Mr. Smith Goes To Harvard > Joins Class of Resident Fellows for Fall Semester

OOoops! 

Ivy League Harvard University invites ex-mayor

It's not that movie or that place - it's former Mesa Mayor Scott Smith, who will join the Institute of Politics fall class of resident and visiting fellows in September in Cambridge, Massachusetts which include Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman and longtime CNN anchor Candy A. Crowley, to host study groups and office hours for students.Other fellows include: former Assistant to the Secretary of Defense Brent Colburn,  former Republican National Committee communications director Doug Heye, and former South African opposition leader Lindiwe Mazibuko.
( a lot of "formers' in the group who might get a boost interacting with the resources, people and opportunities at JFK School of Government @ Harvard University]
 

Institute of Politics Names Six Fall Resident Fellows

To read full announcement please hit this link > Harvard Crimson Announcement

Eric R. Andersen, the director of the IOP’s fellows and study groups program, said that while the topics of the study groups are still under development, they would draw from the fellows’ practical and professional expertise. Smith, for instance, will likely focus on leadership and government innovation at the local level - skills he exercised  leading the waymaking for a  transition to The New Urban Downtown Mesa.
 

Groundbreaking for Encore On First

Here's Mayor Scott Smith, in an image from the City of Mesa Newsroom in 2012, at the first privately-financed housing in downtown Mesa  in 30 years proving that governments and private sectors work hand-in-hand to deliver beneficial outcomes.
His H.E.A.T. initiatives from three years ago has incubated, delivering more results all over the new urban downtown Mesa at the present time. Valley Metro Light Rail Central Mesa Extension was started on his watch . 
Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately with this opportunity @ Harvard)  he lost his political gamble to get elected as Arizona governor. Maybe he'll come back home and reclaim the office he performed so well in before . . .

Institute of Politics fellows develop and lead weekly study groups, participate in dinners, seminars, and other events at the university, and mentor students. The fellowship can serve as a pivot point in the careers of people in the political realm.

 “We’re going to focus on government that works,” said Smith, who is also a former president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. “In today’s world, we see gridlock, we see overall dissatisfaction with government, except at the city level—mayors are getting things done, and that’s unfortunately sort of unique in today’s world.”
 

[Let's not get carried away, Mr. Smith - some mayors are getting things down]
 

Veritas/Truth = Light

Smith also said he hoped to share with students his unique perspective as someone who entered the political sphere later in life, given his career as an accountant and real estate home-builder before serving as a mayor.

What's The LowDown on LoFi?? Nobody's Spilling The Beans!

Like most people I was jolted finding out about an "abrupt" closing announcement made like this on social media on July 31, 2015 that wasn't reported until August 7 in mainstream media Arizona Republic - that's a long time for a local story not to percolate.

We are sad to announce that tomorrow August 1st will be our last day of operation here at Lo Fi Coffee! We are...http://t.co/EYhQMWYULS

— Lo Fi Coffee (@loficoffee) August 1, 2015
WE ARE SAD TOO!!...and steamed

LoFi Coffee was the gathering grounds for almost anybody from every walk of life in downtown Mesa. It was more than just about coffee - it was camaraderie+good times.
Watch this 3:39 YouTubevideo, produced by the Downtown Merchants Association, back in December 2012 - 

The owners created a sense of place [little did they know the landlord had a different idea about what that place should be like] attracting city officials, office workers, visitors and the creative spirits transforming the New Urban Downtown Mesa.
LoFi was low-key + one of meeting places downtown for groups like the one @ right meeting for a walk to envision Mesa . . .  

LoFi created a destination in downtown - now closed down for reasons that go unexplained except for a polite mentioning about "a disagreement about what direction" was wanted for that place. 
Hey Guys! 
You gave downtown Mesa direction, you made it exciting, cool, vibrant when other official groups just talked about what words to use - you created a unique enterprise here in downtown . . .You brought people closer together - and now you're getting kicked out?
OUTRAGEOUS!
Economic developers and planners want to attract "Millenials" to downtown? . . . then support the people that are doing it!
If they need to learn about lease agreements that can get tricky, educate new entrepreneurs and  provide all the needed resources if you want businesses to succeed. Isn't there a program for that?

There was a July 24th post [check it out and take a look] on this site about both The Nile Theater and LoFi Coffee. 
LoFi did good things for everybody.

