by bryan | Jun 8, 2011 | light rail corridor, News & Information, Real Estate Development
Wednesday, June 8, 2011 courtesy of the East Valley Tribune HUD awarded Mesa money to also buy homes in the new Mesa light rail extension corridor. $4 million worth. Mesa has been awarded $4 million to continue its program of buying foreclosed or abandoned homes so they can be renovated and resold to stem declining property values. The funds from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will be used largely within a half-mile of the planned Metro light-rail extension, from Mesa Drive to Gilbert Road and from University Drive to Broadway Road. Mesa has already received more than $9.6 million from HUD that it has used to buy and refurbish about 40 homes in the 85204 ZIP code. The city offers homes in the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to buyers with limited incomes who must make part of a down payment, secure a 30-year, fixed-rate loan, complete home buying counseling and live in the home at least 15 years. Those who qualify will receive assistance with the down payment and closing costs. For more information about the program, call (480)...
by bryan | Jun 5, 2011 | Jobs, light rail corridor, News & Information, Uncategorized
Where, oh where are the jobs, today? Looking for a good job? Want to have an easy way to get to work, avoiding the hassles of traffic and parking? Today you have well over 200 choices! Jobs along light rail are available right now, today. Browse the list of opportunities on the growing list of careers. So, maybe it is not exactly what you have working at for the last decade. But now the economy is changing, and although it may be a little scary, it also can be exciting and challenging to walk into a solid, stable position. Jobs along light rail We have set up a unique search tool for you to locate job, keep an eye on a particular geographic area, or follow an industry. So what are you waiting for! Contact us to voice your opinion. We are here to provide opportunities to work. ...
by bryan | Jun 4, 2011 | Light Rail Business, light rail corridor, light rail expansion, News & Information
by Jim Walsh – Jun. 3, 2011 The Arizona Republic A new $20 million investment fund to jump-start transit-oriented development along the Metro light-rail line couldn’t come at a better time for Mesa as it prepares for an extension to Mesa Drive. Although the new Sustainable Communities Development Fund probably won’t be tapped until sometime this fall, four developers already have approached the Local Initiatives Support Corp. with potential projects, said Teresa Brice, executive director of LISC’s Phoenix office. “The timing is perfect for us,” Mesa Mayor Scott Smith said about the fund. “It’s what I call a statement investment. When they invest, others will follow.” Smith also said the city is completing the Central Main Street Plan, which will chart redevelopment along the light-rail extension scheduled to open in 2016. The plan calls for higher-density development to capitalize on light rail. Mike James, Mesa’s transit services director, said the fund could be used to help build affordable housing along the First Avenue corridor near downtown Mesa, or to replace trailer parks in poor condition along Main Street with better housing. “It provides opportunities for a whole range of people to live and work with transportation,” he said. “They don’t need to have a car.” Although light rail has generated plenty of ridership in Mesa, the economic impact has been muted. The line opened during the recession and extends only about a mile into the city. In contrast, Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman said the light-rail line has lured $2.5 billion in investment and helped the city redevelop Apache Boulevard, a longtime trouble spot. LISC and the Raza Development Fund, with...
by bryan | Jun 4, 2011 | light rail corridor, News & Information, Valley Metro
by Emily Gersema – Jun. 4, 2011 The Arizona Republic The countdown has begun for Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game and FanFest events that begin July 8, and Metro light rail is celebrating early. The Valley transportation agency on Friday unveiled the new MLB All-Star advertising wraps that visitors and residents will see on the cars of the light-rail trains during the month leading up to the game and fan events. The All-Star Game is July 12 at Chase Field in Phoenix. The wraps include images of eight past All-Stars, including Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Justin Upton, who is on the ballot for this season’s All-Star voting and was named All-Star FanFest spokesman earlier this year. The wraps also feature these players with All-Star credentials: New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, Colorado Rockies shortstop Troy Tulowitzki, St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Albert Pujols, Minnesota Twins catcher Joe Mauer, Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton and Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki. Hillary Foose, a spokeswoman for Metro light rail, said that in all, six light-rail cars will display the wraps. All six will be in service by the end of next week. No public money was used for these promotions, she...
by bryan | May 29, 2011 | Light Rail Business, light rail corridor, News & Information, Real Estate Development
by Emily Gersema – May. 22, 2011 The Arizona Republic It’s been about a year since the first tenant opened in downtown development CityScape, and if all goes as planned, RED Development expects its 1.8 million-square-foot office and retail project to be completely leased by this fall. Gold’s Gym was the first business to move into the development that is bounded by First Street and First Avenue and by Washington and Jefferson streets. It was followed by a series of monthly openings by stores such as CVS/pharmacy, entertainment venues such as Lucky Strike Lanes, and new offices for five Phoenix law firms. About a half-dozen other retailers, restaurants and bars are expected to open by September. To name some: Oakville Grocery, Breakfast Club, Chipotle, Strand, Silk Sushi and Tilted Kilt. UnitedHealthcare also will move in this summer, consolidating about 600 workers from other Phoenix offices into about 107,000 square feet of space at CityScape’s office tower. A sixth law firm, Brownstein, Hyatt, Farber & Schreck, will move about 15 workers into CityScape sometime in late July. Marty Shultz is the law firm’s senior policy director in the Phoenix office and chairman of the Phoenix Community Alliance, a non-profit organization made up of business and non-profit officials who have largely supported CityScape. Shultz is credited with persuading the firm to become a tenant. “It’s very strategically located,” he said. “You’ve got City Hall downtown, you’ve got the courts, and you’ve got the state Capitol down the street. It’s also near the (Metro) light rail and next to major streets.” City officials estimate that 83,000 people work in downtown offices. RED Development’s development manager Jeff...
by bryan | May 8, 2011 | light rail expansion, News & Information, Real Estate Development
by Jim Walsh – Jan. 20, 2011 The Arizona Republic 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 through downtown in 2016. It would end near the Mormon Temple east of Mesa Drive. Other new stops are planned at Alma School Road, Center Street and Country Club...
