26 January 2019

Slick & Slippery: Infamous Site 17 | Community Workshop #2 Tue 29 Jan 2019

Downtown Mesa's future cornerstone???
No photo description available.
Inserted here is the entire Castle Coalition report with the references from 12 years ago:
Redevelopment Wrecks: Mesa, Arizona
"City officials are still debating what to do with 30 acres of land that sit vacant thanks to a failed redevelopment project that began in 1992.[1]  Known to the City as “Redevelopment Site 17,” the tract once contained 63 homes that the City condemned and purchased at a cost of $6 million.  A group of Canadian developers planned to build Mesa Verde, an entertainment village featuring a time-share resort, water park and ice-skating rink.
After the City had already seized the homes, financing for the project fell through.[2] 
Now, 14 years later, the City is still considering possible redevelopment plans for the area.[3] 
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At the end of the six-month process, City Council will select one master plan concept and use it to guide transformation of the property by a private developer or developers.
The property sits between residential neighborhoods and the historic downtown core at the southwest corner of University Drive and Mesa Drive.

As Downtown's future cornerstone, the transformation of this property will play a key role in achieving Mesa's vision for a vibrant new urban neighborhood a short walk from the heart of Mesa.
HUH> "The Heart of Mesa'?????????????
Your MesaZona blogger has lived downtown for more than five years - it's hard to feel any pulse most of the time.
Hiring a 3rd-party contractor won't fix the problem staging these so-called "community workshops" all rigged ahead of time with pre-determined results.
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Project details and meeting updates are available at www.mesaaz.gov/about-us/city-projects/downtown-transformation/university-mesa.   

Here's a link to the workshop six weeks ago where attendees were told to only submit written comments: https://www.mesaaz.gov/about-us/city-projects/downtown-transformation/university-mesa 
Slick-and-slippery: The Process
Univeristy & Mesa Dr project schedule
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Results of Community Workshop 1
Nov. 13, 2018
You can access and download this 1.66MB 6-page Summary
Discussion Notes Total Response Sheet Results
Community Workshop 45 Response Sheets
Steering Committee Meeting 35 Response Sheets
Stakeholder Sessions 24 Response Sheets
Online Platform 15 Responses
TOTAL 119 Responses Received
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1Workshop 1 Summary | November 13–14, 2018
The first project milestone and community engagement session was held November 13th and 14th of 2018.
During that period, the consultants presided over a total of 16 meetings with various community groups including the Steering Committee, individual stakeholder groups, and City Officials to discuss opportunities for the site as well as their issues and concerns.
Additionally, a Community Workshop was held to engage the residents and greater community of Mesa. The stakeholder and public issues and concerns identified in these meetings will become the reference point for creating the preliminary master plan concepts. 
The Steering Committee and stakeholder meetings were held at the Save the Family conference building on Tuesday November 13, followed by the Community Workshop from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at Eisenhower Innovation Center Elementary.
Subsequent meetings with City Officials took place at the Mesa City Plaza offices at 20 E. Main Street.
The following pages include:
 ▫ Meeting Purpose & Description
 ▫ Response Sheet Results
 ▫ Issues & Concerns Summary
 The purpose of the Workshop 1 meetings was to:
 ▫ Introduce the consultant team and project
▫ Present background information and analysis
 ▫ Identify key issues, concerns, and needs of the community, and opportunities for the site

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