When the rest of Main Street looked like a ghost town out of The Twilight Zone on a Sunday afternoon - things were poppin' on the SWC of Main/Macdonald wrapping all the way down the street to Arts Alley with lines waiting to get admitted to The Underground.
Sidewalks in the rest of downtown were empty: Lofi & The Nile Theater were the only signs of life!

I meant to stop in and talk with the owners to fill in some information for the post, but got side-tracked by some family stuff, while all this apparently "boiled over". 

Details are skimpy from the article written by Maria Polletta . . .read the whole article with this link >  http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/mesa/2015/08/07/downtown-mesas-beloved-lo-fi-coffee-closes-abruptly/31305955/ 

Here are two quotes extracted from the article

"Lo Fi co-owner and coffee roaster Randy Denton said the decision didn’t reflect a desire on his and partner Sam Clark’s part to leave downtown Mesa. Rather, “it just came down to us wanting to go a different direction than what the landlord wanted for that space,” he said."

“I think Sam and I are both trying to be civil about it, but it’s obviously very frustrating that a month before the light rail goes in, this kind of came down,” he said. “It’s a lesson for us. We learned a lot about lease agreements the hard way.”

" . . . kind of came down" ?????
Taking a cue from the new proposed name for the  change in operations of The Nile Theater, Volstead Public House, it can be construed either as a  cute tongue-in-cheek play-on-words or a signal that certain people want to turn back the hands of time to that dark depression-era in American history called Prohibition ushered in by The Volstead Act of 1919 to enforce the 18th Amendment to the Constitution.

By 1933 public opposition to the prohibition of the sale of alcohol became overwhelming, with the repeal of the 18th Amendment to the Constitution.

Readers might well note that LoFi was recently granted a liquor license by the City Council - it's simply legal to sell alcohol now, even if certain religious sects oppose, discourage or forbid its consumption.

Curiously enough [or not] on December 5, 1933 Utah became the 36th state ratifying the 21st Amendment in The Blaine Act - making it The Law of The Land - that repealed the 18th Amendment voiding prohibition.

There may be a bigger issue frothing to the top of the big picture.
Two questions:
1. Granted there are different points of view, yet there is no clear vision from the community-makers . . What is the direction of downtown development?
2. Who controls the direction of downtown development?
There are people who call themselves as self-titled "directors", but the way we go and the direction we move forward in is better charted when it comes from the community NOT something that's done to the community.
There are many unknowns in this story with people choosing to "lay low" . . . earlier reporting revealed that a previous liquor license for the premises was revoked and recently reinstated weeks ahead of lease renewal. Problems with revenue sharing? Booking fees?

• Yeah - but why didn't anyone from the city or any circle of friends not try to mediate any issues or disagreements about going in different directions? People can pull together instead of pushing against each other, right?
• Who's the landlord that decided to kick them out over "a disagreement about different directions"?
• Is there more of a story here about conservative attitudes of property owners and a different generation now here in town - for four or more years - creating something new?
• Everyone raves about LoFi - someone pulled away the welcome mat.
• After creating a sense of place, THEY GET DIS-PLACED for a reason that needs to get examined

There are other issues that are part of this quagmire brought into focus by LoFi that are hitting social media in that August 7th article.
In various conversations with owners of businesses on Main Street for the last couple of months, it came to my attention that one person alone [or affiliated corporations] owned sixteen of the commercial/retail spaces either leased or vacant On/Off Main Street.
Some people have good things to say about their working relationship with the "landlords" or the "landladies" and some not so . . . with retail tenants agreeing, at their own expense, to fix rotten walls and water-damaged floors and pay for the substantial costs to conform to fire code regulations - basic tenets of habitability and getting a certificate of occupancy - that benefit the property owners at the end of the lease.
Likewise, most lessees expressed a well-grounded fear that the asking price for new leases would skyrocket after light rail service goes into full operation.
Is it just a curious coincidence that LoFi lost its lease just before light rail operates????
Years put into building a successful business in anticipation of light rail service, only to have future opportunities knocked out of the picture by "disagreements about direction"???????
In addition it's a proven fact that, with certain variables, property values get a big boost for both commercial and residential along the transit corridor that light rail creates - it's not an outcome that one main can claim, like when the mayor says publicly: "It's my mission to increase property values".

