by bryan | Sep 27, 2013 | light rail corridor
[By Elisa Cordova Cronkite News ServiceMon Sep 23, 2013] Valley’s light-rail call boxes aimed to help youths in crisis Banished from home, Dion Austin, then 17, brushed his teeth at fast-food restaurants and slept in parks for three months before going to Avondale’s police station in hopes of starting a new life. Someone there referred him to Safe Place, a national youth-outreach program that connected him with a crisis center. Austin now lives in a group home and has been attending college and working full-time. “Because of Safe Place, I’m off the streets,” he said. Now those in Austin’s situation can get help from Safe Place by using an emergency call box at any of Valley Metro’s 28 light-rail stations. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton joined Austin and others Sept. 18 at a news conference announcing the partnership. It extends a network that already includes many convenience stores, banks and libraries. “In our city, in our Valley, there are no throwaway kids,” Stanton said at the Camelback and Central light-rail station. “We need to do everything we can to wrap our arms around our young people.” A national program operated in the Valley by the Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development, Safe Place provides immediate assistance to young people who go to places that are part of the program. Cynthia Schuler, CEO of the Tumbleweed Center, said 129 teens used Safe Place’s services last year, including those who faced family problems, were homeless or had run away from home. Adding Valley Metro to the program is a natural next step, she said. “Now that we have this site, we expect...
by bryan | Feb 9, 2013 | light rail apartments and rentals, light rail corridor, Real Estate Development
Courtesy of Gary Nelson The Republic | azcentral.com Feb 7, 2013 Sycamore station complex in works Mesa is on the verge of bagging its fourth new housing project with close proximity to light rail. Amcal Multi-Housing Inc. of Agoura Hills, Calif., is proposing a four-story, 82-unit apartment complex immediately adjacent to the Sycamore Street light-rail station. Like the three others, which broke ground last year, Sycamore Station Apartments would be financed by federal tax credits that are designed to encourage development of low-income housing. The tax breaks allow developers to charge lower rents and still make a profit. Amcal is applying to the Arizona Department of Housing, which issues the tax credits on a competitive basis and will decide this spring which projects to support. The department has focused in recent years on developments with access to public transit. That criterion resulted last year in a mother lode of projects for Mesa, which had gone for years without seeing much interest in tax-credit housing. The three projects under way will: Create 81 units of low-income senior housing near Center Street and First Avenue. It is the first privately financed major construction in downtown in a quarter of a century. Replace the vacant Escobedo Apartments on the north edge of downtown with a 124-unit development called Escobedo at Vista Verde. Replace most of the La Mesita Family Shelter on West Main Street with 80 units of workforce housing. Councilman Dennis Kavanaugh, in whose district the project would be built, said Sycamore Station Apartments appears to be a prime candidate for state approval. “It has many of the elements that are...
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 2, 2011 | light rail corridor, light rail expansion, Mesa City, News & Information
by Art Thomason – Nov. 1, 2011 Courtesy of The Arizona Republic [Editor’s Note: The Presidential debate next to the light rail extension in Mesa at the Arts Center shows the powerful will show up. Light Rail Advisors supports free and open political debate] Mesa will host the Republican presidential debate on Nov. 30. Arizona Republican Party Chairman Tom Morrissey made the announcement Tuesday that Mesa Arts Center will be the location. The $98 million performing arts venue was a major reason that CNN, which is hosting the debate, selected Mesa, said Mesa City Councilman Dennis Kavanaugh. “When CNN toured the MAC recently they were simply blown away by all of its facilities which are well suited for handling all of their trucks and equipment,” he said. “I think it’s huge for the city to actually acquire an event like this. It’s a major news event that will have CNN headquartered here for a couple days for the debate. It’s an opportunity to showcase the city for a major national event like this.” The nationally televised debate is being sponsored by the Arizona Republican Party and will be conducted and aired live on CNN at 6 p.m. local time on Nov. 30. The arts center, which opened in 2005, is a world-class facility well-suited to host this world-class event, Morrissey said in a prepared statement. The complex is situated on a seven-acre campus and incomes more than 212,000 square feet of theaters, studios and exhibition space. “Mesa Arts Center is an ideal venue for the debate,” said Morrissey said in a release. “This state-of-the-art facility will be front and center as Arizona...
by bryan | Oct 28, 2011 | ASU, light rail corridor, Sports
by Dianna M. Náñez – Oct. 28, 2011 Courtesy of The Arizona Republic [Editor’s Note: Go ASU! Games and Events like this keep the light rail corridor in Tempe strong and vibrant. LightRailConnect.com pushes live, work and play near the tracks] Arizona State University’s homecoming festivities are a hoot for thousands of Sun Devil fans. But Saturday’s parade at 11:30 a.m. and football game at 3:30 will cause traffic headaches for residents who want to drive to Mill Avenue for dinner or shopping. Fans will crowd parking lots and streets near the stadium and downtown Tempe. The city shuts down University Drive for the homecoming parade. To make matters worse, football fans are sharing the streets today with thousands of participants in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk, a fundraiser that starts at 7 a.m. just north of downtown and ASU at Tempe Beach Park. Sue Taaffe, a Tempe transportation spokeswoman, said the city posts traffic notices on its transit website to notify drivers and people who use public transportation of street closures and restrictions and bus detours. A quick review of the site makes it easier to navigate Tempe on days when major festivals, marathons or celebrations are scheduled. Because many major events are scheduled at Town Lake, which is near Rio Salado Parkway and Mill Avenue, two major Tempe arteries, the restrictions usually hit downtown Tempe the hardest. But there are ways to ease traffic woes, Taaffe said. “We don’t want people to think downtown is closed. It’s more challenging to get downtown, but it’s not impossible,” she said. Many downtown Tempe businesses lament that the traffic restrictions...
by bryan | Oct 28, 2011 | Entertainment, Light Rail Business, light rail corridor, News & Information
by Emily Gersema – Oct. 28, 2011 Courtesy of The Arizona Republic [Editor’s Note: Downtown Phoenix is a crucial piece of the health of Phoenix and the light rail corridor. Light Rail Advisors supports business development along the tracks in Phoenix, Tempe and Mesa.] The cancellation of the Phoenix Suns’ games for the October preseason and two weeks in November has diverted some basketball fans from hanging out in downtown Phoenix and left businesses wondering whether more canceled games could hurt their bottom line. After 15 hours of talks on Wednesday, the NBA players union and team owners said they are hopeful a deal could be reached within days, which would allay fears of economic fallout. A lot of money is tied to the games, in addition to ticket, food and beverage sales. The Suns are in the 19th year of a multimillion-dollar, 30-year lease with Phoenix to operate and play in US Airways Center. Outside of the arena, downtown businesses benefit from fans’ attendance of the 41 home games in the NBA season. Fans splurge on drinks and food before and after the games. Many drive and pay for parking. Yet, assigning a dollar amount to the Phoenix Suns’ value for the local economy is difficult; no major Valley business group has ever studied the issue. Martin Shultz, chairman of the non-profit Phoenix Community Alliance, said businesses are hurt by game cancellations. “It is a setback,” said Shultz, a season ticketholder. “It’s not going to break us. On the other hand, it’s really disappointing. I hope it resolves itself quickly.” Some economists and business managers believe the financial toll of the NBA labor...
