- Joined
- May 13, 2002
- Posts
- 9,773
- Reaction score
- 5
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/1010mesamall10.html
Mesa gets behind mall at Loop 202
Would imitate Desert Ridge Marketplace
Adam Klawonn
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 10, 2003 12:00 AM
Mesa distanced itself from Tempe this week in the race for the next shopping mecca as residents threw their support behind a project that could break ground next summer.
It was the first public glimpse for the 220-acre Riverview at Dobson project proposed for Dobson Road and Loop 202, just east of the freeway intersection with Loop 101.
It would be a near-carbon copy of north Phoenix's Desert Ridge Marketplace on Loop 101: Outdoor shopping and entertainment. Water features. Shaded walkways. An urban village feel.
Mesa is in a real race with Tempe to put a shopping complex at the intersection of Loops 101 and 202, said Mesa attorney David Udall, spokesman for the Hurley family, which owns the land.
Both cities are in talks with the same chain stores. There are millions of sales tax dollars at stake, and whoever turns dirt first "will end the race," he said.
Fire up the bulldozers, says Charmaine McCleve, who voted no on last year's proposal to put the Arizona Cardinals football stadium on the land.
"I say we jump on it as fast as we can and get in the ground," she said. "Our land is ready to go."
Plans call for a four-phase project, beginning with a $50 million Phase I on 60 acres along Dobson Road's west side. It features two anchor stores with other large-scale retailers backed up against the freeway, independently owned shops along Dobson Road and blue-colored concrete and paving for a "Riverview" theme.
Under the proposal, baseball fields near Riverview Park would be removed and rebuilt near the southeast corner of the Loop 101-Loop 202 intersection. The Riverview public golf course remains intact, and a second park would be built on the project's east end along Alma School Road.
Developers estimate the first phase could create up to 1,500 jobs and generate $2.7 million in annual sales tax revenues for the city. About 43 percent of Mesa's revenues come from sales taxes.
If all four phases are completed, the project would create 5,000 jobs and pump up to $250 million into city coffers over the next 30 years, officials predict.
"Sounds good to me," said Jill Coll, 32, an attorney at the Court of Appeals who lives nearby. "I like the idea of spending my tax money in Mesa. As it is, we're driving to Scottsdale and Chandler for restaurants and shopping."
The East Valley race is keeping New York-based developer Kimco and local DeRito Partners on an aggressive schedule. Plans will be filed with the city by next week, Udall said. Construction would begin in June 2004 with a grand opening in the first quarter of 2005.
The first phase would require a public hearing because developers will ask for a zoning change.
Although concerns about traffic and a nearby gravel pit operation were aired, the Code Compliance Division seemed generally supportive.
The neighborhood is ready for this, said Bob Meyers, 59, who has lived in the area since 1977. Residents want something to lift up a part of the city that City Hall has left behind for development out east, he said.
"If they can do what they're proposing, it's got to help the neighborhood," Meyers said.
Mesa gets behind mall at Loop 202
Would imitate Desert Ridge Marketplace
Adam Klawonn
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 10, 2003 12:00 AM
Mesa distanced itself from Tempe this week in the race for the next shopping mecca as residents threw their support behind a project that could break ground next summer.
It was the first public glimpse for the 220-acre Riverview at Dobson project proposed for Dobson Road and Loop 202, just east of the freeway intersection with Loop 101.
It would be a near-carbon copy of north Phoenix's Desert Ridge Marketplace on Loop 101: Outdoor shopping and entertainment. Water features. Shaded walkways. An urban village feel.
Mesa is in a real race with Tempe to put a shopping complex at the intersection of Loops 101 and 202, said Mesa attorney David Udall, spokesman for the Hurley family, which owns the land.
Both cities are in talks with the same chain stores. There are millions of sales tax dollars at stake, and whoever turns dirt first "will end the race," he said.
Fire up the bulldozers, says Charmaine McCleve, who voted no on last year's proposal to put the Arizona Cardinals football stadium on the land.
"I say we jump on it as fast as we can and get in the ground," she said. "Our land is ready to go."
Plans call for a four-phase project, beginning with a $50 million Phase I on 60 acres along Dobson Road's west side. It features two anchor stores with other large-scale retailers backed up against the freeway, independently owned shops along Dobson Road and blue-colored concrete and paving for a "Riverview" theme.
Under the proposal, baseball fields near Riverview Park would be removed and rebuilt near the southeast corner of the Loop 101-Loop 202 intersection. The Riverview public golf course remains intact, and a second park would be built on the project's east end along Alma School Road.
Developers estimate the first phase could create up to 1,500 jobs and generate $2.7 million in annual sales tax revenues for the city. About 43 percent of Mesa's revenues come from sales taxes.
If all four phases are completed, the project would create 5,000 jobs and pump up to $250 million into city coffers over the next 30 years, officials predict.
"Sounds good to me," said Jill Coll, 32, an attorney at the Court of Appeals who lives nearby. "I like the idea of spending my tax money in Mesa. As it is, we're driving to Scottsdale and Chandler for restaurants and shopping."
The East Valley race is keeping New York-based developer Kimco and local DeRito Partners on an aggressive schedule. Plans will be filed with the city by next week, Udall said. Construction would begin in June 2004 with a grand opening in the first quarter of 2005.
The first phase would require a public hearing because developers will ask for a zoning change.
Although concerns about traffic and a nearby gravel pit operation were aired, the Code Compliance Division seemed generally supportive.
The neighborhood is ready for this, said Bob Meyers, 59, who has lived in the area since 1977. Residents want something to lift up a part of the city that City Hall has left behind for development out east, he said.
"If they can do what they're proposing, it's got to help the neighborhood," Meyers said.
