Mayor's big guests/ P. 3
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VOTING ENDS FEB 23
Mesa dairy farm becoming ‘The Block’ megaproject BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer
BESTOF
2023
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COMMUNITY...... 17 i.d.e.a. Museum goes back to roots.
Sunday, February 12, 2023
FREE ($1 OUTSIDE THE EAST VALLEY) | TheMesaTribune.com
T
he new owner of former dairy land at Elliot and Sossaman roads is moving at full steam to transform the 273-acre ranch into an industrial park with the specifications to attract Mesa’s next industrial megaproject. Shopoff Realty Investments paid $80 million for the parcels of unincorporated Maricopa County land in September.
The sale represented the Morrison family’s final divestment of its Mesa-area land holdings after farming the region since World War II. The dairy and half of the herd completed a move to Gila Bend last year. With the cows gone, Shopoff is not wasting time on developing the site. The company has simultaneously submitted an annexation request to the city, a rezoning application and a site plan review for a large industrial park Shopoff
Main Street project pits housing against history
has dubbed “The Block.” The company is currently hammering out the details of a development agreement with city staff that will go before the city council along with the other request. Last week, the Mesa Planning and Zoning Board approved the rezone and plans for the first two phases of The Block, which call for 14 buildings totaling 2 million square feet of industrial space. see
BLOCK page 6
Striking up the band
BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer
SPORTS................ 25 Mesa High soccer coach-son duo savor waning season. COMMUNITY .............................. 16 BUSINESS ................................... 20 OPINION ..................................... 22 SPORTS ...................................... 25 GET OUT ...................................... 26 CLASSIFIED ............................... 31 ZONE 1
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battle is brewing over the proposed demolition of the Kiva Lodge on Main Street in downtown Mesa to make way for 90 affordable rental apartments. The proposal pits the city’s desire for affordable housing against its desire to use historic buildings for “placemaking” to help Mesa maintain a distinctive and attractive look among Valley cities. Just last week, city staff unveiled plans to invest $4.4 million in federal grants toward restoring the historic facades of downtown storefronts. see
WINTER IS HERE, ARE YOU PREPARED:
40 Years
SINCE 1982 • ROC #C39-312643
KIVA page 8
While the Arizona Cardinals won’t have any presence in today’s Super Bowl, their mascot Big Red had a pre-game warmup earlier last week with the Mesa-based U.S. Coast Guard Arizona Band. The band is a little-known desert gem, as you’ll read on page 14. (Josh Ortega/Tribune Staff)
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