< Here's the site on Main Street next to City Hall - no doubt the ugliest building in downtown Mesa's inner core - that's directly across the street from the International Design Award-Winning Mesa Arts Center that opened in 2005. The ugly site you see has been a parking lot eyesore in the central landscape for far too many years - over Pepper Place to yet another ugly city employee car parking lot. 
BLOGGER NOTE: The present and past use of this almost 5-acre parcel has not conformed to or been in compliance with the 1987 establishment of the Downtown Core District . . . The purpose of the Downtown Core District is to encourage the highest intensity of land uses to be developed, redeveloped and maintained within the Downtown.
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PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Background
The subject request is for approval of a site plan review to allow the development of the Arizona State University’s (ASU) Creative Futures Lab on the property.
The site is approximately five acres and mostly used as vehicular parking areas for the City of Mesa municipal building and civic plaza complex employees and visitors.
Background
The subject request is for approval of a site plan review to allow the development of the Arizona State University’s (ASU) Creative Futures Lab on the property.
The site is approximately five acres and mostly used as vehicular parking areas for the City of Mesa municipal building and civic plaza complex employees and visitors.
The proposed site plan shows development of a three-story building with technology services and amenities associated with the programming of the building.
The site plan also includes a proposed plaza that will be developed by the City of Mesa located south of the proposed building and consists of a public park, ice skating rink, restrooms and other supporting amenities.
[As part of the proposed development, a section of the City’s Information Technology Building will be repurposed to support the development.]
General Plan Character Area Designation and Goals
The Mesa 2040 General Plan character designation for the site is Downtown and specifically is identified as being within a station area within the transit corridor character area.
Per Chapter 7 of the General Plan, the focus for this character type is the creation of a pedestrian-oriented, transit rich environment with a lot of activity.
> This area is recognized as the governmental, cultural, financial, and entertainment center of the community.
> The goal for this area is to make it a people-friendly area that is alive with options for housing, employment, shopping, entertainment, and events.
The proposed development of the site for a university campus and a public plaza is in conformance with the General Plan goals of creating a high level of activities through the concentration of governmental, entertainment, and cultural facilities and events
Reference: https://mesazona.blogspot.com/2019/09/
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This Wednesday September 25th there is a PUBLIC HEARING in front of the Planning & Zoning Board - It is Item *3-b
This request will allow the development of a university campus and public plaza.
PZ 19107 ZON19-00477 District 4.
Planner: Tom Ellsworth Staff Recommendation: Approval with conditions
Holly Street Studios Architects, applicant
City of Mesa, owner.
Planner: Tom Ellsworth
Staff Recommendation: Approval with conditions
Planning & Zoning Interactive Map
THE CITY OF MESA HAS PROVIDED AN INTERACTIVE GIS MAP AVAILA
BLE TO THE PUBLIC. THIS MAP CAN BE USED TO FIND THE ZONING OF A SITE, RESEARCH THE CASE HISTORY, AND FIND DETAILS ON THE SIZE AND OWNER OF A PROPERTY. THIS GUIDE IS INTENDED TO SHOW HOW TO USE THE MAP FOR YOUR ADVANTAGE.
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On September 8, 1987, the City Council approved a rezoning request that established the Town Center Zoning Area.
> The subject site was specifically zoned Town Center Core (TCC) as part of the zoning designation (Case #Z87-040).
The TCC zoning designation is currently referred to as Downtown Core (DC) within the City’s current zoning ordinance.
The purpose of the Downtown Core District is to encourage the highest intensity of land uses to be developed, redeveloped and maintained within the Downtown.
It is also the purpose of the DC District to provide incentives for the development or redevelopment of under-utilized and bypassed properties within Downtown and to promote the development of a vital, vibrant activity area.
The regulations for the DC District are intended to ensure that higher-intensity land uses are appropriate for the fulfillment of the purpose of the Downtown Core District as a vibrant focal point for the city.
This site review case has a history back to 2011.
