Tuesday, June 08, 2021

Alla en El Rancho...Hay Una Cocina Vivienda > Dining For Dreams: Flavors of Mexico

Happy to feature an update on developments at one of Mesa's first innovative, equitable and affordable developments in Creative Place Making: El Rancho de Arte and El Rancho Del Sol

13 August 2017

Inspiring Creative Living Transforms The New Urban DTMesa Landscape

It's a work-in-progress accelerating what's next for affordable and attainable housing downtown here on Main Street when a company named Community Development Partners envisions and re-imagines what can get built from the ground-up by moving ahead quickly with the ongoing construction of Phase 2 Rancho Del Arte - two new buildings are "raising the roof" sky-high with stunning designs drawn up by Perlman Architects for El Rancho Del Sol located on East Main Street - it's a turning-point tipping around the prevalent old and tired and typical mindset that "it's OK for Mesa to be boring" . . .
A new vision is getting real, very real

12 June 2017

Sneak Preview > Community Development Partners Set For Move-Ins @ El Rancho Del Sol

Seems just like yesterday there was a new shovel-ready dig on ground here in The New Urban Downtown Mesa for Phase 2 of El Rancho del Arte.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place on October 17, 2016 at 659 E Main Street. The keynote speaker was Arizona Department of Housing Director Michael Trailor, along with Kimber Lanning of Local First Arizona and Eric Paine, Community Development Partners and others

Nine months later it's almost ready for move-ins, with a vigorous response from the community to fulfill the need [and shortage] of affordable housing.
Celtic Property Management is now accepting applications on a waiting list.
Building out the core aspects of El Rancho del Arte, El Rancho del Sol represents a comprehensive approach to designing and developing affordable housing, where not only are residents’ basic housing needs met, but a community is energized and engaged.
Christian Hulme guided your MesaZona blogger around the work-in-progress today - it's very impressive. Both buildings setting new standards for the attainable and affordable housing market will be featured in a series of upcoming posts.

The new construction getting ready for tentative occupancy at the end of June and into July consists of 47 units serving low-income households earning between 40-60% of the Area Median Income, with a preference for families with children. The project will be comprised of 26 two-bed, 11 three-bed, and 10 four-bed units, with sizes ranging from 942 to 1,988 square feet.
A New Leaf will provide resident supportive services and Local First Arizona will provide an on-site micro enterprise accelerator program for enterprising residents. Similar to its predecessor El Rancho del Arte, the adjacent El Rancho del Sol will integrate the arts into its design through installations and ongoing programming. The new community—designed by Perlman Architects, constructed by Rytan Construction, and managed by Celtic Property Management— is working to achieve LEED Gold certification.

Eric Paine [seen to the right] Chief Executive Officer of Community Development Partners, says, “Our mission is to not only provide housing, but create healthy and engaged neighborhoods. We are pleased with how El Rancho del Arte is becoming a community hub and look forward to delivering a second phase that continues the mission.”
When yours truly emailed him about arranging the on-site walk through, he joked and said Be ready for a few surprises . . . gotta say I was knocked-out by the "surprises" - totally impressed [not that that means anything to industry professionals] but more about the surprises in other featured posts on the blog site and on social media.
The project was partially financed by the sale of 9% Low Income Housing Tax Credits awarded by Arizona Department of Housing (ADOH) in 2015. The tax credit investor is Alliant Capital. A construction and permanent loan from Chase bank, HOME and Housing Trust Funds from ADOH and a HOME Loan from the City of Mesa, along with an acquisition/pre-development loan from Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) financed the remaining project costs.
About Community Development Partners

Founded in 2011, Community Development Partners develops and operates sustainable, life-enhancing affordable housing with a focus on long term community engagement and innovative design. The company is based in Orange County and has developed or currently operates properties in Arizona, California, and Oregon.

