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Posted Mar 30, 2022, 6:21 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2015
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https://www.eastvalleytribune.com/ne...f4795c45e.html
Quote:
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.
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 Manager Chris Brady told Council that the current plan is the third he’s seen during his tenure.
But 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.
At full build-out, Miravista and Gensler envision a residential-heavy mixed use project.
They are planning 800 to 850 market-rate residential units, of varying building styles, geared toward different income levels, including townhomes, apartment walk-ups and live/work spaces.
The concept also includes 200,000 square feet of office space, up to 30,000 square feet of community-oriented commercial and a multistory parking structure.
“It was really important for us to develop a true mixed-use project,” said Gensler Design Director Ben Ayers, who also serves on Mesa’s Planning and Zoning Board.
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.”
The first burst of planned construction would yield 375 multi-family units in four stories over a one-story “parking podium,” and a three-story walk-up apartment to screen the parking podium.
The initial phase also calls for 44 single-family townhomes, two to three stories in height, individually plated and metered for possible future “for sale” product.
Vice Mayor Jen Duff told planners that including units for sale is important.
“A lot of people are asking for ‘sale’ units in the area. We don’t have anything other than our historic neighborhoods,” Duff said.
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.
Councilman Kevin Thompson expressed some skepticism about the high ratio of residential to commercial, as well as the amount of office space included in the plan, noting that the pandemic has affected demand for this type of space.
He said that retail and entertainment were necessary to “balance” the number of units planned.
For some of his colleagues, a residential focus of the development was key to making an impact on downtown Mesa.
“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,” Brady said. “Downtowns, to be successful, need to have that residential vibe, that 24-hour vibe, not just during the workday.”
Giles put it more bluntly: “What downtown needs is people,” he said.
Throughout the session, council members and city staff noted that Mesa residents have a variety of ideas for the land.
“I see the Facebook posts and there’s not a consensus, there’s just not,” Councilwoman Julie Spilsbury said. “It’s a challenge and a struggle to try to make everyone happy and figure out what the best thing is for this site, and so I think this is a good stab at it.”
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 14. Miravista said notification letters went out to neighbors at the end of last week.
The one item neighbors agreed on in previous meetings, according to city staff, developers said they can’t promise.
“The only thing that we had true consensus on throughout all of our neighborhood (involvement) opportunities was a grocery store,” McVay said.
The developer said they carved out 12,000 square feet of commercial space in the plan that would be ideal for a grocer, but they couldn’t guarantee a grocery company would sign on.
“If the opportunity arrives, the team itself would love to have that,” Ayers said.
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.
“I have been sitting in this room talking about this piece of property since the 1990s,” Giles said. “I’m very anxious to see a shovel go in the ground.”
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