What the narrative provided by Holly Street Studios does not include are three plans and one winning proposal for City Center Design funded by 2012 Parks Bonds.
The signature public space will be a key element in the activation of the downtown core and will be a catalyst for high intensity redevelopment surrounding City Center with a variety of uses that activate the public space.
Here's an earlier rendering of a park-like downtown plaza with lots of shade trees
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READ THIS:
Mesa moving on bold downtown plan
The satellite ASU campus will serve as the district’s anchor tenant.
As part of its intergovernmental agreement with ASU, the city will also design and construct studios at the City Center to compliment the new campus.
Funding sources for these projects though, became a hot-button issue during the study session.
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| PZ Interactive GIS Mapping Tool Zoning Case History Z11-017 |
This request will allow the development of a university campus and public plaza.
PZ 19107 ZON19-00477 District 4.
Planner: Tom Ellsworth Staff Recommendation: Approval with conditions
Holly Street Studios Architects, applicant
City of Mesa, owner.
Planner: Tom Ellsworth
Staff Recommendation: Approval with conditions
Planning & Zoning Interactive Map
THE CITY OF MESA HAS PROVIDED AN INTERACTIVE GIS MAP AVAILA
BLE TO THE PUBLIC. THIS MAP CAN BE USED TO FIND THE ZONING OF A SITE, RESEARCH THE CASE HISTORY, AND FIND DETAILS ON THE SIZE AND OWNER OF A PROPERTY. THIS GUIDE IS INTENDED TO SHOW HOW TO USE THE MAP FOR YOUR ADVANTAGE.
________________________________________________________________________
On September 8, 1987, the City Council approved a rezoning request that established the Town Center Zoning Area.
> The subject site was specifically zoned Town Center Core (TCC) as part of the zoning designation (Case #Z87-040).
The TCC zoning designation is currently referred to as Downtown Core (DC) within the City’s current zoning ordinance.
The purpose of the Downtown Core District is to encourage the highest intensity of land uses to be developed, redeveloped and maintained within the Downtown.
It is also the purpose of the DC District to provide incentives for the development or redevelopment of under-utilized and bypassed properties within Downtown and to promote the development of a vital, vibrant activity area.
The regulations for the DC District are intended to ensure that higher-intensity land uses are appropriate for the fulfillment of the purpose of the Downtown Core District as a vibrant focal point for the city.
This site review case has a history back to 2011.
What the narrative provided by Holly Street Studios does not include are three plans and one winning proposal for City Center Design funded by 2012 Parks Bonds.
The signature public space will be a key element in the activation of the downtown core and will be a catalyst for high intensity redevelopment surrounding City Center with a variety of uses that activate the public space.
The City Center will be a benefit to the entire City and will improve the quality of life for Mesa residents, businesses and visitors.
To provide design options for consideration, the City has selected three qualified design teams
As a next step in the broader downtown initiatives and City Center design, HR&A conducted a trip to Mesa March 18-20, 2015.
The purpose of the trip was
- to prepare an opportunities assessment
- have discussions with experts and stakeholders
- identify preliminary economic development opportunities and investment prioritization of downtown initiatives.
The culmination of this trip was a 45 minute presentation (YouTube video below) summarizing HR&A’s understanding of economic development opportunities and capital investment priorities, along with recommended next steps and suggestions for how to advance those steps in the community.
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READ THIS:
3-pronged vision includes hi-tech ASU campus, studio
By Jordan Houston, Tribune Staff Writer May 13, 2019
Source > East Valley Tribune
"Mesa’s downtown is one step closer to a major makeover. During a recent City Council study session, Downtown Transformation Manager Jeff McVay gave an update on a large downtown project and introduced two others — a new Arizona State University location at the Mesa City Center accompanied by studios, and a Co+Hoots at Benedictine University.
The three projects are part of a larger effort to breathe life into the city’s downtown area while establishing an Innovation District, said McVay.
