WHAT'S THIS A YEAR-LATE REVEAL
“In the summer of 2023 the city received an unsolicited proposal to develop the Green Lot,” said Jeff McVay, Urban Transformation manager, at the July 1 council study session.
“We entertained that unsolicited proposal for a couple reasons: One, the success of Eco Mesa on the Purple Lot has given us good reason to understand and believe the developer could deliver a similar-type project on the Green Lot.”
Downtown Mesa mixed-use project proposed
09 July 2024
01 September 2020
Public Hearing: Zoning Board of Appeals Wed 09.02.2020 > GRANTS OF SPECIAL PRIVILEGE for ECO Mesa
Those are the BIG ISSUES in this Study Session for a Public Hearing - and to try to make sure there's no hint of corruption or kowtowing to "Special Interests" and closely-connected cohorts of Hizzoner Mayor John Giles all 7 members of the Zoning Appeals Board will get to hear and to discuss a presentation of the city's Open Meeting Laws.
This rushed and attempted fast-tracking of a development proposal originated with an entity named Habitat Metro, two of whose principals in the formation and registration of a number of holding companies are former Arizona State-Senator Bob Worsley and his business partner W. Tim Sprague. Back in 2018 they had plans for a 15-story luxury hotel built on top of The Drew Street Parking Lot . . Below is the proposed development site for Eco Habitat
Strange as it may seem, this proposed project now given the new name "Eco Mesa", is the fourth downtown in-fill development proposal that uses under-utilized city-owned parking lots to qualify for both (government-owned property) GPLET tax incentives and private wealth-creation Opportunity Zone incentives.
It's a complicated item - with a long history - compounded by being put on the agenda for a City Council Session with only a 24-hour notice to give a presentation with the added pressure for
Major Points To Be Negotiated or Resolved - with the deadline of September 15,2020.
What do we know about "the local and trusted" developer Habitat Metro?
LET'S FIRST TAKE AT THIS MEDIA MANIPULATION
More apartments coming to downtown Mesa
By Jim Walsh Tribune Staff Writer"An expensive obstacle won’t halt the construction of Eco Mesa, a high-end sustainable apartment complex that will rise over a downtown Mesa parking lot, attracting a higher-income clientele.
City officials anxious to see the trendy six- or seven-story apartment complex have agreed to move an antiquated electric duct bank that otherwise would block the development at a cost of nearly $600,000 to move the $30 million project into high gear.They also agreed to a tax incentive program, . .
“I can’t remember the last time, if ever, I was excited about an apartment complex,’’Mayor John Giles said.
Eco Mesa will have 102 units, catering to renters who are likely will to spend more for the location and to live in a sustainable building, said Jeff McVay, downtown transformation manager.
A development agreement being negotiated with Eco Habitat, a developer with a lofty reputation, would include a Government Property Lease Excise Tax, . .McVay said the developer has financing arranged through an Opportunity Zone investor, but that all approvals must be in place by Sept. 15.He said he will bring the development agreement before the council when it returns from a summer break in late August. . ."( Mesa Tribune )
The proposed Eco Mesa East mixed-use project for downtown will go before City Council Monday, July 8, for consideration of an agreement to proceed with further negotiations with the developer.
This rushed and attempted fast-tracking of a development proposal originated with an entity named Habitat Metro, two of whose principals in the formation and registration of a number of holding companies are former Arizona State-Senator Bob Worsley and his business partner W. Tim Sprague. Back in 2018 they had plans for a 15-story luxury hotel built on top of The Drew Street Parking Lot . .
Below is the proposed development site for Eco Habitat
Major Points To Be Negotiated or Resolved - with the deadline of September 15,2020.
What do we know about "the local and trusted" developer Habitat Metro?
City officials anxious to see the trendy six- or seven-story apartment complex have agreed to move an antiquated electric duct bank that otherwise would block the development at a cost of nearly $600,000 to move the $30 million project into high gear.
The proposed Eco Mesa East mixed-use project for downtown will go before City Council Monday, July 8, for consideration of an agreement to proceed with further negotiations with the developer.
STREAMING VIDEO UPLOADS: Mesa City Council Wed 07.08.2020
Strange as it may seem, this proposed project now given the new name "Eco Mesa", is the fourth downtown in-fill development proposal that uses under-utilized city-owned parking lots to qualify for both (government-owned property) GPLET tax incentives and private wealth-creation Opportunity Zone incentives.