13 May 2019

A VERY SPECIAL SPOTLIGHT: Attainable, Equitable, and Affordable Housing Here In Mesa Builds Community Development

At the time of an Affordable Housing Crisis here in the City of Mesa, it is a resounding pleasure to re-publish this recent feature from a California-based company that was right here at the right time in the forefront for building outstanding architecturally-significant innovative housing solutions in Phase I and Phase II here in a neglected district on Main Street. It was the right thing to do.
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The Grand Opening was featured in a post on this blog site in2017:
MesaZona > Table of Contents : Grand Opening Today > El Rancho Del Sol

MesaZona > Table of Contents

Community Development Partners Opens El Rancho Del Sol Setting High Standards Well-Designed Attainable Affordable Housing Mesa, AZ November 7, 2017.

(Shown in the image: Kyle and Eric Paine, the head of the Arizona Department of Housing, construction supervisor and general contractor for Raytan Construction Company, members of the architectural team, and Mesa Mayor John Giles. Iron artwork designed by Mesa artist Zarco Guerrero)

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El Rancho Del Sol, Mesa, AZ
Source: https://www.communitydevpartners.com/el-rancho-del-sol

COMMUNITY

Goal: Build on the momentum and success of El Rancho Del Arte but creating a second and adjacent phase that would create a more ideal scale and continue bringing vibrancy to the downtown adjacent Mesa neighborhood. 

Situated just outside of Phoenix in the bustling arts city of Mesa, El Rancho Del Sol is CDP’s recent acquisition, demolition, and new construction project of a blighted apartment building and underutilized office building adjacent to CDP’s existing El Rancho del Arte community. 

Completed in the Fall of 2017 and designed for low-income families earning 40-60% of the area’s median income (AMI), El Rancho del Sol’s 47-units sits in two, 4-story buildings comprised of 2, 3, and 4-bedroom units. 

As a complement to El Rancho del Arte in both function and architectural character, El Rancho del Sol features onsite services and art installations that reflect the spirit and heart of the community. 

Common areas are central to the community, including a second-floor playground area, a movie theater, two exercise rooms, community and game room, and a fully equipped commercial kitchen operated by Local First Arizona

Carmen Guerrero/Cultural Coalition Discusses Community Engagement

El Rancho Community Engagement on Horizonte

Affordable housing development El Rancho (featured on a Local First Arizona Forum the "Mesa bus tour" ) and one of its partners, Cultural Coalition, was featured on PBS's "Horizonte," discussing community engagement.

Sounds of Cultura: The Cultural Coalition

Thursday, Dec. 21, 2017

In this segment: Carmen Guerrero: Executive Director Cultural Coalition

Link > Horizonte

A local nonprofit is providing opportunities for artists and art education by offering artistic opportunities in two Valley apartment complexes.

El Rancho del Arte and El Rancho del Sol showcase art and poetry throughout the complex, both by professional artists and by youth living in the apartments.

Cultural Coalition, an organization providing cultural programs for the development of artists in Arizona manages the after-school art and homework program for children living in the residences.

(Photographer Ray Hernández image > shows Carmen talking to the guests on the LFA Forum in the commercial kitchen facilities inside El Rancho Del Sol)

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Dining For Dreams At Home

Hello Tim,

Thank you for your ongoing support of Local First Arizona’s work to bring generational wealth opportunities, financial stability, and entrepreneurship to marginalized communities. Your support of our initiatives helps to create an Arizona economy that works for all.

This Friday Local First Arizona’s Community Kitchen and Fuerza Local unite to host Dining for Dreams, an event that embodies our belief that through food, we can cultivate inclusive and creative communities. The signature, biannual fundraising event not only highlights the culinary creations of three recent graduates from our Fuerza Local Business Accelerator program, it also supports these new chefs and restaurateurs while growing entrepreneurial efforts in Arizona’s local food economy - expanding the reach of the Fuerza Local Business Accelerator and Local First Community Kitchen into communities throughout the state.

Friday’s Dining for Dreams event brings the Flavors of Mexico to your kitchen table showcasing the culinary talents of three women chefs who are making their favorite comfort dishes for you to enjoy. Each family style meal for four includes appetizers, beverages, entrees, sides, and dessert, hand delivered directly to your front door by the Local First team.

AND FOR THE FIRST TIME, these chefs are also whipping up a plant-based dinner option! You can support the Fuerza Local Business Accelerator program and the Local First Community Kitchen by purchasing a Dining for Dreams dinner.