“There are multiple goals we’re trying to achieve here. The simple one is the basic desire to have a more active and vibrant downtown,” he said. “More specifically though, we’re trying to create an innovation district ecosystem, which is about trying to generate more opportunities for businesses and employment that will feed the general economy of downtown. . .
The potential payoff for creating this type of district, said McVay, includes job and economic growth and more municipal revenue.
“The reason these three projects came together is that we’re trying to create a very tech-focused environment that is going to attract corporate partnerships and entrepreneurial tech-startups,” he stated.
The project — which Council approved last June — will train students in “transdiciplinary digital expertise.” It will incorporate the ASU Creative Futures Laboratory, including academic programs offered by the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts that are related to digital and sensory technology, experiential design, gaming, media arts, film production and entrepreneurial development and support. . .
“The types of programs that ASU will be providing at the new facility are truly the type that can easily be monetized,” said McVay.
“It’s easy for a student to come out of that program with a skill set and an education background that would lead them to be entrepreneurs and create tech startups.”
The overall budget is $63.5 million and construction will begin next February. The goal, said McVay, is to have students attending classes by January 2022.
The university will offer an Innovation Studio to provide a physical space for collaboration while connecting the startup community to academic programs.
“We’re providing a space where students from the ASU building, corporate partners and the general public can all be in the same space and get those chance collisions of ideas that end up becoming collaborations and the start of new downtown businesses,” McVay said.
The studios will be adjacent to the planned ASU campus and have a proposed budget of $8 million. . .
The third project consists of designing and constructing about 10,000 square-feet within Benedictine University’s Gillette Hall for Co+Hoots — the Phoenix-based company’s second location. . . “Our goal is to generate a bunch of new businesses that start in Co+Hoots and decide to stay in Mesa for a long time,” he added.
Co+Hoots and Benedictine will create a new entrepreneurial business program that will provide Benedictine students mentors, internships and discounted memberships.
The design and construction of this project is estimated to cost between $1.5 and $2 million.
McVay told the council funding would come from proceeds from the sale of city assets, construction sales tax, excise tax revenue bonds and the economic investment fund.
Because this was the first time the latter two projects were introduced to the council, they won’t be up for approval until a “guaranteed maximum price” is provided for both.
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Sale of city land to help pay for campus, both stadiums
By Jim Walsh, Tribune Staff Writer
Mesa plans to use proceeds from the sale of several pieces of city land to avoid tapping into its Enterprise Fund for an estimated two or three years to pay off excise bonds sold to finance Arizona State University’s downtown center.
City Manager Chris Brady told the City Council that the final sale of land purchased decades ago in Pinal County, anticipated on July 1, would not only pay off the bonds on Sloan Park and Hohokam Stadium, but also contribute toward paying off the ASU bonds.
Among the other properties scheduled to be sold off to pay back the ASU bonds are
- the site for The Union, a large office complex planned for near Riverview Park, and
- a former Mervyn’s department store located on Stapley Drive north of Main Street, near a new Valley Metro light rail station.
The Pinal County land, originally purchased for water rights but later considered unnecessary, is only one in a series of land sales the city plans to raise funds that will partially pay off the controversial $63.5 million ASU campus, earmarked for high-tech digital education programs.
The Pinal County “water ranch’’ was purchased for $33 million in 1985 and included more than 11,400 acres near Coolidge and Eloy.
Selling off parcels from the ranch was a critical component in the city’s bid to build Sloan Park in 2010 and to prevent the Cubs from moving to Naples, Florida.
Brady reported that this year’s proposed budget includes no money from the Enterprise Fund that would be earmarked to pay off debt on the ASU building, billed as the cornerstone of downtown Innovation District.
Giles and other city officials consider the ASU building the centerpiece of an “Innovation District,’’ intended to spawn start-up companies and help create high paying jobs in Mesa, which has lagged behind other East Valley cities in education level and disposable income.
