For decades, a 25-acre lot has been sitting vacant on the outskirts of downtown Mesa, Arizona. Now the city-owned site could be revived with as many as 1,000 new homes.
Last week, the Mesa City Council heard an updated proposal from real estate developer and property manager Culdesac to buy the lot, known as Site 17. The group wants to turn the empty lot into a “car-lite hub with homeownership opportunities,” as well as retail and amenity spaces.
Culdesac has been working alongside city staff to reach a deal since October 2023. At last week’s meeting, Mayor Mark Freeman and councilmembers finally gave the group the green light to move forward with an agreement. That agreement is expected to be ready for council approval by this spring.
It’s just the latest update in what’s been a decades-long saga. The city took control of the land in the 1990s, buying up the homes that stood there through eminent domain. At the time, the land was eyed for a conference center and water park, but that deal fell through.
Since then, a slew of developers has proposed plans for the acreage, but nothing has come to fruition, in part because of the site’s location between downtown and a historic single-family neighborhood, according to city manager Chris Brady.
“We have gone through multiple rounds of trying to work with master planning and trying to find an opportunity to bring in developer’s proposals to develop this,” Brady said during the meeting. “We’ve come very close…but often we get to a point where the developer just can’t make it work.”
Culdesac did not respond to a request to comment.
There'd be at least 1,000 new housing units
If approved, the agreement calls for selling the lot to Culdesac in phases over a few years.
Phase one would see about 5.5 acres sold to the developer for the construction of two- and three-bedroom for-sale townhouses. There would also be a food truck program, pop-up plaza and mobility hub, according to the updated proposal.
Construction on those houses would have to commence within three years of the agreement being reached. Townhouses would be priced in the mid- to high-$300,000s, Ryan Johnson, CEO and cofounder of Culdesac, told the City Council.
“It is really a strong project,” Councilmember Jennifer Duff, the representative for the district where Site 17 is, said during the meeting. Duff noted that the response from her constituents “has been very positive.”
Future phases would introduce a greater variety of housing products, including studio and one-bedroom units available for rent. There would also be retail and amenities, including grocery stores, coffee shops and a gym.
By the end of development, Culdesac expects to have a full commercial suite on site, as well as midrise apartment complexes with floor retail and amenities. There could also be an opportunity to build housing for students at nearby Arizona State University.
All told, there'd be a minimum of 1,000 housing units, including at least 140 townhouses.
Duff said she sees the project as a catalyst for more development in the downtown Mesa area.
“That’s why we selected Culdesac for that part of our downtown,” she said during the meeting. “We need that vibe to be part of the whole entirety instead of just another apartment complex."
