6
NEWS
BLIGHT
THE SUNDAY EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE | NOVEMBER 20, 2016
from page 4
Mall, as well as the building formerly occupied by Dick’s and Best Buy. Verde Fiesta previously announced it would convert the Macy’s store to office space. But the rest of the mall is in deep trouble, Jackson said. “Fiesta Mall has been in decline for many years now,” he said. With occupancy hovering in the low 20 percent range, “There is a real possibility that the mall might actually go dark.” He hopes for better things. “It’s easy,” Jackson told the City Council in September, “to visualize 900,000 square feet of space that’s been totally rebranded and remodeled that would house multiple uses of retail and office occupants that would give new life and new meaning to that location.” But, he said, “it’s going to take an enormous amount of money to do that.” Vice Mayor Dennis Kavanaugh told The Tribune that Fiesta Mall’s situation is typical of many shopping areas built in the latter 20th century. Jackson’s company owns part of the property, Sears and Dillard’s own their own buildings, and another company owns both the interior portions of the mall and several restaurant pads along Alma School Road.
(Tribune File Photo)
Back in its heyday, Fiesta Mall would attract shoppers and others to special events, like this celebration of the Virgin of Guadalupe feast day.
Multiple ownership makes it difficult to coordinate redevelopment efforts. Kavanaugh said Jackson’s company is trying to buy other parts of the mall, with a dramatic overhaul in mind. Kavanaugh said public reaction at two open houses sponsored by the city to discuss the redevelopment plans has been overwhelmingly positive. Tax breaks would be one way to give
property owners the financial leeway to make changes. One tool allowed by state law in redevelopment zones is called GPLET. That stands for government property lease excise tax. In a nutshell, it allows a government to assume title to a property and lease it back to the owner. Property taxes could be abated for up to eight years, allowing the owner to pay excise
taxes at a far lower rate. Kavanaugh said the city does not contemplate using eminent domain to acquire blighted properties. “You’re dealing with a willing property owner that wants to develop or redevelop a site,” he said. Aylett said Tempe provided a great model for such a redevelopment zone along a formerly desolate stretch next to Tempe Town Lake. “Now, it’s a very sophisticated multiuse development,” he said. Mesa is not expecting immediate results along Country Club and in the Fiesta District. After approving the redevelopment area, it must, according to state law, spend the next year crafting a redevelopment plan that will need council approval. Only then can the tax breaks be offered. The areas south of downtown are not the only ones where Mesa wants to push redevelopment. Bill Jabjiniak, the city’s economic development director, said similar redevelopment zones are being considered along the light-rail corridor west of downtown to the Tempe border, and east of downtown to Gilbert Road. Those areas each would be a mile wide, from University Drive to Broadway Road.
Fiesta Village – ‘the worst of the worst’ BY GARY NELSON Tribune Contributing Writer
W
hen the Mesa City Council was discussing how to redevelop business areas south and west of downtown this past September, Councilman Dave Richins pointed a figurative finger at Fiesta Village. The fenced-off shopping and retail complex at Alma School Road and Southern Avenue, Richins said, is “the worst of the worst” when it comes to blight in Mesa. Few East Valley residents would disagree. Back in the go-go 1980s and ’90s, Fiesta Village was one of the hottest corners in the region. Costumed waiters entertained diners at Bobby McGee’s restaurant, and other eateries filled appetites as well. A popular theater showed first-run movies. Every storefront was occupied. Like many strip centers that failed to keep up with the times, however, Fiesta Village began losing customers about 20 years ago. Now, the empty shops and
disintegrating restaurants molder behind chain-link fences. The only visitors, it would seem, are city code-compliance officers who have filed numerous complaints against the property over the past decade. The owner, Phoenix-based W.M. Grace Co., has complied with clean-up orders, but Mesa officials say the company has been mum about whatever plans it might have for the property. “I think John Giles is the third mayor to not have his phone calls returned,” Vice Mayor Dennis Kavanaugh said. Kavanaugh said Fiesta Village and Fiesta Mall “are the two highest-profile properties” in the study area that has now become the Southwest Redevelopment Area. If things go as planned, property owners in the area will be able to use tax breaks to reinvigorate their parcels. About a decade ago, there were preliminary plans to build a Lowes home improvement store on the Grace property. When that didn’t pan out, no further proposals emerged. Kavanaugh said redeveloping strip malls in the Fiesta District is possible,
(Tribune file photo)
The fenced-off Fiesta Village shopping and retail complex at Alma School Road and Southern Avenue is “the worst of the worst” when it comes to blight in Mesa, said Councilman Dave Richins.
even without the special tax breaks Mesa hopes to offer in the near future. He cited the former Poca Fiesta center, across Alma School Road from Fiesta Village, which likewise fell on hard times as shoppers’ tastes changed. Poca Fiesta, now known as Fiesta Commons, underwent a facelift and now hosts several thriving stores and restaurants. A Salad and Go restaurant is under construction in the complex, and Kavanaugh said a
new taco shop also is in the works. “Those are people who know what they’re doing,” he said. Kavanaugh said when and if Fiesta Village is redeveloped, the city will not be satisfied with same old, same old. “Apartments there, unless they’re really vertical—the city is not interested in having another two- or three-story apartment” in a part of town already saturated with such complexes, he said.