Out of all those hyped-up and highly-publicized unsolicited proposals with pretty pictures from private real estate developers, and fast-tracked developer agreements with city officials (with a lot of incentive$) presented for years and months by Jeff McVay, the Director of Downtown Transformation, only one redevelopment plan that was the last to announce in June 2018 made from headquarters of the LDS Church in Salt Lake City is the first to break ground. 
What is this project first announced from the Mormon stronghold in Salt Lake City, Utah by the for-profit City Creek Reserve Inc., an investment affiliate of the LDS Church that previously developed City Creek, a 23-acre urban community of residences, offices, and retail stores in downtown Salt Lake City, with a 4.6 acre version designed in an effort to protect and revitalize the area surrounding the Mesa Arizona Temple at the SEC of Main Street and Mesa Drive. . . How does this plan imported from Utah fit into any context complementary to Mesa’s cultural past? A new ventricle in the heart of downtown Mesa?
This project could be home to more than 500 new downtown residents and is slated to begin this fall with completion in late 2020 or early 2021.
That might suck the life-blood out of other plans to commercialize ten other properties for rampant real estate speculation between Country Club Drive and Center Street here in the downtown historic district now classified as an Opportunity Zone.
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According to the article below contributed by Mesa resident Jill Adair, a new 18,000-square-foot visitors’ and family history discovery center will be built on the corner of Main Street and LeSueur as part of the project
February was a big month for development.
> Although no physical buildings were constructed, 100,000 square feet of property was purchased by developers Caliber: The Wealth Development Company and Habitat Metro. Caliber’s $7.625 million purchase comprises of eight buildings along Main Street, between Country Club Drive and Center Street. Each building purchased by the developer is historic, being built between 1910 and 1954. The company plans to fill the space with a mix of entertainment venues, office space and restaurants
> A lease agreement was accepted with developer 3W Management, and ASU’s downtown Mesa expansion was approved by the Mesa city council on a 5-2 vote.
During his State of the City address in February, Mesa Mayor John Giles revealed a lease agreement signed with developer 3W Management to construct a seven-story, $60 million mixed-use development at 233 E. Main St, which is currently a 3.3-acre parking structure. The Grid boasts ground floor restaurants and retail, as well as four levels of residential units, which will include 75 micro-units measuring 450 square feet, 15 rowhomes, each 3 levels, and 196 sky apartments.
The Grid was anticipated to break ground in August, and the north building, with the retail, office and micro units, is set to open in 2019.
> Mesa City Council also approved a memorandum of understanding with Habitat Metro, the developer working alongside Caliber, for a mixed-use structure to be built at the current location of the city-owned Pepper Place Parking Lot, near the southeast corner of West Pepper Place and North Robson. The lot currently hosts 76 parking spaces.
Tim Sprague, principal of Habitat Metro, presented the proposal at a City Council study session on Feb. 15. The building would consist of between 70 and 100 luxury apartments, each unit measuring between 500 and 1,250 square feet, as well as 5,000 square feet of retail space at the ground level_________________________________________________________________________
Church Announces Redevelopment Plans for Mesa Arizona Temple Area
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According to the article below contributed by Mesa resident Jill Adair, a new 18,000-square-foot visitors’ and family history discovery center will be built on the corner of Main Street and LeSueur as part of the project
Rendering of the Mesa Arizona Temple Family Discovery Center.
The only architectural features it mimics are those you can see on the Mesa Superior Court building visible at the far left in the image below. The 3-story parking garage there is scheduled to be the groundwork for another project called The Grid, just a half-a-block east, announced in February 2018.February was a big month for development.
> Although no physical buildings were constructed, 100,000 square feet of property was purchased by developers Caliber: The Wealth Development Company and Habitat Metro. Caliber’s $7.625 million purchase comprises of eight buildings along Main Street, between Country Club Drive and Center Street. Each building purchased by the developer is historic, being built between 1910 and 1954. The company plans to fill the space with a mix of entertainment venues, office space and restaurants
> A lease agreement was accepted with developer 3W Management, and ASU’s downtown Mesa expansion was approved by the Mesa city council on a 5-2 vote.
During his State of the City address in February, Mesa Mayor John Giles revealed a lease agreement signed with developer 3W Management to construct a seven-story, $60 million mixed-use development at 233 E. Main St, which is currently a 3.3-acre parking structure. The Grid boasts ground floor restaurants and retail, as well as four levels of residential units, which will include 75 micro-units measuring 450 square feet, 15 rowhomes, each 3 levels, and 196 sky apartments.
The Grid was anticipated to break ground in August, and the north building, with the retail, office and micro units, is set to open in 2019.
> Mesa City Council also approved a memorandum of understanding with Habitat Metro, the developer working alongside Caliber, for a mixed-use structure to be built at the current location of the city-owned Pepper Place Parking Lot, near the southeast corner of West Pepper Place and North Robson. The lot currently hosts 76 parking spaces.
Tim Sprague, principal of Habitat Metro, presented the proposal at a City Council study session on Feb. 15. The building would consist of between 70 and 100 luxury apartments, each unit measuring between 500 and 1,250 square feet, as well as 5,000 square feet of retail space at the ground level_________________________________________________________________________
Church Announces Redevelopment Plans for Mesa Arizona Temple Area
Contributed By Jill Adair, Church News contributor 1 June 2018
After years of planning in cooperation with city government and local development groups, officials revealed details for “Mesa and Main,” a new construction project.
https://www.lds.org/church/news/church-announces-redevelopment-plans-for-mesa-arizona-temple-area?lang=eng