Thank you for all you do!

Purchase Your Meal

Facts USA

Uploaded content from Facts USA is now a regular feature on this blog

What are the cannabis laws in your state?

20 December 2017

Smokin' Hot News: High-Ho! Mesa Is Getting 'Greener'

What to your MesaZona blogger's wondering eyes should appear just a few hours ago in an online report from AZ Big Media is that here in the most conservative city in America, the grand-daddy of Mesa law firms where both Mesa Mayor John Giles and D4 Mesa City Councilmember Chris Glover got their first start in the practice of law, there was this headline below. Being the Pundit-at-heart yours truly is, it appears that the 'grass-roots' citizen activist movement that put the issue of what's called in popular jargon medical marijuana' in a referendum overlwhelmingly approved by voters has creating an entire new engine for economic development.

It's reason to celebrate! Visions of sugar-plums, anyone?

Udall Shumway expands into cannabis law

"After over 50 years in business, practicing everything from criminal, immigration and real estate law to elder abuse, education and medical malpractice, Mesa-based Udall Shumway is now expanding their full-service law firm with 12 practice areas to include cannabis law.

What are the cannabis laws in your state?

The United States has a patchwork of state-determined marijuana laws. With five forms of legalization across the country — while still illegal at the federal level — USAFacts has a guide for understanding marijuana laws in each state.

Marijuana is fully legal in Washington, DC, plus states like Alaska, California, Michigan, New Jersey, Oregon, and 11 others as of April 14.
Alabama passed a medicinal marijuana law in May. It will be the 16th state to allow for medicinal use only.
States legalizing marijuana conflict with federal laws. Under the Controlled Substances Act, federal law prohibits cannabis sale and use. Marijuana remains classified as a Schedule I drug with a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use.

Learn more, including the forms of marijuana legalization, plus cannabis laws where you live, in this report.

How the pandemic changed air travel

The number of people who passed through airport security in April 2020 was 96% lower than the same period a year before. Flight travel has started to rebound, though not to pre-pandemic levels.

USAFacts created this map from Transportation Security Administration checkpoint data at the country's 60 busiest airports. Click here to interact with it and track how passenger numbers have fluctuated from airports in Washington, DC to Chicago to San Francisco and dozens in between.

Rising vaccinations

So far, 371,520,975 doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been distributed nationally. Eighty percent — 300,268,730 doses — have been used.
Vermont has approximately 623,657 residents and, currently, the nation's highest vaccination rate at 57%. Mississippi has 2.9 million people and the lowest rate, at 27%.

For up-to-date statistics, visit the USAFacts vaccine tracker.

Firearm manufacturing in the US

Federally licensed firearms manufacturers must report the number of guns they produce each year to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. These reports can shed light on firearms manufacturing nationwide. See the data on how many guns are made in the United States in this report.

There are 15,264 federally licensed firearms manufacturers as of January 2021.

Licensed US firearms manufacturers produced 7 million pistols, revolvers, rifles, shotguns, and similar firearms in 2019, down 39% from a high in 2016.
Most US-produced firearms are pistols or rifles. In 2019, manufacturers produced 3 million pistols and nearly 2 million rifles.
Gun parts and firearms created by unlicensed manufacturers for personal use, sometimes called "ghost guns," aren't required to provide serial identification numbers. Therefore, there is no reliable data on ghost guns.

See more metrics about rifles, pistols, revolvers, and shotguns in 2019 state by state.

One last fact

The US approved foreign aid equivalent to $68.6 billion in current dollars in 1949. Most went to Western European countries as part of the Marshall Plan after World War II. Here are the top 10 recipients of US foreign assistance from 1949 to 2019, adjusted for inflation.

Smart Cities 4.0 Webinar: SMART AND SUSTAINABLE > How Leading Cities Are Achieving Economic, Social and Environmental Sustainability Goals

The latest happenings:

Webinar: Smart and Sustainable: How Leading Cities Are Achieving Economic, Social and Environmental Sustainability Goals

To succeed in the post-COVID world, urban leaders need access to evidence-based analysis showing the innovative technologies, solutions, and business models that will work best, particularly when the next disruption hits.