Over the years, yours truly was surprised in talking with many people that live in Gilbert, Chandler and Phoenix that they didn't like Mesa because it's "Mormon-controlled": "Mormons run City Hall" and "Mormons are the biggest property owners".
This is a long-standing image and perception.
Looking at data and statistics from any number of sources, the demographics point out that Mormons are anywhere from 14% to 30% of the population - that would be considered a minority . . . So, dear readers, do we live in a city that's Majority-Minority or are we more diverse than that in the 21st Century?
Are other demographic groups as active in the community?
Do they get involved in public life making Mesa a better place to live? Do they choose to participate in the democratic process by voting? Are they active in civic affairs, stay informed, and attend City Hall/Council and committee meetings - where the public is invited to attend and make comments?
In New York City the Episcopal Church located at the western end of Wall Street is the biggest landlord; unlike the Mormon Church here in Mesa, it does not control the city - there are a diverse group from all over world of believers and non-believers that make the city great arising from embracing, encouraging, and promoting diversity on a level playing field.
Some people might complain about a so-called East Coast "liberal elite" who attended Harvard or Yale or Ivy League universities, but from all appearances there's some kind of exclusive conservative elite - a minority of the population now - here in Mesa and inside City Hall that all went to Brigham Young University.

Here's a Trivia Quiz:
1. How many OTM [Other Than Mormon] mayors have been elected?
2. In what years was the Mesa City Manager OTM?

Creative PlaceMaking >> Emerging Economic Growth Opportunities Here in The New Urban Downtown Mesa

Site Visit to Mesa 14 July 2015

Federal Reserve Bank President John Williams believes the creative economy -- all the activities and institutions under the umbrella of arts and culture -- is a force for economic growth and the key to solving complex community problems.

A July 14, 2015 tour of Creative Place Making activities and opportunities in downtown Mesa [see an earlier post on this site from 01 August "Transit Means Smart Growth"] proved his point.

Here are some snippets, plus additional information and editing,  from an e-announcement received earlier today, to encourage private lenders and investors to expand both their comfort levels and their understanding of and interest in community development.

Williams and other officials from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco saw firsthand the problems and solutions for revitalizing downtown Mesa and the surrounding neighborhoods during a three-hour site visit organized by LISC Phoenix.

John Williams

When a national monetary policy leader, a self-described pragmatic, data-driven financial expert, champions the merits of an emerging economic growth opportunity, lenders and investors should take note.

Local transit-driven growth along the corridor established by the Valley Metro Light Rail 3.1-mile Central Mesa Extension will attract more mixed-use transit-oriented development to what was looked/toured in the site visit  here in Mesa:The Mesa Arts Center, affordable housing like Encore On First and Encore On First West presently under construction, Escobedo at Verde Vista where Phase 2 is now welcoming new residents, and El Rancho del Arte also where new residents are arriving and approval received for the construction of Phase 2. Plans are in the works for ArtSpace Lofts/Mesa

Increasing data that touts the vitality of the creative economy should compel private lenders and investors to expand their understanding of and interest in community development.

The Western Fed is a leader in Creative Place Making, a fast-growing community development movement in which public, private and community partners develop and implement a strategy to improve the physical and social character of a community through arts and cultural activities. To this end, it co-sponsored the 2015 Creative Placemaking workshop series with LISC Phoenix.

Public investment and foundation grants seeded much of the early success in creative placemaking. But a successful creative economy hinges significantly on banks and private investors acquiring a comfort level with a new type of community development investment. All businesses, including arts and culture based businesses, need the ability to borrow and to attract capital investment.
See this link for e-Announcement 
What SF Fed Saw in Mesa
Here are some links to YouTube videos by SF FRB about Creative Placemaking

Creative Placemaking: Connecting Community Development and the Arts 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaFfxpaCPTI

LINK TO THE COMPLETE PLAYLIST: 
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2mKVrKqc3YD3hjiLpC8Pd18k3FQ9MxzA

Bloomerg's What Works Cities Initiative > Transparency + Accountability for Mesa?

Bloomberg Philanthropies Announces 
First Cities Selected to Join What Works Cities Initiative

Mesa was one of eight cities selected from over 100 that applied to the nations's most comprehensive $42 million dollar initiative to help city halls use data and evidence effectively to deliver better results for residents.

More promises and same-old-same-old feel-good rhetoric for residents? or is Mike Bloomberg, former 3-term mayor of New York City, gonna help these local city officials do a better job?

