Here and Now

Death of a Suburb
"It's not economically sustainable to continue the infrastructure investments of the past. The times are long gone that highways and master-planned developments can be financed, publicly or privately"(1)

In Mesa, a city more populous than Atlanta, GA and the nation’s largest bedroom community, growth has been focused exclusively within it’s expanding far eastern suburbs for nearly three straight decades. This has left the West Mesa and Mesa Grande areas at somewhat of a loss- poorly managed pockets of crime exist, and our arterial roads suffer from differing levels of deterioration. Nevertheless, our neighborhoods remain intact.


Smart Growth
As valley commuters increasingly face rising fuel prices and extended commute times, interest will naturally shift towards more centralized locations.

For these reasons, Infill and Transit oriented development have emerged as pivotal issues to communities like West Mesa.

This has generated renewed interest in West Mesa- and renewal has in fact begun. Nurturing healthier attitudes towards growth and improvement, and providing a positive link to local Municipal government is the West Mesa Community Development Corporation.
http://www.westmesacdc.org/

Communication and planning is crucial, but investment is where the changes become more tangible: between private and municipal interests, it is presently estimated that by 2010, there will have been well over a Billion dollars of recent capital investments made within West Mesa- beginning in 2004 with the 100 million dollar Mesa center for the Contemporary and Performing Arts, and the renovation of the Mesa Town Center.

Here are some of the projects both scheduled and presently underway for Mesa Grande and the greater area of West Mesa:



Valley Metro Light Rail (Valleywide)
The first phase of a valley wide transportation project connecting west valley cities to Phoenix, Tempe, and Mesa, will terminate in West Mesa (3 miles). Construction of a new Park-n-Ride facility near Main & Sycamore for Mesa commuters is complete, and the light rail will begin operation by the end of 2008.



MARC Center ( 1/4 mile)
A recently completed 5.2 million dollar addition to the Dustin D Wofswinkle facility in the 900 block of N. Country Club Drive, serves the physically disabled and brings professionals into the area that support West Mesa small businesses.

Banner Mesa Health Administration Building (1/4 mile)
A recent 40 million dollar renovation at the corner of Brown Rd. & Country Club Dr ( 1/4 mile), preserves a fourty year old medical campus and when finished will employ nearly 1,000 professionals in medical technology and training. The facility is slated to become a super regional training facility for Banner Health in Arizona.
Read Banner Health's Press Release
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/107798


Fiesta District; The Fiesta Mall Super Regional Retail Area (4 miles)
Entire renovation of the Fiesta Mall structure.
A $305 million dollar 6 story expansion, and 5 million dollar plaza improvements at Banner Desert Medical Center.
An approved 45 million dollar improvement plan for the Mesa Community College Southern & Dobson Campus.
A master planned pedestrian friendly walking zone that will connect the more than two miles of retail, commercial,
and residential structures.
Entire Project budgetted at $800 million.

East Valley Institute of Technology (3 miles)
Addition of a 70,000 sq ft Health Sciences facility on W Main St, west of Alma School (3 miles).

Mekong Plaza
The construction of a 15 million dollar retail facility on the site of an old Target store.
100,000 sq ft indoor shopping plaza that features Asian restaurants and shops, and markets.
AZ Business Gazettel feature article

Chester’s Harley Davidson
Recently purchasing a 24 acre parcel of land just to the south of their existing dealership, they are underway to complete asprawling new addition that will include innovative features like a Harley Davidson cafe and entertainment venue forcustomers, and additional parking.
South Country Club Dr. near 8th ave (3.5 miles).

Villages at Country Club (3 miles)
Del Mar Communities has completed the first phase of a new 30 acre gated Townhome Lifestyle community within what was once a trailer park near Southern & Country Club.
http://www.delmarcommunities.com/models-open.html