Best Of Mesa Inside This Week Edition
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An edition of the East Valley Tribune
Inside This Week
Big step to remove Mesa eyesore, ‘bad juju’ BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer
NEWS..................... 7 New Justice Court building opens in Mesa.
BUSINESS............ 24 Mesa pet daycare center aims for friendly environment.
Sunday, March 26, 2023
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plan by nonprofit Chicanos Por La Causa to transform a downtown Mesa corner – and remove a grim reminder of an eminent domain debacle – is back on track after a threeyear delay. Mesa City Council on March 20 approved a five-story mixed-use develop-
ment for the northwest corner of Country Club Drive and Main Street, updating a 2019 agreement with CPLC to build 198 apartments above 20,000 square feet of retail space. The 2.5-acre site includes the vacant Bailey’s Brakes shop, which was the focus of a lengthy court battle that won the attention of “60 Minutes” in an investigation of local governments’ abuse of eminent domain proceedings.
Mesa surf lagoon swims in wave of stalled water parks
Council members are excited about the project because it promises to deliver market-rate housing and retail to downtown and eliminate blight on what they called the “Western gateway” to the city’s core. Officials are also excited by the prospect of the project moving forward because it hits a sweet spot for city plan-
see BAILEY page 6
Easter Gift
BY SCOTT SHUMAKER Tribune Staff Writer
SPORTS................ 30 Mt. View senior keeps brother's memory close to heart. COMMUNITY .............................. 18 BUSINESS ................................... 24 OPINION ..................................... 26 SPORTS ...................................... 30 GET OUT ...................................... 32 CLASSIFIED ............................... 35 ZONE 1
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he waves of the 37-acre, $280 million Cannon Beach retail and entertainment complex anchored by a surfing lagoon in southeast Mesa are taking longer to reach the shore than expected. That’s creating suspense for city leaders eager to see it open and draw visitors to Mesa, and for families interested in new entertainment options in southeast Mesa The Cannon Beach project broke ground two years ago, in March 2021, and since then developers have pushed the estimated opening date back multiple times. In spring 2022, representatives said the 1.9-acre wave lagoon anchoring the development, called Revel Surf Park, would open at the end of the summer. That was later pushed to spring of 2023, and now developer Cole
see BEACH page 2
Beginning Thursday, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will bring back its annual gift to the community, the elaborate Easter pageant based on the life of Jesus as relayed in the King James version of the Bible, at the Mesa Arizona Temple. Above, Mesa attorney Trevore Orne, playing Jesus and one of more than 100 volunteer cast members in the free event, reenacts the Last Supper. For details, page 18. (David Minton/Tribune Staff Photographer)