Here's a quote from John Giles from the city's press release: 

“In today’s technologically driven world, data and evidence are the fuel that powers the innovation and efficiency of our city services,” Mesa Mayor John Giles said. “Mesa is excited to be one of the first cities in the country to partner with What Works Cities to create data driven outcomes that make Mesa an even better place to live.” 

Can someone translate that ?

Data-driven outcomes? . . .  how about some details?

Mesa will strengthen existing performance management programs? . . . any details?

You'll have to find out from these good fellas at City Hall doing a photo opp - no doubt thinking what approaches deliver results for citizens - calling themselves Team 1 from an image offered for download on the City of Mesa Newsroom site: Anyone wondering who the fella is in the middle?
Yours truly had to email Randy Policar to ask. He is Alex Deshuk, Chief Innovation Officer

PLEASE USE AND REMEMBER THESE WORDS: As part of the application process mayors have publicly committed to enhance their use of data and evidence to: 

• improve services
• inform local decision making and 
• engage citizens. 

The eight cities selected will receive expert support and peer-to-peer learning opportunities to make government more effective. Since the launch of the What Works Cities initiative in April 2015, mayors from every region of the country have expressed their desire for technical assistance to use data more productively.

According to the press release, Mesa will strengthen existing performance management programs. CAN ANYONE TRANSLATE THAT?

Hit this link to view the press release  What Works Cities Press Release 05 August 2015

The New York-based foundation said it doesn't break down what percentage of the $42 million total goes to each city.

What works? 

That’s a question that every city leader should ask – and we want to help them find answers.

The program will help cities:

1. Create sustainable open data programs and policies that promote transparency and robust citizen engagement

2. Conduct low-cost, rapid evaluations that allow cities to continually improve programs

3. Focus funding on approaches that deliver results for citizens

A consortium of leading organizations has been assembled to inspire, challenge, and support cities. Together, these partners will deliver a comprehensive program of support, promoting tested as well as innovative new approaches.
INNOVATIVE NEW APPROACHES, Huh?

Here are those organizations:

• Results for America will lead and coordinate the What Works Cities partner consortium and advance a nationwide dialogue on the need for cities to use data and evidence in decision making.
• The Center for Government Excellence at Johns Hopkins University will work with cities to assess the current state of What Works practices, and support implementation and enhancement of open data and performance management programs.
• The Government Performance Lab at the Harvard Kennedy School will support cities in improving the results they achieve with their contracted dollars.
• Sunlight Foundation will help cities craft meaningful and sustainable open data policies.
• The Behavioral Insights Team will help cities conduct real time, low-cost evaluations of programs so they can continually improve city services.

 Here's some free advertising for the mayor for his law practice

Wild Horses in The Salt River > Western Heritage Horses Threatened by National Forest Officials

How stupid [translation of Spanish word "tonto"] can the officials in an Arizona national forest be? 
All of a sudden, the Salt River wild horses are a matter of public safety???
Most of the time you worry about the wingnuts all over the world, but here in northeast Mesa in the Tonto National Forest and official employees in a national forest.?
They were always nice before, so what happened?
Some years ago your blogger cooked at Saguaro Lake Ranch Resort saguarolakeranch.com and was told that you could see wild horses along the banks of the Salt River and I said "Yeah, right! ... and you believe in the Tooth Fairy too?".
We saw eagles on the cliffs, and ring-tail cats around the cabins, so why not wild horses along the banks? Huh?

A  couple of days later out in a kayak with a horse wrangler we run into strong rapids and get tossed under, digital SLR camera ruined, barely scrambling for survival, chasing to retrieve the kayak and oars downriver and - like a wild dream come true - a tenderfoot from the East Coast sees a herd of wild horses! 
Unintended consequence of baptism in the river, but joy at the sight of living legends in the Wild West

Here's a link to the full notice for the removal dated July 31, 2015
PUBLIC NOTICE NOTICE OF UNAUTHORIZED LIVESTOCK AND INTENT TO IMPOUND 
(Reference FSM 5330)  
http://publicnotices.azcapitoltimes.com/search/detail.aspx?detail=10583672

Just wanted to express outrage here and hope you join the rising chorus of over 10,000 people signing a petition [SEE BELOW]
Reportedly the Forest Service will use helicopters to round-up the horses which can prove deadly to the newborn foals and the older horses. The river is treacherous in places and the Salt River Wild Horse Management Group fears for the safety of this historic herd. The Salt River Wild Horse Management Group has submitted a 50 page proposal to the Forest Service setting forth a humane and sustainable management protocol for the iconic wild horses which includes humane birth control, but are shocked to find out that it has apparently been ignored and roundups will start immediately. 

