Mesa City Council Meeting: Cul de Sac Development and Sarine House Improvements - August 28, 2025
Mesa City Council Meeting: Cul de Sac Development and Sarine House Improvements - August 28, 2025
The Mesa City Council met on August 28, 2025, to receive two major presentations: a proposed agreement for the Cul de Sac mixed-use development on city-owned land at the southwest corner of University and Mesa Drive (Site 17), and a bond-funded plan to revitalize the historic Sarine House with urban agriculture and dining. Council also acknowledged the receipt of minutes and heard community event updates.
Consent Calendar
Acknowledgment of Minutes: The council unanimously approved the receipt of minutes from prior meetings.
Discussion Items
1A. Presentation on Proposed Agreements for Cul de Sac Development (Site 17)
- Staff and the developer, Cul de Sac, presented a lease-to-purchase structure for the 19.14-acre site. The 50-year ground lease allows Cul de Sac to purchase the land in three phases after completing public improvements and starting vertical construction.
- Phase 1: 5.5 acres, minimum 140 for-sale townhomes (2-3 bedrooms), with 100% of land sale proceeds ($3.2 million at $1,344/sq ft) reimbursed for public infrastructure. Phase must start within 24 months of lease execution.
- Phase 2: Minimum 250 units (mix of rental and potentially for-sale), 10,000 sq ft commercial, 50% of land sale proceeds for off-site improvements.
- Phase 3: 610 market-rate rental units, 40,000 sq ft commercial, 35% of land sale proceeds for off-site improvements. Overall build-out expected within 9 years.
- Parking: Phase 1 provides one off-street space per townhome (140 total), with additional on-street parking. Councilmember Spillsbury expressed skepticism about adequacy, while Councilmember Heredia and others supported the car-light concept as appropriate for downtown.
- Neighborhood Integration: Staff emphasized a gradual density transition and green buffer along Second Street to protect the adjacent Wilbur Historic Neighborhood. Mobility hubs for pedestrians, bikes, and autonomous vehicles (e.g., Waymo) are included.
- Councilmember Vice Mayor Summers questioned the cost estimates for off-site public improvements, noting the development agreement was not yet finalized. Staff said an exhibit lists priorities but costs are not yet estimated; the city is only obligated up to the land sale proceeds.
- The project will come back for a formal vote on September 8, 2025.
1B. Presentation on 2024 Bond-Funded Improvements to Historic Sarine House
- The $5 million voter-approved bond will fund a $4.3 million revitalization of the city-owned Sarine House (built 1896, on National Historic Register). Work includes an urban farm, education pavilion, dining/farm stand, gathering areas, and food truck parking with shore power.
- Urban Farmer: Steadfast Farm, already operating in Eastmark, was selected via competitive RFQ. They will manage the site, offer free urban agriculture classes for Mesa residents, and operate the farm.
- Destination Dining: Chef Derek Christensen (James Beard-nominated) will run a barbecue concept on site, cooked from scratch.
- Schedule: Construction starts late 2025, completion in fall 2026, with a ribbon cutting by end of 2026.
- Council expressed strong support, noting the site's location in a USDA food desert and its potential to preserve history while providing fresh produce and community gathering space.
Councilmember Updates
- Mayor reported on the Faith Leaders Breakfast (approx. 125 attendees) focused on teen mental health and community collaboration.
- Councilmembers noted attendance at the Chamber of Commerce board dinner and the new Dinkin Dine pickleball venue at Riverview.
Key Outcomes
- No formal votes were taken on the two presentations; both will return for future council action (Cul de Sac on September 8; Sarine House construction contract via a job order contract listing).
- Minutes acknowledged unanimously.
- Meeting adjourned following scheduling announcements for the Audit, Finance, and Enterprise Committee meeting and the Labor Day holiday.
Meeting Transcript
It's August 28th. We're just a few days away from September. My gosh, it's uh gone pretty quick. All of our counselors present, Mr. Adams is unable to attend and excuse. We'll start out this morning for a presentation on 1A about the proposed agreements for the Cul de Sac development for the city owned property on the Southwest Corner of University of Mesa Drive. This has been many years in the coming. Are we using decades? Almost half a century. I don't remember the history about when it started, but it's been quite an uh evolution and iteration about what's been happening there. So that we have uh Jeff, Jimmy, and Ryan. Good morning, Mayor and Council. We are pleased to be here today to be able to present to you the final agreements with Cal de Sac. Um again, Jeff McVay, manager of urban transformation. With me is Jimmy Tracchio, Dante Transformation Project Manager, and Ryan Johnson, the cul-de-sac CEO and co-founder. You'll hear some more from Ryan pretty soon, and he can introduce his team as well. Um you were mentioning the there's a long history here. Um, and I will only um remind you of the background as it relates to our current arrangement with Cal de Sac versus the full history of the site. But this started about October 2023 when we did a request for proposals and we selected Cal de Sac from that process. Um our goal has always been to create a new vibrant neighborhood that supports our downtown, but also supports and is complementary to the neighborhood of surrounding it. Both the city and cul-de-sac have completed appraisals uh about a year ago. Um, those are there for reference. We will talk about purchase price later in the in the agreement or in the presentation. Um as a reminder, council did approve uh an MOU with Cul-de-Sec back in April 2024, and that is currently still in effect until September 15th. And we think that uh with the council agenda September 8th, we we're gonna make it just in time. Um, and then so with that, I'm gonna hand it over to Ryan, and Ryan's gonna give you an overview of Cal de Sac and their proposal for the for the site. All right, do I use these buttons? Yeah. All right. Uh greetings, Mayor and Council. Let's jump in. So the our slides haven't changed much. One thing that's changed since we met in March is that the number of Waymo rides has doubled. And so the transportation trends are moving quickly. Uh it's the real estate that typically moves more slowly, and we're so excited to build something wonderful here in Mesa. At Cul-de-Sac, for those I'll present it as if it's brand new. At Cul-de-Sac, we build walkable mixed-use neighborhoods designed for a culture of belonging, transportation freedom, and thriving local retail. And we've got a team with decades of experience. I've got James and Aaron with me today in the back. And uh we've our first project is Cul-de-sac Tempe. That's our flagship project. We also have a couple pocket neighborhoods that are for sale in Atlanta. We'll actually have the model homes done on those next month, so that's an exciting time for us. Um, and then our next our next neighborhood, as we say, is Cul-de-sac Mesa. And we're really excited for this, and we could bring something wonderful to downtown as we grow it together. Uh, here's us getting in the Waymo in this metaphorical new chapter from here from Tempe. Uh, this is uh a key node in Greater Phoenix uh along the light rail corridor. And we've developed it hand in hand with the city and the community. Uh it's also exciting to have City Manager Butler in his seat now. And the key details of the project, it's gonna have uh a thousand residential units across the site, 25 to 50,000 retail feet of square retail square footage, and 25 to 50,000 square feet of amenity square footage.
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