However it came to be known as The Mesa Verde Resort DebacleThis public statement made last year:
"The City of Mesa wishes to transform 27 acres of city-owned land at the SWC of University and Mesa Drive into 'a vibrant and cohesive urban mixed-use project' and is requesting a partner to help with that vision . . ."
NICE SPIN ON THAT LIP-SERVICE at the same time city officials were talking with Salt Lake City developers for years.
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Can city boondoggle be a downtown boon?
"Mesa City Council hopes this is the year to finally turn a downtown boondoggle into a boon for downtown. Council recently heard the latest development plan for 27 acres of city-owned land just north of Main Street near Phoenix Marriott Mesa that Mesa acquired through eminent domain, leveling 63 homes at a taxpayer cost of $6 million.
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INSERT: Streaming video upload of the actual City Council Study Session
INSERT: Excerpt from earlier post
WHAT HAPPENED?
". . . On May 6, the City of Mesa issued a Request for Qualifications for a developer to help redevelop the currently vacant Opportunity Zone site, also known as Transform 17 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
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If Mesa succeeds in bringing the long-dreamed redevelopment into reality with the city’s latest partner on the project, Miravista Holdings, it would make the third decade the charm for a prime piece of real estate that has long sat vacant.
The city started purchasing property at the southwest corner Mesa and University Drives in 1996 and eventually acquired homes through eminent domain in order to make way for a 12-story water-park resort proposed by a Canadian developer.
But the planned Mesa Verde water resort died after the developer failed to secure funding.
Since then, city planners have envisioned different types of projects for Site 17, as it’s been known, and hoped one developer after another would take up the mantle; but those deals all fell through. . .city planners are hoping 2022 is the year an agreement with a developer leads to shovels in the ground.
> Last year, the city signed a nine-month “exclusive dealings agreement” with Miravista Holdings to create a master plan for the parcel, which commands a critical location that is in walking distance from downtown attractions, light rail and the Arizona State University campus.
> Officials appeared cautiously optimistic that the multi-phase, mixed use development concocted by Miravista and architectural firm Gensler will come to fruition and keep the redevelopment project only on the drawing board for a fourth decade. . .
Downtown Transformation Manager Jeff McVay said the city has extended its memorandum of understanding with Miravista to continue working on the plan with the goal of signing a development agreement by Aug. 29.
. . .The plan is divided into eight sections that can be developed in any order after the initial phase.
“The remaining blocks have the flexibility to be developed in partnership with you as opportunities arise, as the market dictates,” Ayers said. “Really, the city has the opportunity to control that process for the most part.”
. . .If the city signs a deal with Miravista in August, the company would be required to purchase the first two blocks of land within a year of council approval and complete construction within two years of purchase. . .
TWO QUOTATIONS ARE INCLUDED:
City Manager Chris Brady “We’ve always thought of this site as a support and complement in strengthening downtown. The idea is we didn’t want this to compete with what’s already downtown, . .“Downtowns, to be successful, need to have that residential vibe, that 24-hour vibe, not just during the workday.”
Hizzoner the Mayor (Giles put it more bluntly): “What downtown needs is people,” . . .“I have been sitting in this room talking about this piece of property since the 1990s, . .I’m very anxious to see a shovel go in the ground.”
> Miravista plans two neighborhood information meetings next month to share details of the plan. It will hold an in-person meeting Thursday, April 7, and a virtual meeting Monday, April 4. Miravista said notification letters went out to neighbors at the end of last week.
. . Besides describing the master plan, McVay also sketched out the outlines of a development agreement with Miravista for council members.
> Miravista would have to follow timelines for getting the first phase done, and also set aside money for the city to do “restoration” if the project fails for some reason.
> The city, for its part, would sweeten the deal for Miravista by giving it the opportunity to significantly offset the cost of the land.
> The city would agree to reimburse Miravista up to 75% of the land purchase price for what appear to be modest public improvements in the master plan, such as a “linear park” along the southern edge of the property on 2nd Street, and “enhanced streetscape improvements” to Hibbert and 2nd Street.
The linear park would be the beginning of a “connected network of shaded space” through the development, Ayers said.
> The city would also agree to consider temporary tax waivers on certain development blocks within the master plan deemed to offer particular public benefits. The state allows cities to waive property taxes for up to eight years for developments located in a designated Central Business District that meet other specified criteria.
Council members appeared satisfied that Miravista’s plan has the potential to inject energy into downtown Mesa, but the optimism was tempered by caution, knowing how many false starts the site has seen. . ."
RELATED CONTENT ON THIS BLOG
11 May 2021
Holey Holdings! Sizzle or Fizzle
> Scott Smith, who served as Mesa’s mayor 2008-14, believed Site 17 eventually would find its own solution.