STOP THE ANNIHILATION OF THE SALT RIVER WILD HORSES
https://www.change.org/p/u-s-national-park-services-tonto-national-forest-stop-the-annihilation-of-the-salt-river-wild-horses-savewildhorses?recruiter=203893536&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_page&utm_term=des-lg-no_src-custom_msg

Watch ABC 15: http://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/mesa/wild-horses-to-be-moved-from-salt-river-

NBC 12 from 11:38 today: http://www.12news.com/story/news/local/valley/2015/08/03/salt-river-horses/31081367/
[Includes a number of must-see videos]

Wild horses swim in the Salt River
from CBS 5 AZ posted: Jul 13, 2015 1:32 PM

$80,000.00 for A Cosmetic Make-Over to Downtown??

Looks like the City of Mesa is throwing fast money at a problem they haven't had the solution to solve even after about 18 different "plans to revitalize" downtown Mesa in the last forty years produced the mix of building architecture, streetscapes and land-uses residents and visitors can see today. It's the legacy of decades of urban planning gone any which way . . .

On June 3, 2015 - about sixty days or two months ago - we all found out in a very public announcement with a lot of fanfare and hoopla that the 3.1 mile Valley Metro Light Rail Central Mesa Extension would be completed ahead of time going into full-service on August 22nd. 

Who knows if there was any advance planning for the arrival of public transit and the competition it would bring to arts/culture and downtown businesses that now would be linked with those in Tempe and Phoenix? 

It's like all of a sudden when Uncle Joe told you he's coming to town earlier than you expected and you wanna go out to buy a new dress and get dolled up

.

According to an article by Maria Polletta in yesterday's Arizona Republic
Makeover Ahead Downtown Mesa 
City and development officials now want to launch [wrong verb for the dry desert] a series of "experimental projects to shake up" and "change the look and feel" of downtown Mesa, calling it a design laboratory where there will be a much more extensive community-outreach component, but that's after light rail service starts [?]
The downtown Mesa laboratory idea comes from the City Manager's Office where management assistant Neil Curley made a presentation to a city council study session [video link below] using the words "kind of" at least 20 times during the brief discussion. Chris Brady stated that $30K of the funds are unused Business Assistance Grants from NEDCO and $50K are from the privately-owned nonprofit Downtown Merchants Association - two of the same official development agencies involved for  years downtown with different proposals and promises yielding mixed results.
As recently as May 20, 2015 the City's Director of Arts & Culture was calling downtown Mesa "charming" . . . so, all of a sudden, why the change in outlook?
Valley Metro always delivers on its promises - this time seven weeks ahead of schedule - apparently putting the downtown planners into a scramble to respond quickly to the good news for the long-awaited transition and transformation in the New Urban Downtown Mesa.

Valley Metro is already changing the look and feel of Main Street with decorative brick-red asphalt stamping and street painting at all the crosswalks and intersections that matches the brick patterns on alleys parallel to and entering Main Street. Station platforms with monumental public artworks have been installed changing the visual landscape in a big way and - if truth be told WE DON'T NEED CARS ON MAIN STREET ANYMORE!
Except for the crosswalks and street intersections, get rid of that heat-island oiled asphalt and turn Main Street into a linear park . . . The Mayor's "a fan of shade", wants to get rid of the shade-providing colonnades that are part of territorial architecture [and wants businesses to pay for new shade structures?] --- Mother Nature's got an answer for that : USE TREES, the original shade structure . . . with light rail there's really no need for cars on Main Street. That all makes sense in "a pedestrian-friendly environment" in the slower perspective of walking around downtown - the façades just don't whiz by - they invite you into the sidewalk storefronts.

Back in October of last year - 10 months ago - members were appointed by the mayor to The Ad-Hoc Downtown Vision Committee, apparently not producing "the vision" they were given the task to do even four months after the six-month deadline.

The City Council didn't have a so-called "Study Session" until July 8th

Your MesaZona blogger always likes to see and look at first-hand information, like this Channel 11 video of the City Council study session.

