Mesa council to mull new proposal to build ASU downtown campus

PHOENIX — Mesa councilmembers will consider a second proposal Monday designed to lure another Arizona State University campus to the city.

“It’s a scaled-back version of what we had previously brought forward to the council, so the building would be approximately anywhere between 100,000 and 125,000 square feet,” Jeff McVay, Mesa’s manager of downtown transformation, said.

“It would be a building that the city would design and construct and that ASU would lease from the city for approximately $100,000 per year.”

A similar plan was put to voters two years ago, but it did not pass. McVay said the second proposal would use bonds to fund construction.

“This time, the mechanism to fund the design and construction of the ASU building would not need voter approval,” he said.

“In 2016, the mechanism proposed to voters was to increase our sales tax by a quarter-percent and to use a portion of that sales tax increase to finance the ASU facilities.”

The proposal would require ASU to have a minimum of 750 students and employ at least 40 faculty and staff members in the single building. The university would also be required to offer educational opportunities to the public, specifically in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship.

Mesa Mayor John Giles said an anchor tenant such as ASU would be a big boost for downtown.

Such an anchor could include tech companies or research institutions like universities or hospitals,” he told My News Mesa. “These assets would attract and create additional businesses downtown.

“ASU is the perfect solution.”

ASU already has a sizable Mesa campus near Power and Williams Field roads.

Should it be approved, the building would take over a surface parking lot located on the northeast corner of Center and Main streets, adjacent to City Hall.

Should the school building open, McVay said it would welcome students studying film, media, gaming and other technological fields. He said he hoped the city would see secondary impacts from the school.

“Hopefully we’ll create economic development through the spinoff and commercialization of the tech that comes out of these programs and the students that are learning it,” he said.

McVay also said the building could be another cog in Mesa’s artistic downtown.

“When you’re looking from an innovation perspective on the technology side, the arts play very heavily into creating that environment what breeds innovation,” he said. “To us, they’re tied closely together.”

KTAR News’ Atlan Hassard contributed to this report.

Follow @KTAR923