In a 2013 interview, Smith said the city – having already waited that long – was willing to wait a while longer.
“We’re going to let things happen organically,” Smith said.
He figured the arrival of light rail in downtown Mesa in 2015 would hasten the process, and suggested the acreage might become home to one or more of the colleges that had committed to building campuses in Mesa around that time.
That didn’t happen, either.
> > >
The current mayor, John Giles, adopted Smith’s approach to developing Site 17, referring to it in 2018 as a “long-term play” whose final outcome should be worth the wait. With the agreement approved on April 5, Giles and the rest of the council seem to believe that moment is at hand
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18 January 2019 and 18 November 2016
The Infamous Site 17: Downtown Mesa's Biggest Urban Eyesore/Downtown Development Wreck
Here's an excerpt from a post on this blog site two years ago:
18 November 2016
At tonight's Mesa City Council Study Session for Monday, Nov 21, 2016,one item stands out on the Final Agenda, but first some background to put things into perspective . . .
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It's the result of bad urban planning when city officials only listened to real estate developer speculation schemes that demolished more than 60 homes to destroy a neighborhood leaving 27 acres vacant, ugly and un-used and it's city-owned. City officials now own the damage done and have hired a group of consultants who tried to transform a part of downtown Gilbert's Heritage Area.
The history here on this infamous site - and all the problems - simply cannot be ignored now. . . Jeff McVay, the city's so-called "Director of Downtown Transformation" failed miserably two years wasting time-and-money on citizen input sessions that got nowhere.
Did the community already provide input on this site?
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BLOGGER NOTE: I only attended one of the workshops two years ago, observing the domination and control by the Mesa Grande/ANA (Action Neighborhood Alliance).
Likewise, once again, at the Steering Committee the same complaint was voiced for actions by the Mesa Grande/ANA (Action Neighborhood Alliance)
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Yes! There were two community meetings and a survey conducted in the summer of 2016. After those meetings, Mesa City Council asked that a consultant be hired to create conceptual master plans for the property with more community input. The consultant, Crandall Arambula, was hired in September 2018 and has received all of the input from 2016 for review.
This is their promise to fulfill the ____ contract:
“We will provide the Mesa community with maximum value for investment. We are passionate about assisting communities through our depth of experience and research, and we are committed to the long-term success of this project. The measure of that success will ultimately be the development of a vibrant community that is harmonious with greater Downtown Mesa. We look forward to working with you.”
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What makes your MesaZona blogger turn red is this statement just a few days ago made by Mesa Mayor John Giles:
"The city is not in the business of owning remnant, undeveloped pieces of properties, . . . "
WTF????
How wrong can Giles get spouting bullshit like that with blinders on when Site 17 has been an ugly eyesore for more than 30 years. He sees only what he wants to see and lacks any vision whatsoever unless it's fed to as bait.
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Here's a link to the workshop six weeks ago where attendees were told to only submit written comments: https://www.mesaaz.gov/about-us/city-projects/downtown-transformation/university-mesa
Slick-and-slippery: The Process
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Here's a Press Release just now from the City of Mesa Newsroom
Mon 20 Oct 2018
Community workshops for southwest corner of University Drive and Mesa Drive
The City of Mesa wants to hear your ideas about the southwest corner of University Drive and Mesa Drive. The community is invited to participate in two hands-on workshops to establish project goals and provide input in the creation of master plan concepts for the 27 acres of undeveloped land in Downtown Mesa. . .
Public Information and Communications
Contact: Kevin Christopher
Tel. 480-644-4699
kevin.christopher@mesaaz.gov
Scroll down this post to read the presser in its entirety
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Hold on just a minute! Didn't Jeff McVay, the Director of Downtown Transformation do this two years ago?
Link > https://mesazona.blogspot.com/2016/11/mesa-city-council-study-session-for.html#more
Known to the City as “Redevelopment Site 17,” the tract once contained 63 homes that the City condemned and purchased at a cost of $6 million. A group of Canadian developers planned to build Mesa Verde, an entertainment village featuring a time-share resort, water park and ice-skating rink.
After the City had already seized the homes, financing for the project fell through.[2] Now, 16 years later, the City is still considering possible redevelopment plans for the area.[3] . . . what's the current thinking and planning that's been put into an attempt to gather data from online surveys and two community meetings involving 1,873 people?
16-1223 Hear a presentation on the community and developer outreach efforts and provide direction on the future development of the approximately 25 acres of City-owned land located at the southwest corner of University and Mesa Drives.
Here's a link to the Presentation - it's 29 pages
: http://mesa.legistar.com/LegislationDetail.aspx?ID=2884066&GUID=43ABE4CD-209F-444D-A994-DEEBB3FFA60C
Jeffrey Robbins, CPM Management Asst. II
Lucia Lopez Marketing and Comm. Specialist II
