by bryan | May 2, 2012 | light rail expansion
courtesy of Gary Nelson – May. 2, 2012 The Republic | azcentral.com The first inklings of light-rail construction will appear along Main Street this month. Traffic restrictions can be expected as workers prepare to move utility lines between Sycamore Street and Mesa Drive. Work this month will include verifying the location and depth of underground utilities that need to be moved, and some surveying. The first phase of actual construction, moving the utility lines, is expected to begin in June, after a ceremonial groundbreaking on May 30. The approximately $200 million, 3.1-mile extension is being funded by federal grants and a county transportation sales tax that voters approved in 2004. It is expected to begin carrying passengers in late 2015, a key element in Mesa’s ambitious efforts to transform its downtown into a multifaceted urban community. Early planning already is under way to run the tracks another 2 miles east, to Gilbert Road, but money for that hasn’t been allocated and there is no projected timeline. Metro light rail has appointed Lisa Procknow as community outreach coordinator for the Mesa project. She’s available at 602-495-8213, 623-533-1352 or lprocknow@metrolightrail.org. ...
by bryan | Mar 25, 2012 | Uncategorized
courtesy of Emily Gersema – Mar. 23, 2012 The Republic Ashley Hardee, 29, prides herself on keeping a tight rein on her energy usage. She lives and works in downtown Phoenix, doesn’t use much gas and now she’s making sure every potential leak in her house is either stemmed or stifled to reduce her utility bills and energy waste. This week, she participated in a well-touted but little-known program, Energize Phoenix, which aims to help homeowners and businesses within a 10-mile area of central and downtown Phoenix improve their homes’ energy efficiency and reduce electricity usage. Her condo’s air-conditioning and heating system seemed efficient, “but it’s really my back bedroom that gets hot,” she told David Byrnes, an environmental engineer with Phoenix-based Green Integrated Design, who on Monday checked the windows and doors in her condo for air leaks. Although Hardee paid $99 for the assessment by Byrnes, she is getting a $99 rebate from the Energize Phoenix program. Managed by the city, Arizona Public Service and Arizona State University, Energize Phoenix has not been as electrifying for residents as it has been for businesses despite the potential benefits of reduced energy usage and lower utility bills. Phoenix has spent an estimated $9.1 million of the $25 million in grant funds it received for the program in April 2010, according to a federal website, www.recovery.gov, that tracks spending of stimulus funds. Most of the grant money spent in Phoenix has benefited businesses in the special corridor. Homeowners have been a more difficult target, said a Phoenix-area marketing agency, DRA Communications, which was hired to aid the city with marketing...
by bryan | Jan 19, 2012 | News & Information, Real Estate Development, Transit Oriented Development
by Jim Walsh – Jan. 20, 2011 Courtesy of The Arizona Republic Editor’s Note: Light Rail Connect promotes Live, Work and Play in the light rail corridor. Transit Oriented Development will play an important role in the light rail corridor. A planned investment fund may help create a taste of urban living similar to that of Boston or New York without leaving the Arizona sunshine. The $30 million Sustainable Communities Development Fund would create incentives to build affordable housing along the Metro light-rail line in Mesa, Tempe and Phoenix. Projects funded by the incentives would feature transportation-oriented development, a high-density concept that generally features retail and commercial development on the lower floors with residential units on the upper floors. “We want to work with our non-profit partners to create a pipeline of projects,” said Teresa Brice, a Mesa native and former mayoral candidate who is among the fund’s chief sponsors as executive director of the Local Initiatives Support Corp. “We call this inventing a Plan B for the Valley of Sun,” she said, offering residents an alternative to the urban sprawl that has contributed to poor air quality and long commutes on jammed freeways. The fund would help Mesa capitalize on the extension of Metro’s light-rail line and potentially aid in redevelopment efforts near the city’s only station at Sycamore and Main Street. With the exception of Mekong Plaza, an Asian-themed shopping center that is barely visible to light-rail riders, redevelopment has lagged near the Mesa station, which still has several boarded-up buildings nearby. Mesa has only 1 mile of light rail, but a 3.1-mile extension is scheduled to open along Main Street...
by bryan | Jan 19, 2012 | light rail corridor, light rail expansion, News & Information
Gary Nelson – Dec. 6, 2011 Courtesy of The Republic | azcentral.com Editor’s Note: Light Rail Connect promotes Live, Work, Ride in the light rail corridor. Fortified by hot coffee and a $35 million federal grant, Metro Light Rail kicked off the next leg of construction Monday with a promise to open the downtown Mesa leg a year early. Monday’s event at the doorstep of the Mesa Arts Center served chiefly to unveil signs that will mark the 3-mile extension from Sycamore Street to east of Mesa Drive. Actual work in the form of utility relocation won’t begin until spring. But Steve Banta, CEO of Metro Light Rail, made news when he told the shivering crowd, “Our desire is to deliver the project a little bit early. We’d like to deliver it at the end of 2015.” That would be seven years after Mesa celebrated the opening of its busy Sycamore light-rail station on a December day that was even more blustery than the inhospitable weather that greeted Monday’s crowd. “We are here today to stake our claim on the extension of Mesa light rail down to the center city,” Banta said. The extension, he said, “is progressing very well” with local funding in hand and last month’s congressional approval for about half of what the federal government is expected to kick in. Banta said Metro continues to work with merchants along the extension to help their businesses survive construction. “We will work hand in hand with them to minimize that impact,” he said. Mike James, Mesa’s transit director, said there will be traffic disruptions when crews begin infrastructure work along the...
by bryan | Nov 8, 2011 | Restaurant
New restaurant provides new location for lunch Wynder’s Dogs is a new restaurant and fresh face to the Central Ave and Camelback neighborhood in uptown Phoenix. Right across from the Landmark Condos. Never heard of them, you say? Well, why not change that this week! Opened just this September, the restaurant features a hot dog style I had never seen before- a hot dog that is cut like a slinky. Besides looking very different and long, it gives a better flavor and provides more surface area to pile all the toppings and condiments on. Yummy! Located at 4727 N Central Avenue just a few blocks south of Camelback, it is as you would expect. Simple but clean, friendly owners and fast service. You can find them at www.wynderdogs.com as well as Facebook. The owners are locals…Mark and Phelisha, a partnership that is pushing to succeed. Mark has worked in the catering business for many years and brings the kitchen experience, while Phelisha attended ASU and graduated with a B.S. in Business to help with of course, the business end! Phelisha explained that her family operated a hot dog business for many years in Phoenix, and she grew up working and learning the business. The menu includes the standard delicious Wynder Dog, as well as ChedderWynder, Chili Wynder, and Chili/Cheese dogs. All dogs are made from vienna beef. Also on the menu are 100% Angus beef burgers, and for the lean non-beef food lovers, Turkey burgers. Maybe you just want something lite- then you can choose from a Chef Salad, Turkey Club, BLT. Hot temperature day? Stop in for a...