It's a complicated item - with a long history - compounded by being put on the agenda for a City Council Session with only a 24-hour
notice to give a presentation with the added pressure for
Major Points To Be Negotiated or Resolved - with the deadline of September 15,2020.
What do we know about "the local and trusted" developer Habitat Metro?
PLENTY!
Please note the description "local and trusted" was used by city employee Jeff Robbins Downtown Transformation Project Manager, one of the two presenters of the 12-Slide Power Point Presentation (see attachment below).
He's introduced by Jeff McVay Manager of Downtown Transformation . . .
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT HABITAT METRO:
"Way back when nothing was known to the public about the behind-the-scenes real estate grab on Main Street that took over eight somewhat shabby commercial properties on Main Street, Hizzoner John Giles and then AZ State Senator Bob Worsley were making plans. . . "
Read more >
These are excerpts from earlier posts on this blog
26 March 2018
20 views
Major Points To Be Negotiated or Resolved - with the deadline of September 15,2020.
What do we know about "the local and trusted" developer Habitat Metro?
Please note the description "local and trusted" was used by city employee Jeff Robbins Downtown Transformation Project Manager, one of the two presenters of the 12-Slide Power Point Presentation (see attachment below).
He's introduced by Jeff McVay Manager of Downtown Transformation . . .
WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT HABITAT METRO:
"Way back when nothing was known to the public about the behind-the-scenes real estate grab on Main Street that took over eight somewhat shabby commercial properties on Main Street, Hizzoner John Giles and then AZ State Senator Bob Worsley were making plans. . . "Read more >
These are excerpts from earlier posts on this blog
26 March 2018
Opportunity Funds > Opportunity Zones for Who?
INFORMATION PLEASE: To qualify and be eligible as 'Opportunity Zones' OZ certain criteria are required. They sound nothing like the words vibrant and exciting used by city officials to describe what used-to-be the Central Business District before the 1970's: low income, chronically poor, blighted, neglected and under-developed
PRESS RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE
Caliber and Habitat Metro buy eight Arizona buildings for $7.5M
By Iris Dorbian
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Caliber – The Wealth Development Company, a real estate investment, development and management firm, and project partner, Habitat Metro, have purchased eight downtown buildings for $7.5 million on Main Street in Mesa, Arizona.
(See other posts on this blog for more details)
(See other posts on this blog for more details)
The eight-building acquisition was purchased with the Caliber Diversified Opportunity Fund II, LP (the “Fund”). The Fund offers accredited investors and registered investment advisors (RIAs) direct access to invest in “middle market” U.S. commercial real estate assets that can deliver attractive risk-adjusted return through a combination of current income and capital appreciation.
29 August 2020
ZOOM Virtual Platform Mesa City Council Study Session: "Eco Mesa" Raises PANIC IN THE LOWER CHAMBERS:
________________________________________________________________
Re: Item *4-a on the agenda for Mon 08.31.2020 (see below)
PLEASE DO YOUR HOMEWORK FIRST - PREPARE AHEAD OF TIME
THERE ARE 10 ATTACHMENTS
For the average Joe/Jane member of the public the issues involved here are probably way to complicated even at first glance. Considering the tight and rushed timeline imposed by certain city officials, the best thing to do is to ask for an independent third-party review
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Blogger Notes + Inserts: Documents are referenced from the Arizona Corporate Commission on some of the history of the entities not mentioned in the streaming video. Gaps in context for good reason.
who's going to ask the right quesstions and blow-the-whistle?
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NERVOUS? There's an entire cast of characters called on to appear last Thursday at 07:30 a.m. They all thought it would "business-as-usual"to slide another con-job through the city council where hardly anyone knows what's going on!
Let's flash-back to actions in front of the Mesa City Council from 2018
Readers of this blog can understand that reference-point in time: it marks the public appearance of former Arizona State Senator Bob Worsley who admitted taking a speculative gamble on real estate at the same time holding the trust of public office.
> Back in September 2017 city officials were in the process of seeking approval for the use of GPLETS.
> To explain the risk of investing in real estate speculation, readers need to know and understand the intricacies of Opportunity Zones in neglected distressed areas. . . that's no easy task even for land use and tax law attorneys!
> Readers also need to know all about QOFs - Qualified OZ Funds and their guidelines, requirements and time restrictions
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The inserted upload of the 40-minute Study Session can be viewed farther down - as well as a presentation made back in July by Downtown Transformation Manager Jeff McVay and Downtown Transformation Project Manager Jeff Robbins, refrerred to by Mayor Giles as "our two Jeffs?
