< This image is the actual real-time staging area for the official ceremony that took place under the big tent in the far corner of the site six hours earlier in the day yesterday.
All the "dignitaries" and city officials are gone, the stage set-up is gone, the back-drop is gone, the audience that showed up is gone - what you see is the dirt and pools of water on the ground of the Pomeroy Street Parking Lot, piles of pipes, a backhoe and blue screening. No crane in the sky.
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It's a raw image with no hype - but let's see what the public information machine from the The City of Mesa News Room Mesa Now made sure to release just hours after the staged Ground-Breaking Ceremony and from there what the mainstream media had to say.
One more example of how the City of Mesa works hard to manipulate "the news".
Any reasonable person might ask how THE GRID got financed after failing for more than three rounds?
It took more than three years . . .
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CITY OF MESA NEWSROOM
Please note the media contact for this over-the-top press release is written by an employee of Serendip Consulting
February 24, 2020 at 10:58 am
Downtown Mesa will see major changes on Main Street throughout 2020, as Palladium GRID has broken ground on a new $75 million mixed-use development, The GRID.
The GRID creates a new neighborhood that brings together lifestyle amenities, three luxury housing options, a healthy, full-service restaurant and creative Class A office space.
The mid-rise structure will make use of an underutilized City of Mesa parking structure situated on 3.3 acres fronting on Main Street, reimagining it as an inclusive urban mixed-use community.
From micro-units to luxury market-rate apartments to contemporary rowhomes,
The GRID is designed to become the social 'living room' of downtown Mesa.
The neighborhood will also feature ground floor restaurants that will spill onto the sidewalks and create an electric vibe in the downtown.
"This project has been 2 1/2 years in the making and we are thrilled to see our vision come to life,"
said Tony Wall, Palladium principal and founder of 3W Management.
"We will bring morning, noon and evening dining. It will be a great place for meeting and socializing and will, mesh beautifully with the existing businesses and restaurants currently operating on Main Street."
BLOGGER NOTE: O Really Tony? . . . that's so hard to believe
Karrin Taylor Robson is a principal in Palladium and the founder of Arizona Strategies. Robson grew up on Main Street and has seen the downtown in good and bad times. "Downtown Mesa has special meaning to me," said Robson.
"Our work on The GRID will bring new residents who can enjoy the lively downtown lifestyle and this vibrant city that I admire."
The GRID will include 14,000 square feet of creative Class A office space that blends into the project and overlooks the activity on Main Street.
Developed in partnership with the City of Mesa, Benedictine University Mesa, and Palladium, The GRID is a unique public-private partnership to bring residential and specialized commercial development to downtown Mesa. This partnership will provide opportunities for student housing and realize the next step in Mesa's vibrant urban vision for the downtown . . .
The GRID will also offer 196 luxury sky apartments situated on floors four through seven.
ABOUT PALLADIUM
Palladium whose principals are Tony Wall and Karrin Taylor Robson, have long and successful tenures in Arizona real estate development.
Palladium focuses on urban projects and the opportunity to create destinations, core locations and places that make a difference in community lifestyles.
Media Contact:
Sabrina LeonSabrina@serendipitconsulting.com 623.695.9411
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Mesa officials break ground on $75M downtown mixed-use project
By KTAR.com February 25, 2020 at 4:15 am
PHOENIX – Main Street in downtown Mesa will begin to take on a new look after officials broke ground Monday on a $75 million mixed-use project.
The first phase of the 3.3-acre Grid was expected to be completed later this year. . . "
"When the midrise development is finished, it will feature rowhouses, micro and luxury apartments, restaurants, shops, parking and office space.
“The GRID is exactly the type of development we want to see in downtown Mesa,”
Mayor John Giles said in a press release. (Rendering/City of Mesa)
"I’m excited to see another crane in downtown Mesa’s skyline.”
In January, Arizona State University began work on its first academic building in the area. ASU @ Mesa City Center planned to open in spring 2022.
Private Benedictine University, a partner in the development, is also nearby.
Student living was part of the thought process behind the Grid.
BLOGGER NOTE:
The four-level build near Mesa Drive will make use of an overlooked Pomeroy Parking Garage and incorporate part of Gateway Park.
“It’s very unique to build up and over a city-owned parking garage,” Giles said. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
The public-private project is personal for one of the developers, Karrin Taylor Robson, a partner with Palladium, who grew up in the area.
“Downtown Mesa has special meaning to me,” Robson said in a press release.
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Aerial view looking south Intersection of Main Street & Mesa Drive
The building outline is the Wells Fargo Bank Building, now vacant and recently sold.
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“The GRID will bring new residents who can enjoy the lively downtown lifestyle and this vibrant city that I admire.”
Breakdowns of the residences will put 196 sky apartments on floors four through seven. Each unit will have a balcony, fireplace and glass walls.
The 15 rowhouses will be three-level walk-ups and each will have a private entry door and its own parking space in the garage.
The 75 micro-units will be limited to about 400 square feet apiece, but whoever lives there will have floor-to-ceiling views of the mountains.
Every resident will have rooftop lounge and outdoor pool privileges, as well as access to the fitness sites."
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This image is the Main Street side of the Pomeroy Street Parking @ 300 East Main Street looking east and south to the 3-story Municipal Court Parking garage. The building to the left is the now vacant Wells Fargo Building on the SWC of Mesa Drive and Main Street. In the far background is part of another mixed-use residential, retail and commercial development on 9.4 acres funded by a for-profit affiliate of The LDS Church for the Mesa Temple Area.
< View from 225 East Main Street looking west over Mesa Drive. For those who know the area, that's the back side of Pete's Fish & Chips.
Beyond is part of Residences on Mesa & Main that rises four stories on close sidewalk frontage on the east side of Main Street. Mixed-use with more than 240 apartments, thousands of square feet of retail and commercial space
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