A Phoenix developer who prides himself on redeveloping blighted properties filed plans with Mesa’s Planning and Zoning Department to build a 61-unit condominium development on property once considered among Mesa’s most blighted areas.
Steve Villarreal, of South Vista Homes Inc., leveled a decrepit hospital and nursing home at 715 N. Country Club Dr. that had been overrun by transients and has pursued several plans for the central Mesa property, just north of University Drive.
His latest plan includes two- and three-story units, selling for less than $200,000, aimed at young urban professionals. He said the plans offer a bedroom near the first-story garage so that owners can take in a roommate to help make mortgage payments.
"I think it will be a very positive addition to the city," Villarreal said, with the units based on similar developments near downtown Phoenix, but at a lower price. He said urban professionals "want to be close to the action" and don’t want the typical suburban home.
"It’s going to have the feel of a something from a larger city like Chicago or Vancouver (British Columbia)," he said.
Villarreal prides himself on renovating blighted properties and has been on a journey to find the right use for the 3.67 acres. His plans have evolved from an 80-unit condominium project in 2005, to another strategy of building 30 single-family homes that fell apart because of financing difficulties. The latest proposal is his third tract.
"It’s one of those things where you have to find something that fits," Villarreal said. "We’re kind of looking into the future as opposed to the past."
West Mesa residents and activists had differing reactions to Villarreal’s latest plans.
Vic Linoff, a resident of the neighboring Evergreen Historic District, said he can’t imagine why anyone would want to live along Country Club Drive and that Villarreal’s condos would quickly turn into rental units.
"To me, that’s not the place to put affordable housing," he said. "I think that’s a recipe for long-term failure."
He said the project might work if it were next to the Mesa Arts Center, but that’s more than a mile away.
"There’s no urban experience around there. I would really question the viability of the project," Linoff said.
Heather Scantlebury, also an Evergreen resident, said she initially doesn’t like the idea of multi-family housing, but added that areas bordering Evergreen are in dire need of redevelopment.
"That place was nasty for a long time," she said, referring to the former nursing home. "I’d be glad to see anyone do anything with that property. Anything to spur redevelopment interest is beneficial."
Dave Richins, executive director of the West Mesa Community Development Corp., said "we encourage anyone doing owner-occupied housing in west Mesa."
He said 55 percent of west Mesa housing is rental units. Rental properties often aren’t maintained well and don’t encourage community investment, he said.
Villarreal must show sensitivity to the historic neighborhood for his development to become a success, Richins said.
The developer is scheduled to meet Monday with Mesa planners to get their opinion of his preliminary plans. A zoning change would not be required, but a new site plan would have to be approved. He eventually would be required to notify and meet with neighbors.
In 2005, residents at a community meeting gave mixed reviews to the former 80-unit plan, saying they didn’t like the idea of multi-story condominiums towering over the historic district, a neighborhood of large single-family homes mostly built between 1912 and the 1950s.
Villarreal said he tried to address that issue by having the condominiums face west toward a courtyard, rather than east toward the historic district.
Jim Walsh
The Arizona Republic
