Yay, TOD arrives in Mesa.
Mesa project plans spurred by light rail
Jim Walsh
The Arizona Republic
Apr. 18, 2007 12:00 AM
MESA - The city's past and future are merging in the first development planned to take advantage of Metro light-rail service.
West Main Station Village features a stucco and tile ramada similar to one used by Mesa's first train station when it opened in 1930, connecting Mesa to Phoenix by rail. It proposes to mix townhouses with shops on the site of a boat dealership moving to Bass Pro Shops.
"We're looking at it as definitely taking advantage of the light rail," architect Fred Woods said. "If the light rail wasn't there, we probably wouldn't be doing the project."
The project goes before the Mesa Planning and Zoning Board on Thursday for approval. Planners are recommending the board support a zoning change to allow higher density residential development. The City Council has final authority to grant zoning.
Tanya Collins, co-chairwoman of the Mesa Grande Community Alliance, said she hopes West Main Station Village will be successful, revitalizing west Mesa through light-rail service and its relatively close proximity to Tempe and Phoenix.
"I see it as a possible catalyst for projects similar to this," Collins said. "I think this is the first of many projects to employ a new design attitude. This is a great opportunity for developers to tag onto that."
The project features 56 townhomes and 13 shops at 1350 W. Main St., the current home of Tracker Marine and the former home of Randall's AMC, an automobile dealership for the defunct American Motors Corp. Tracker Marine is moving to Bass Pro Shops, scheduled to open sometime during the first week of June.
The property's owner is Dan Randall of Mulberry Business Park LLC. Woods said Randall's family has roots in Mesa dating to the 1940s and he wants to do something good for the community, in addition to making a good business decision.
"The easy thing would be just to get something else in there. He's definitely taking a risk, but he feels it should be a positive," Woods said of Randall. "We may be the first guinea pig out there."
The city is in the process of developing the Mesa Grande Area Plan to guide redevelopment along its 1-mile light-rail corridor, which could be lengthened to the east. The 20-mile rail line is scheduled open in December 2008 and end at Sycamore and Main Street, near the East Valley Institute of Technology.
The original Mesa rail depot was at Third Avenue and Robson Street, but it burned down in the 1980s, Woods said. The ramada duplicated by West Main Station Village was used by passengers as they waited for trains.