Please pay attention at the opening seconds. . . Hizzoner turns the remote control over to City Manager Chris Brady after a rushed fast-forward to get Downtown Transformation Manager Jeff McVay seated fast with Ass't City Manager Natalie Lewis dropping something on the desk
Council Study Session - 8/27/2020
•Aug 27, 2020
Downtown Mesa mixed-use project proposed
The proposed Eco Mesa East mixed-use project for downtown will go before City Council Monday, July 8, for consideration of an agreement to proceed with further negotiations with the developer.
The developer behind the solar-powered Eco Mesa apartments that debuted last year downtown is pitching a similar project for the city-owned Green Parking Lot.
Council on Monday, July 8, will consider an agreement to pursue further negotiations with Habitat Fenix to build Eco Mesa East.
The proposed project calls for a minimum 100 market-rate luxury apartments, 2,000 square feet of commercial space and a parking garage at the southeast corner of Macdonald and Pepper Place.
“In the summer of 2023 the city received an unsolicited proposal to develop the Green Lot,” said Jeff McVay, Urban Transformation manager, at the July 1 council study session. “We entertained that unsolicited proposal for a couple reasons: One, the success of Eco Mesa on the Purple Lot has given us good reason to understand and believe the developer could deliver a similar-type project on the Green Lot.”
The Green Lot is surface parking for 105 vehicles.
Secondly, the developer played an instrumental role in helping Mesa obtain the Hibbert Garage, McVay said.
Mesa last year purchased the vacant 862-space garage for $8 million in order to renovate it for 600 city employees to park. Currently the employees are split among the Pepper, Sirrine and Centennial garages.
“We’re looking at another six-story building that includes two to three decks of parking as well as five stories of residential much like Echo Mesa,” McVay said of the proposed project. “This is around 100, 110 units of residential.”
The 102-unit Eco Mesa is a sustainable apartment complex featuring a solar array on the roof and a catchment system for rainwater that will be stored and used to water the landscaping.
Under the proposed memorandum of agreement, the developer must meet a number of obligations, including giving the city free use of 74 continuous public parking spaces in its proposed garage for perpetuity.
The developer also would have to install conduits on five of the parking spaces to allow for electric vehicle chargers, design and build a public outdoor plaza or public park and potentially install a solar project on top of the nearby city-owned Pepper Place Garage with over 500 spaces.
Mesa, for its part, would not solicit or entertain development proposals or offers during the term of the MOU, which terminates Oct. 31 but can be extended to Jan. 31, 2025.
The city also must provide the developer the option to obtain up to 70 parking permits in the Pepper Garage at $45 per space for the first five years.
“The 70 spaces are there as an option for tenants that may have two cars, where they could then enter into an option to rent an additional space within the Pepper Garage,” McVay said.
Mesa also may be reimbursing the developer for certain public infrastructure improvements that benefit the broader downtown.
Another key point is Mesa would enter into a GPLET agreement, providing the developer with eight years of tax abatement.
Arizona established the Government Property Lease Excise Tax in 1996 as an economic development tool to encourage revitalization and infill in areas struggling to attract investment.
The three public improvements supported the request for a GPLET – the potential solar project on top of the Pepper Garage, the public plaza space and also “a monetary contribution that could be used towards homeless or affordable housing programs,” according to Jimmy Cerracchio, Downtown Transformation Project manager.
McVay explained that the city has to show that what it was getting in return for the tax break is “a substantial amount.”
“We have interpreted that to mean that it has to be greater than 50% of the value of the taxes,” McVay said. “Until we get into the development agreement we won’t know what the total tax abatement is.”
The city also invested public resources in ECO Mesa to help get it off the ground, entering into a sale and development agreement in 2020 with Habitat Metro to build the apartments on what was formerly a city-owned surface parking lot.
The city sold the lot to the developer at the appraised value of $325,000 and provide the eight-year city tax abatement worth about $205,000. The city also relocated underground electric utilities at a cost of $600,000.
Habitat Fenix is a partnership between Habitat Metro and Fenix Private Capital Group.
The Green Lot site would be sold to the developer at market value.
“Once council has taken action on this our next step would be to commission an appraisal and that will be the basis for all of our negotiations for the final development agreement and GPLET agreement,” McVay said.
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