Mesa moving again to turn Site 17 into a 'gold star' development after 20 years a dirt lot
More than 20 years ago, Mesa razed homes on a 25-acre parcel of land just north of its downtown because at the time the city said it was for development. Instead, it sat untouched, an eyesore, an embarrassing symbol of failed planning and a reminder of a painful episode in the city's recent history.
But all that could change soon, following the presentation last week to the City Council of new development plans for so-called Site 17. City leaders favored a conceptual plan for 1,000 townhomes and apartments, plus ample commercial space in a project that would promote walkability and discourage car use.
In the 1990s, a largely Hispanic neighborhood was bulldozed to make way for an entertainment district that never came. Instead, it became one of Mesa's worst eyesores right in the heart of the city.
Throughout the years, the city asked residents what they wanted for the site. Many called for affordable housing in the area. Historically that area has been made of up working-class people of color.
Mesa's latest vision is to create an urban transit-oriented neighborhood to be the north entrance of its downtown. Mesa city leaders see it as an opportunity to showcase and anchor a revitalized city core. Some see it as a chance to "make amends" for the past, as Councilmember Jenn Duff, who represents the area, told the Arizona Republic in an interview last year.
That August, it seemed like the city had finally found a developer to create the vision Mesa leaders were seeking. But that didn’t happen. Not for the first time, plans fell through.
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Last year, the city sent out another call to developers to submit proposals on how to transform the dirt lot on the southwest corner of Mesa and University drives known as Site 17 or Transform 17. In the '90s, the land was given that generic name when there were several redevelopment sites downtown.
Staff came back with two plans to present during a city council workshop meeting on Thursday. One was from the investment firm CaliberCos, which has 10 properties in downtown Mesa that it's seeking to redevelop. That includes ZenCity, a modular stacked apartment project that broke ground in July.
The second plan came from the developer Culdesac, known for creating a car-free apartment development in Tempe.
After debating which of the two plans should move forward, Duff urged the council to give staff direction on moving forward instead of kicking the can down the road again.
“It is a rare day that someone doesn't come to me and say, ‘Why aren’t we moving forward?’” Duff said at the meeting.
She also said she worried that the area could lose its momentum if the council continued to stretch out discussions.
Culdesac had the majority of support from the council and was ultimately chosen for staff to start drafting an agreement.
“It would be a gold star on Mesa to have a Culdesac here,” Duff said.
Here’s what Culdesac is proposing
Instead of a car-free development like the one in Tempe, the city would get a “Mesa-fied” with a “car-light” concept.
The development would be built out over 10 years in three phases with the southern edge of the land to be built out first.
Early plans call for:
1,000 residential units on 700,000 square feet, including townhomes and midrises apartments between two to five-story buildings.
25,000 to 50,000 square feet for commercial and retail.
25,000 to 50,000 square feet for residential amenities.
30% to 50% open and green space.
800 parking spaces.
Phase one on the south edge would have an area for food trucks, a pop-up plaza and lower-density housing units to buffer the historic neighborhood.
The second phase is envisioned to have a grocery store, coffee shop and gym with middle-density residential housing.
Phase three will be the closest to University Drive and would include restaurants and coworking spaces as well as the midrise residential with the ground floor retail.
Part of Culdesac’s vision is making it a pedestrian and transit-focused community. To accomplish that, it’s likely the city will be obligated to improve the streetscapes to connect the development to Main Street and light rail. The nearest station is less than a mile away.
The next step will be drafting a memorandum of understanding between the city and Culdesac for council approval, which will be the guiding document for the development. That could come to the council as early as next year, Jeff McVay, the city’s downtown transformation manager told the Republic.
He also said that "the inclusion or exclusion of affordable housing will be negotiated through a development agreement."
The council signaled that there was more work to be done with Culdesac’s plans, including potentially increasing density, connecting to the city’s downtown Arizona State University partnership and creating a hub for startup businesses.
Site 17's history
Once picked as one of Arizona Republic’s readers' worst East Valley eyesores, Site 17 used to be home to a large Hispanic neighborhood.
In the 1990s, a Canadian developer proposed building a resort with 600 hotel rooms, an indoor water park and an ice arena. That pipedream led Mesa to spend $7 million of city funds to pursue the land and buy out residents' homes.
One owner held out and the city took the property using eminent domain, which gives a city the power to acquire private land for public use for fair market value when an owner refuses to sell willingly.
By 2001, the developer backed out and over the next 20 years it sat untouched.
More: The long history of plans to revamp Site 17
For the following two decades, it's been a cycle of stopping and starting on the land in part because of the lack of a unified vision. The lack of redevelopment in downtown Mesa has also been key to why it struggled to gain interest. In 2018, the city hired a consultant to draft a conceptual master plan for developers.
Last year, the city and prior developer sought the opinions of residents living in the historic Black Washington-Escobedo Heritage Neighborhood, north of Site 17. One, Oscar Mencinas, advocated for affordable housing to be part of the overall plan.
It's one way the city can acknowledge the history of the displacement and disposition "that marked the beginning of what we now know as Site 17," Mencinas told the Republic.
There's also a fear that bringing in market-rate apartments could influence rental costs and price residents out. The area's ZIP code, 85201, has the second-highest poverty rate in Mesa, with nearly one in five people living beneath the poverty line, according to U.S. Census Bureau data.
"Is the aim to complement... and commune with those who already live here? Or is the aim to slowly and subtly or even inadvertently displace and replace those of us who call this place home," Mencinas asked.
While there is urgency on the council to move something forward after decades of inactivity, he wants there to be meaningful conversations with the community first.
"The urgency is no excuse for not listening to the community," he said. "And not frankly doing justice by this historical wrong that still has not been rectified in the eyes of a lot of us."
Reporter Maritza Dominguez covers Mesa and Gilbert and can be reached at maritza.dominguez@arizonarepublic.com or 480-271-0646. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter: @maritzacdom.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Culdesac courted to develop 25-acre dirt lot in downtown Mesa
