New urban design for southeast Mesa
August 1, 2008The Arizona Republic
Gary Nelson
Southeast Mesa is about to become a giant laboratory for a brand-new way of living in the American desert.
The Planning and Zoning Board this week was scheduled to get its first look at the concept being pitched by Scottsdale-based DMB Associates for developing 5 square miles now occupied by the General Motors Desert Proving Ground.
The meeting was only a hearing and no decisions were to be made. But it was the board's first look at a 70-page "vision book" describing how DMB sees its development unfolding over the next four decades.
The Mesa Republic got an exclusive preview of the presentation early this week. Here are some highlights:
WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA?
DMB calls its concept "21st Century Desert Urbanism."
"The challenge is to pair living well in the desert with an urban context," said Grady Gammage Jr., a Valley zoning lawyer who is working with DMB on the project.
While the Valley is famous for low-density desert living, Gammage said, it has little experience with creating urban centers.
Such a center is likely on DMB's land, Valley planners say, because of its proximity to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, which is expected to boom in coming decades as a passenger and cargo terminal.
SO WHERE DO YOU START?
"You can't just decide you want a bunch of jobs," Gammage said - an obvious reference to Mesa's oft-expressed goal of turning Gateway into an employment center. "And you can't just lay out a bunch of land and say this is where the jobs go. You have to do what is necessary to support the kind of jobs you want to get."
Early on, Gammage said, that means building a big-time resort and upscale golf courses to attract executives.
It also means creating environments for "knowledge workers," the brainy sorts who nail high-wage jobs and want cool places to spend their money.
AND YOU DO THAT HOW?
This is where DMB's plans stretch the limits of past Mesa zoning policy, which always has focused on specific land uses for specific parcels.
DMB and Pacific Proving LLC, which owns the southern part of the GM property, want Mesa to give the land a new designation called mixed-use community.
It would divide the land into several broad categories defined more by density and building style than by how the buildings are actually used. Thus, you could have a convenience store right next to an urban loft, with the buildings actually touching each other.
"Rather than drawing absolute hard lines on a map and saying this is what can go here, nothing else, you make a big-picture policy decision about, generally speaking, what goes in various areas," Gammage said. "But you allow significant adaptability as to what those uses can change into over time in response to the market."
MUST I LIVE BY A FACTORY?
No. DMB is trying to make its neighborhoods as attractive as possible.
"The intent is to create a different kind and character of neighborhood," Gammage said.
That will be done by dividing the land into smaller blocks with more and smaller streets designed to attract pedestrians.
"You do that by creating streets that have more shade, that have sidewalks pulled away from the curb so you don't feel like you're walking in the middle of six lanes of traffic," Gammage said.
DMB also expects a vast array of housing styles, from urban high-rises to luxurious executive homes, with single-family homes on smaller lots, lofts, condos and apartments.
What you won't see is a conscious effort to build the cheapest homes possible.
"You can't have a community that has this level of amenities and thoughtfulness about development and come in at a low price," Gammage said.
WHAT OF THE ENVIRONMENT?
DMB thinks its project is just what Arizona needs as energy prices soar and concerns grow about overall sustainability.
For one thing, the street grid will run diagonally southwest-to-northeast at a 22-degree angle to maximize solar exposure and enhance views of the Superstitions.
Numerous other steps will be taken to conserve resources, especially water.
Karrin Kunasek Taylor, a DMB vice president, said soaring fuel prices actually favor what the company is doing.
"If there's a silver lining in expensive fuel prices, it's that people are forced to think about the new paradigm in the Southwest, where we have for many, many years had the luxury of driving 20, 30 miles to work. We really don't have that any more," she said.
"We're setting up a platform that helps people respond to that paradigm shift."
WHEN DOES IT HAPPEN?
Over several decades, to be honest. But big stuff is expected soon.
By Oct. 6, the City Council is expected to approve DMB's and Pacific Proving's requests for annexation, general plan amendments and zoning.
There also will be a development agreement between DMB and the city outlining responsibilities as to infrastructure, public services and other issues.
DMB also has been working on deals to kick-start its development, possibly with big-time hospitality firms. While major announcements on that front had been expected this summer, several sources have told The Republic the news now is more likely to break this fall.
As for housing, DMB Vice President John Bradley said current market conditions suggest nothing is likely until 2012.
And the big high-rise office buildings? Those would come over time.
"Don't expect five 20-story buildings all to sprout up at once," Gammage said. "It doesn't happen that way."
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"I do not typically support projects and struggle with projects that include any sort of incentive package, but in this case I see how this project actually creates more revenue instead of moving it from one place to another."
Senator Russell Pearce