A landmark research initiative covering 167 Cities from 82 Countries aims to provide city decision-makers with an evidence-based roadmap. It has explored how these cities with diverse populations and economies use smart innovation and public-private partnerships to drive results.

Join us at the webinar Smart and Sustainable: How Leading Cities Are Achieving Economic, Social and Environmental Sustainability Goals and hear from a panel of experts the key takeaways from this research and what the biggest implications and opportunities for cities around the world.

Date: June 9; 11 AM-12 PM EDT/ 3 PM-4PM UTC

REGISTER FOR FREE TODAY

What you will learn:

What are the key technologies that cities are planning to adopt over the next three years and why?
How can you help your city achieve a Smart Cities 4.0 rating and what does that mean?
Who is leading in smart cities innovation and what can you learn from them?
How is technology enabling the emergence of Smart Cities 4.0?
What are the key technological initiatives taken by cities towards UN’s Sustainable Development Goals
How are cities harnessing digital transformation solutions to drive increased RoIs in urban domains

Meet the experts:

Kasirajan Mahalingam, Industry Manager – AEC & Digital Cities, Geospatial World
Lou Celi, Chief Executive and Founder, ESI ThoughtLab
Jeremy Goldberg, Worldwide Public Sector Director of Critical Infrastructure, Microsoft
Thomas Coleman, Vice President and Director of Technology Integration and Planning, WSP
Irma Alii, Product Engineer - OpenCities Planner, Bentley Systems

The webinar is free to attend. Click on the button below for more info and to save your seat.

ADD TO CALENDAR

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India

Covering All Things Andy: Last Week's Week In Review Newsletter: The Biggs Idea

Oooops! Almost forgot to upload

The Week in Review

Happy Friday!

The House was in recess this week, so I spent time back in the Fifth District meeting with constituents and community leaders. The message from the district is consistent -- businesses are facing labor shortages, people fear rising inflation, and they’re ready for the nation to be fully reopened. There is a lot at stake in our nation right now. I will continue to fight against bloated government and bureaucracy to protect your liberties. Check out my newsletter below to see what I have been working on.

ICYMI: Letter to CDC Director Walensky
I sent a letter to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), asking if Speaker Pelosi consulted with the CDC before extending COVID-19 protocols on the House floor. The CDC announced that fully vaccinated individuals can participate in indoor and outdoor activities without wearing masks or social distancing. However, rather than follow the science, Speaker Pelosi has decided to engage in political theater. Click below to read my letter:

Memorial Day

On Memorial Day, I visited the Mariposa Gardens Memorial Park for a ceremony honoring our fallen soldiers. These brave men and women made the ultimate sacrifice while serving our nation so that we may know peace. It was my honor to participate in the ceremony which served as a sacred reminder of the cost of freedom. We must remember this sacrifice, not just on Memorial Day, but everyday.

Fox Interview with Dan Bongino

I recently sat down with Dan Bongino on Fox News to discuss the escalating border crisis. Despite the silence from the Biden administration, the crisis continues to worsen due to the President's reckless policy decisions. Click on the photo below to watch my interview:

Letter to Senate Leaders Opposing Biden's DHS Nominees

As the Co-Chairs of the Border Security Caucus, Congressman Brian Babin (TX-36) and I led a letter to Senate Majority Leader Schumer and Minority Leader McConnell opposing President Biden's nominees to lead USCIS, CBP, and ICE. Biden’s nominees are unfit to lead critical departments within DHS and they pose a risk to our national security. For this reason, we called on Senate leadership to reject these nominees and stand up for enforcing our immigration laws. Click on the photo below to read about the letter:

Business Visits with Queen Creek Chamber of Commerce

Last week, I joined with the Queen Creek Chamber of Commerce to visit KieTek International and Complete Fire Protection. Like many companies, they are facing labor shortages and production challenges that affect their ability to do business. Many of these challenges could be remedied in Congress if my Democrat colleagues would consider policies that get Americans back to work and give businesses the opportunity to prosper. I look forward to working with my colleagues to restore the American economy. See photos below: