lot to crow about. Light rail. Mesa Amphitheater. Higher education,  including ???  Arizona State opening a campus.

 

STOP RIGHT THERE. HOLD ON JUST ONE MINUTE!

 

Your MesaZona blogger's "beat" is the smart re-generation for The New Urban Downtown Mesa where everyone is invited to the table

Yours truly "has a bone" to pick with oftentimes misleading and unsubstantiated public statements made by Mesa City officials to promote their own agendas for economic development.

 

Furthermore, I would tend to argue the point that downtown Mesa is an urban core. Less than 6,000 people live downtown in a population of over 460,000.

 

"Vision, city council alignment, and being deliberate in what they wanted were crucial to Mesa’s successful suburban core, according to Economic Development Assistant Director Jaye O’Donnell. “ASU is coming,” she said. “This is a catalyst for developing the light rail.”

 

- Don't know about that "vision thing". It's murky at best and maybe somewhat fuzzy

- Yes indeed the city has been deliberate trying to sell this to taxpayers, throwing $14,000 raised from a political action committee at a Public Relations company to create a slick and tricky campaign bundling Education together with Police/Fire for a 23% increase in TPT/sales taxes that must be approved before any of that IS

 

Another statement by Jaye O’Donnell, Mesa’s Economic Development Assistant Director, deserves some more serious attention - it is misleading and is more wishful thinking than an actual fact: “ASU is coming .. .”

 

• It is not a done deal nor is it inevitable.
• Many people question the “Pie-In-The-Sky” half-backed proposal that would plop down a satellite ASU campus for 2500 transient ASU students right in the heart of The New Urban Downtown Mesa.
• It is a $100++ Million Dollar massive mis-allocation of resources using a 23% increase in TPT/sales taxes that must be approved by voters BEFORE this might happen ….
• If ASU wants to get a small campus here in Mesa LET ASU PAY FOR IT, not taxpayers
• Smaller incremental growth is a better way to go.
• There are already two smaller universities that have been lured to locate in downtown by favorable leasing terms extended by the city to fill-up vacant city-owned properties- after five years they are still struggling to enroll students.

The question needs to get asked: How good is it?