More Happy Talk: 2 More Big Projects Aimed At Downtown Mesa's Overhaul

 

Let's uncover some of the newly-minted urban myths  making the news created once again by none other than Jim Walsh, Staff Writer for the East Valley Tribune 'Staff Writers' Jim Walsh who writes what he's told. At this point-in-time it's hard-to-believe anything city officials say now about the two projects, stigmatized for years by under-handed undisclosed deals and behind-the-scenes scenarios on both properties - until that all became public. Two buzzwords were Bailey's Brake Service and Mesa Royale.

It's even more un-believable that one of the largest Hispanic Non-Profits in the nation is "emerging as an important player in the redevelopment of downtown Mesa. . . joining ASU and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

• Chicanos Por La Causa [CPLC]
• ASU
• LDS Church

Who could possibly imagine a more perfect Tri-Fecta combination than that!
What could possibly explain that unlikely combination is
an announcement from the Treasury Department on October 19, 2018 about new guidelines and proposed regulations for Opportunity Zones.
Walsh's writing is dated October 28th, with plenty of time after the sale of the 4.22-acre Mesa Royale site on January 29th for $2.39 million dollars to apply for new zoning.

At the same time - to his credit - EVT staff writer Jim Walsh uses a phrase that qualifies contiguous low-income census as Opportunity Zones:neglected
NOW THIS IS A MAJOR MILESTONE FOR SPEAKING THE TRUTH:An admission in public about what the "Vibrant & Exciting Downtown Mesa" really  is and what city officials and major mainstream corporate media are coming to grips with;

How to re-invent the city's long neglected core. 

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EVT staff writerJim Walsh tries really hard to give some semblance of credibility to correct the public record of these two properties that were stigmatized by scandals - one even caught the attention of CBS News in a 60-Minutes expose by Mike Wallace 10 years ago about abuse by the City of Mesa using eminent domain.
The Mesa Royale Mobile Home Park scandal uncovered some very unsavory details using zoning compliance as an excuse to kick out tenants for a millionaire's plans,

The Mesa Royale property scandal has now been re-invented in very tentative sketchy plans that the developer and the city's director of downtown transformation can't even agree what to call it: the developer calls it "Nuevos Vistas" a real incorrect mish-mash of Spanish while Jeff McVay wants to call it "Residences on Main".
The most recent sale - after the property offered on the market with an asking price of $4M was withdrawn in 2017 - was recorded on January 29, 2018 with a selling price of $2.39M.
You can watch the study session on October 11, 2018 in front of the Mesa City Council - the plans shown are not even what might get built there in three different phrases. Try as he might, the city's Planning & Zoning Director John Wesley can't seem to pull off the presentation to make the plans either convincing or credible at all.
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TOP STORY
2 more big projects aimed at downtown Mesa's overhaul

By Jim Walsh, Tribune Staff Writer | Oct 28, 2018 Updated Oct 29, 2018
Please take the time to read it for yourself by clicking on this underlined link 

" . . . City zoning documents show the 3.5-acre property, west of downtown, was annexed into Mesa in 1949 and that there was no record of any zoning procedures being followed. The park gradually fell into decay under its previous owners. . . "
Blogger Note: There's more to the story than that ....use the searchbox on this blogsite and type in two words: Mesa Royale

			“They were one of the few organizations that could have come into this situation and have credibility with the folks who live in that community,” Giles said. “This in my mind is a story that is ending much better than I thought it would. I think it’s a real success story.’’