 

Watch it and see for yourself, only 14:38

Here's the link > http://www.mesachannel11.com/vod.php?show=1305

Valley Metro Light Rail Transit > Driving Smart Growth + Re/Generating Business Development

Image from LISC

In three weeks - August 22 - downtown Mesa will be transformed forever with the Central Mesa 3.1 Mile LRT Extension going into service on a regular operating schedule en route to Tempe and Phoenix with a one-hour travel time from end-to-end.

As someone who's always lived with public transit in major East Coast cities for 40+ years, your MesaZona blogger can still get excited about that here . . . It's about time!

At  a milestone-event for the monumental art installation at the Mesa Drive/Center Street Station, the subject of an earlier post on this site, the mayor said the salvation of downtown Mesa is riding on this train using a phrase of biblical proportions . . . better "to under-promise and over-deliver" is one of the mayor's more congenial forms of speech.

 

Yes, light trail transit is a cost-effective people-mover with no toxic emissions using a quiet technology. Cars and highways and fast growth have emptied urban centers in the last five decades - downtown Mesa is a prime example - while at the same time creating opportunities to reinvent urban places and spaces, to re-imagine and to revitalize what we have in the process of creative placemaking  to be not only sustainable but to re-generate the blocks, neighborhoods, districts, zones, open spaces, parks, business districts, economic development and quality of life - that all gets generated by and comes from the community: it is not something that is done to the community.

MesaZona will be doing future posts on some of the actions of selected people who have chosen to invest their futures in the New Urban Downtown Mesa - in homes and businesses, expanding and embracing the community and in the inter-generational quality of life.

New concepts and new ways of thinking come into play to influence collaborative planning: smart growth, transit-oriented development, form-based zoning codes, low-impact development, green spaces, and renewable energy sources

 

Terry Benelli, Exec Director

Terry Benelli, who headed up NEDCO, the Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation here in Mesa for seven years and was appointed to be Executive Director of LISC Phoenix early this year has recently published a piece "Transit Means Smart Growth".

www.lisc.org/phoenix

 

LISC Phoenix is using transit and transit-oriented development as a platform for community development in The Valley, the Phoenix Metropolitan Area.

The article referred to above uses examples of initiatives as well as planned and completed projects in Phoenix where the nonprofit headquarters is located.

 

However, Terry was back on her home turf on Tuesday, July 14, 2015, guiding a 3-hour site visit to look into the opportunities for Creative PlaceMaking here in downtown with John Williams, the head of The Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco + 25 other people, including the mayor.



\IPhone group image/Site Visit 14 July 2015

We all got off the bus to stretch our legs and stand up for a foto pop" or "group selfie" on the side of what is no doubt the most visually-stunning piece of architecture on Main Street in the New Urban Downtown Mesa, apart from the $98 Million-Dollar Mesa Arts Center.
Some people might call it Pop Surrealism, rivaling the three-dimensional works by Gaudi in Barcelona, Spain, but no doubt it's an appropriate backdrop for the Creative PlaceMaking group focusing on exciting opportunities here.
Where's the mayor?
He's one in the collaborative group. John Williams is at center right in the jacket and sunglasses.

 Consumers of mainstream media may have only seen or heard snippets about a speech delivered by SF Fed Chief John Williams at a Mesa Chamber of Commerce luncheon or tweets from the mayor trying to focus attention on himself; but to be fair the bus tour was a very interactive, open and dynamic exchange and discussion among everyone in the group including your MesaZona blogger - we had a great time!

Speakers/Participants included [in order of schedule]
Terry Benelli, Executive Director LISC Phoenix
John Giles, Mesa Mayor
Michael Trailor, Director Arizona Department of Housing
Jeff McVay, Special Project Manager for City of Mesa Downtown Transformation
David Carrisosos, Owner Celulares Conexiones
Jaime Dempsey, Arizona Commission on the Arts
Amy del Castillo, owner Lulubell's Toy Bodega +arts/creative placemaking activist
Jen Disbrow, NEDCO, Ripple Grant Program + Creative PlaceMaking
Brian Marshall, owner Village Bloom + community organizing/events @ Sliver Lot
Augie Gastelum, NEDCO Economic Director/Façade Improvement Grant, ArtEntrepeneur Programs + Business Lending/Technical Assistance
David Crummey, NEDCO, RAIL + Mesa Urban Garden
Liz Morales, Director of Housing & Community Development for City of Mesa
Marco Meraz. owner of Republica Empanada
Eric Paine, President of Community Development Partners, El Rancho del Arte
Pat McNamara, LISC Phoenix Senior Program
Ian Linnsmen, Chief of Staff to Mayor Giles
Members of LISC Phoenix Local Advisory Board [3]
Tim McElligott, Founder Curator Engine
Tyler Boone, LISC Staff Financial Opportunity Center
Joselyn Cousins, Fed Reserve Regional Manager Community Development
Jennifer Does, LISC writer/founder JDD Specialties LLC