“We do not have any funds from the enterprise fund going to pay for this building,’’ Brady said. “We anticipate it will all come from the sale of city assets.’’
The Enterprise Fund, mainly fed by proceeds from Mesa’s electric utility, is one of three major sources of revenue that pays for government services, including police, fire, libraries and parks.
“Instead of having to tap into the Enterprise Fund to make the payments, we are using the sale of the land in Pinal County to make the payments,’’ Brady told council at a study session.
This year alone, Brady said the city is planning to transfer $110 million from the fund to the General Fund, a practice that has been used since 1945 to compensate for Mesa’s lack of property tax.
“We are using the 1945 system and it is working. If we try to monkey with it, I fear dire consequences,’’ Giles said.
But Giles’ efforts to scale back the project and finance it with bonds — rather than a sales tax increase rejected two years ago by voters — created a continuing political split in the council.
The rift was evident when council members Jeremy Whittaker and Kevin Thompson criticized Brady’s plans to use the land sales to pay off the ASU bonds. Whittaker and Thompson both voted against the ASU building a year ago. . .
Jeff McVay, Mesa’s downtown transformation manager, said that ASU at Mesa City Center’s opening has been delayed for about three months to avoid overtime costs. . .
“We are holding very hard to the $63.5 million cost approved,’’ McVay said. “We are doing a very good job to make sure we will not be over-budget.’’
Last week Brady sought to step away from comments he made at a council meeting a week earlier when he said the proceeds from the controversial sale of a 132-acre site near Red Mountain Ranch in northeast Mesa would also go toward paying off the ASU project.
Brady said the city’s intent in putting the undulating, saguaro-studded track up for bid was never related to the ASU project.
He said the site, north of Thomas Road, was intended as a substitute for a site south of Thomas that the city considers inappropriate for residential development because of its critical location in Falcon Field’s flight path.
“There was no conspiracy here,’’ Brady said.
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Visit the project pages to status of specific projects.
| PARKS | |
| Athletic Fields | $61.2 M |
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| Park Amenities | $ 9.1 M |
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Background
Funded as part of the approved 2012 park bond, the City Center Design Concept is the first step in the design and development of a distinctive place which will capture and enhance the urbanizing momentum of Mesa's downtown core.
When developed, the City Center will be anchored by a signature public space that offers programmed and passive space that will encourage informal gatherings, as well as being able to serve as event space. The signature public space will be a key element in the activation of the downtown core and will be a catalyst for high intensity redevelopment surrounding City Center with a variety of uses that activate the public space.
The City Center will be a benefit to the entire City and will improve the quality of life for Mesa residents, businesses and visitors.
To provide design options for consideration, the City has selected three qualified design teams from a total of 18 local, national, and international responses to a Request for Qualifications.
Each design team prepared an illustrative design concept that will function as the central element of an urbanizing downtown core and a catalyst for future redevelopment.
In competition format, following completion of the initial illustrative design concept, it is anticipated that the top design concept will be considered for further detailing and refinement.
In competition format, following completion of the initial illustrative design concept, it is anticipated that the top design concept will be considered for further detailing and refinement.
The Role of City Center in Downtown Economic Development
HR&A, a nationally recognized economic development, real estate, and public policy consulting firm that was first introduced to downtown Mesa as members of the Colwell Shelor + West 8 + Weddle Gillmore City Center design competition winning team.
As a next step in the broader downtown initiatives and City Center design, HR&A conducted a trip to Mesa March 18-20, 2015.
The purpose of the trip was
- to prepare an opportunities assessment
- have discussions with experts and stakeholders
- identify preliminary economic development opportunities and investment prioritization of downtown initiatives.
The culmination of this trip was a 45 minute presentation (YouTube video below) summarizing HR&A’s understanding of economic development opportunities and capital investment priorities, along with recommended next steps and suggestions for how to advance those steps in the community.
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Design Competition Winner
Mesa City Center
| Video Tour of Design Concept | Team Presentation |
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