By Alison Steinbach for The Arizona Republic
"A boutique hotel and an array of apartments — from one focused on sustainable living to another offering an ultra modern twist — are planned in downtown Mesa’s one square mile. . . "__________________________________________________________________________
For now, the square mile of downtown has the lowest population density of any developed square mile in the city, according to Jeff McVay, Mesa’s manager of downtown transformation.
Now it aims to bring more people to live and visit.
HUH? It's back to more of a re-do in more schematic plans that have been controversial from the start!
McVay points to that and private development in the works as the momentum the city needs to convince investors.
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Looks like almost everything else to transform downtown Mesa - planned or proposed - has not nailed down the financing!
A behind-the-back deal? Hard to say, but a spokesperson Matthew Baldwin stated in public that they had been working with city officials for years. Millions of public funds have gone into street/utilities projects.
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The project on what currently is a vacant lot is expected to open in March 2021.
Where: NWC of Main Street and Country Club Drive
What: 200 apartment units and 20KSF of retail
Crews are expected to break ground in mid-November on a five-story apartment complex with retail on the ground floor.
> Sugarcube Goes Ultra Modern
Where: Main Street between Country Club Drive and Vineyard Street
What: Mixed-use office and apartment building
Across the street from the Residences on Main, architect Tim Boyle has designed the Sugarcube, which plans to offer ground floor office space and upper floor “ultra modern apartments.”
Boyle, who sits on the city’s Planning and Zoning Board, said the project has been through the initial city process and he hopes to begin building in 2020.
Where: SEC of Pepper Place and Robson Street
What: 70 apartment units and 5KSF of ground-floor retail
ECO Mesa, a proposed six to seven-story building with market-rate or luxury apartments and retail space, remains in city-developer negotiation.
The city is willing to sell the land, but the 76 public parking spaces lost by development would need to be re-added for public use in the apartment’s parking lot at no city cost, McVay said.
Residents with the lowest energy use could be given a free meal, according to building plans.
due to utility and infrastructure challenges,
but the city is in final negotiations with the developer, after which work can begin.
Where: SWC of Main and Center streets
What: Planned with 75 luxury apartments, a boutique hotel with at least 75 rooms and 7KSF of ground floor retail and restaurants.
This proposed 15-story structure would be the tallest building in downtown Mesa.
Developer Habitat Metro helped build FOUND:RE Phoenix, a boutique hotel focused on graphic and visual arts in downtown Phoenix.
A similar development across from the Mesa Arts Center would likely focus on music and performing arts, McVay said.
Plans for the complex were announced in summer 2017, but the site remains a city-owned public parking lot for now.
Where: SWC of Mesa Drive and University Drive
What: Mixed-use apartment and retail complex
Mesa leaders in 2015 began considering how to develop 27 acres of city-owned land into a mix of residential, retail, employment and outdoor spaces that would be the largest new development in downtown.
Two developers are putting together proposals, one of which the city will move forward with.
The city’s master plan envisions multifamily housing complexes and flexible space for retail, restaurants, offices and a grocery store.
The city’s plan also calls for the possibility of maker spaces, a central park and market square and bike routes.
> The GRID Would Build on Underutilized Parking Garage
Where: Main and Pomeroy streets
What: 196 sky apartments, 75 micro-units and 15 three-level row homes, plus commercial development.
The GRID is planned as an apartment complex and commercial development on three acres of city-owned land that includes an underutilized parking garage next to Benedictine University.
A Co+Hoots co-working space was initially set to anchor The GRID but is now working to partner with Benedictine.
The GRID plans to build a six-story building on Main Street and four stories of apartments on top of the existing three-story parking garage.
Mesa would continue to own the garage, providing the developer 340 spaces for residents and commercial visitors.
McVay said city officials talked with investors earlier this month and they’re optimistic the project will happen.
He said he hopes financing for The GRID will wrap up by the end of 2019 and that construction could begin early next year.
Encore Final Phase to Add Three New Apartment Buildings
Where: SWC of Macdonald Street and 1st Avenue
What: 72 market-rate apartment units across three new buildings
Encore Final Phase is just that, the final phase of a project with three already completed developments offering affordable senior housing and market-rate downtown apartments.
Construction is expected to begin in December 2021 and provide three more apartment buildings on what used to be overflow parking for the Mesa Arts Center.
Where: Nine buildings on Main Street, between Center Street and Country Club Drive
What: Restoration largely for restaurant, bars and entertainment venues
Scottsdale-based real-estate investment firm Caliber purchased eight historic buildings in 2018 and has since acquired a ninth building.
Four of the buildings are occupied by longstanding tenants and the others are undergoing “extensive base building renovations,” according to a company statement.
Caliber plans to invest up to $60M to redevelop more than 100KSF mainly to lease to restaurants, offices, bars, entertainment groups and “creative space users” to help reinvigorate downtown alongside incoming ASU.
The firm also hopes to build a mixed-use residential complex in downtown Mesa.
Caliber has a $500M fund to invest in opportunity zones, part of which it has used to purchase properties in downtown Mesa’s tax-break opportunity zone.
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Read more at The Arizona Republic.
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