We loaded on the bus provided by Jet Limousine at City Hall and traveled in the center city from Country Club to Mesa Drive east-west and University to Broadway, looked at Mesa Arts Center, Encore Senior Housing, South Broadway, Mesa Arts Academy, On/Off Main Street + City-owned museums, facilities, parks/recreation, LuluBell Bodega, Queen's Pizzeria, The Sliver Lot, the future site of ArtSpace Mesa Lofts, Central Main Plan, Inside The Bungalow, Plans for Consulari/Lincoln Center West/Julliard School of Music, new transit-oriented, form-based zoning and affordable housing developments Escobedo @ Verde Vista with an on-site tour and stop at El Rancho del Arte -whew! - and wrapped up the session retreating to Mesa Urban Garden with lunch and un-winding from the fast-paced whirlwind of the site visit @ Republica Empanada.

Conversations and ideas were exchanged all around and back-and-forth with the big ideas in opportunities for Creative PlaceMaking in the New Urban Downtown Mesa, while also taking note of the fact that businesses like Pomeroy's Men's Store, Mesa Typewriter Exchange, Lamb's Shoe Repair, The Nile Theater and Pete's Fish & Chips have been in business through up-and-down cycles of the local economy for anywhere from 60-90 years.

All of us in the band on the bus were focused on Creative PlaceMaking opportunities, Arts/Culture, Biz/Economic Development and shelter with affordable housing, but what about one of the basic necessities of Life: Food?
John Williams [who lives in California] brought up the subject - since no one else in the group did - where do downtown residents shop for food [?].
The only "supermarket" on Main Street, thriving after the exodus of national big-box franchises years ago, is Los Altos Rancho Market on the SE corner of Horne Street in an area that might develop as a Latino Business District.
Other neighborhood "convenience stores" and/or bodegas were noted on Country Club Drive, Community Market on the NWC of Mesa Drive/First Avenue for 15 years, and El Rancho next to El Rancho del Arte. On MacDonald just south of Main is "The Inconvenience Store" operated by the Transitional Living Center.
A food-desert here downtown? What are we going to do about that??
The group was stunned when David Carrisosos mentioned that probably the most successful food establishment in downtown Mesa was not located on Main Street. It is on the south side of Broadway by Drew Street . . . Jeff McVay quickly interjected that people should be beating a path down Center or MacDonald to Mariscos de Sinaloa. If Spanish is not your second-language - go find out what is offered.
. . . the mayor brought up the availability of Site 17 for development - it's a bull-dozed empty city-owned 3+-acre prime space that's an example of bad urban planning for a time-share development that didn't happen with much of it the historic location for what was the focus of community life and recreation:  Rendezvous Park.

LISC Phoenix, Inc. Projects...Check out some examples of the "smart growth" work being done by LISC Phoenix.

Opened in December 2013 and located in the heart of The New Urban Downtown Mesa, Encore on First is a vibrant urban alternative living environment for the over-62s. The 81, mixed one and two bedroom, affordable apartments will cater to a growing demographic of independent seniors seeking a more convenient, stimulating, and sustainable lifestyle.
The project stands opposite the Mesa Arts Center which offers performance art, theater, classes and art shows – indoor and out. On-site amenities range from fully equipped fitness center, a second- floor community room with an open terrace is space for a crafts and events, lounge, library, coffee bar, to outdoor water garden with fountains in a pocket-park, a dog run with faux grass, energy-efficient appliances, extensive xerigraphic  landscaping, shade trees on wide sidewalks in the front of the building on First Avenue and solar panels on the roof that provide 50% of the energy used in public areas.
Encore on First West, with 44 more one and two-bedroom living units is under construction in an adjoining parcel at 47 W First Avenue.

The two other transit-oriented developments in affordable housing in downtown - Escobedo @ Verde Vista on University Drive and El Rancho del Arte on Main Street - first written about on March 2 in a post on this blogsite and mentioned on this post today, now have the first residents moving into new apartments in advance of Valley Metro Light Rail Trains going into operation on Main Street on August 22, 2015.