Preliminary planning is now underway on a project that will see the initial construction of some 140 townhomes on a 25-acre site in downtown Mesa.
The project, designed to revitalize what the Arizona Republic once called a “barren tract,” will see the building of homes of varying sizes and all priced at around $300,000.
Proposed by the Tempe-based real estate developer Culdesac, the project will go up on a site that has been vacant for the last two decades at the intersection of North Wilbur Street and E. 3rd Place.
That site, bordered by some residential and commercial structures in the distance, has long challenged city officials who have wanted to see something built in an area where mostly middle-income homes, as well as commercial structures, were first purchased by Mesa at a total cost of $6 million in the 1980s, before being demolished in the 1990s.
The clearing of the land occurred to make way for a planned resort with a waterpark that never became reality. In the years since, Mesa has been trying to fashion a new future for what is known as Site 17, holding public input meetings and eventually issuing a Request for Proposals to develop the land.
Culdesac was one of the companies responding, presenting a vision for a neighborhood without motorized vehicles and an emphasis on walking and biking trails, green space, and courtyards. Eventually the company, in what will be a three-phase project, hopes to build as many as 1,000 residential units at Site 17, along with 50,000 square feet of retail space.
The company is most known for its development of what is called Culdesac Tempe, a 16-acre property development in Tempe that sees the building of residential, restaurant, and retail space. That community, like the one planned for Mesa, is also car-free, with an emphasis on courtyards and gardens.
The city expects to enter into an official purchase and development agreement with Culdesac sometime in April or May.
March 20, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
