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...
