Easier and more convenient parking, a new mobile information kiosk to connect patrons to businesses and more free family events are some of the priorities for a nonprofit group tasked with promoting Mesa’s original square mile downtown.
The Downtown Mesa Association was formed in 1985 to help create a thriving downtown in an area from University Drive to Broadway Road and Country Club to Mesa drives. DMA’s efforts include improving the appearance and safety of the area, managing and enforcing the parking and holding events such as Easter Eggstravaganza, Haunting on Main Street and Merry Main Street.
“For about the last five years I have maintained my business’s office in downtown Mesa Centennial Center,” Councilman Rich Adams said at last week’s study session. “I have seen a night and day difference in DMA over the last year or so. So I would say, thank you. It’s very obvious to me as a business operating in downtown Mesa.”
The DMA’s presentation May 8 of its accomplishments and work plan for the coming fiscal year is a precursor to the council’s May 19 meeting to take action on assessments to fund the contract with the organization. The rate is not changing.
The annual assessments come from all commercial properties and the city’s parcels and its rights-of-way in that square mile. The contract proposed for the fiscal year that begins July 1 is $1.04 million. There’s also a special event parking fund allotment of $50,000.
The contract covers clean-up, promotions, banner and kiosk programming, parking management, special events production and maintenance of the Plaza at Mesa City Center.
The commercial properties have a higher assessment rate that is based on the zones they are located in and the city has one base rate, according to Jeff McVay, Urban Transformation manager. He noted that two of the three protest letters received so far are from out-of-state landlords.
According to DMA President/ Executive Director Terry Madeksza, one of the most visible and measurable service it offers is maintaining the downtown through its Clean Team Ambassadors, five full-time and blue-uniformed employees who work seven days a week.
“We, on average, will take care of over 16,000 requests for service a year,” said Madeksza, who has been on the job for just over a year. “So it could be removing shopping carts, it might be an encampment. It might be graffiti or stickers.
“And then on top of that, 3 tons of trash removed monthly, on average. Imagine walking onto Main Street today with 3 tons of trash on your sidewalks and graffiti and stickers and loitering. I think would lead to some discomfort.”
According to Madeksza, special event parking management has been brought in-house and a parking ambassador has been hired to provide more help to visitors and enforcement.
DMA also has worked with the city to transition parking signs to universal blue ones so visitors can easily identify available parking. Previously, the signs were in different colors, all indicating where to park if one knew the system, Madeksza said. According to McVay, there are over 5,000 public parking spots in the downtown.
Madeksza also touted the events that draw foot traffic into the downtown.
“I think events are crucial,” Madeksza said. “Events create vibrancy. They add energy to otherwise empty streets and alleys and plazas. Events help position downtown Mesa as a destination within the region, and we have found a lot of success by offering free, family friendly events.
“Phoenix isn’t doing it. Tempe, Scottsdale, Chandler, Gilbert – they’re not going after the families the way we are. So I think we own it and we keep doing it.”
Events are going to be even more important with the shift in spending and drop in consumer confidence, Madeksza noted.
“If people are pulling back, they’re going to be looking for those free experiences and downtown is going to need them,” she said. “We’re going to want reason to have people in our downtown so we can get them into the businesses. We can’t take our foot off the pedal – not this year, not with the uncertainty that I’m hearing and seeing.”
Vice Mayor Scott Somers asked if MDA gathered data on where events attendee are coming from so more marketing can be done.
Madeksza affirmed that demographic data is being collected.
“The majority of who we’re getting for most of our events is Valley-wide,” she said.
She added that MDA is looking at how to grow some of the bigger events like Noon Years Eve and the barbecue competition – each attracted over 5,000 attendees – to multi-day events to generate overnight stays.
MDA also is doing much to support business-to-business collaborations such as “how can Mad Candy partner with the boutique, how can Oro (Brewing Company) partner with Burritoholics?” Madeksza said.
MDA also has brought on board a marketing and communications manager to focus on social media and newsletter efforts.
“I think also there’s opportunity for us, for DMA, to focus on walkability, connectivity, alleyways, improvements for beautification and public art,” Madeksza added.
She said DMA is currently focusing on one alley to do some planting and lighting work.
“So there’s some conversation to be had about how we can help improve our public spaces,” Madeksza continued. “DMA will be a funding partner in those solutions. So we’re not just asking the city. We’re coming to the table.”
DMA also has set aside funds for a new information kiosk.
“I’ve heard from talking to the businesses and to some on council, ‘how do we do a better job of connecting people from the convention center, the amphitheater, the MAC?’” she said.
DMA is proposing a mobile information kiosk at the Mesa Arts Center manned by one of its ambassadors.
“We could greet people as they’re walking in, we could greet people as they’re walking out, and we can connect them to businesses,” Madeksza said.
“This is something that I think there’s a lot of interest. There’s excitement for it from the MAC. There’s excitement from when I talked to the city about having this at the Convention Center. It’s an extra layer of service right now, customer service. And we can do this. We have the funding.”
Councilman Francisco Heredia asked for the vacancy rate downtown.
“What are we doing to promote that as far as to bringing in additional businesses?” he asked. “Because I feel like we’ve had quite a bit of areas of downtown different pockets with long-term kind of just struggling commercial businesses.”
According to McVay, the commercial vacancy rate is above 10%, which “is actually not so bad.”
“Without going too deep into the reasons behind that, there is an individual property owner that owns several properties in downtown that is responsible for a large proportion of that vacancy,” McVay explained. “Tenants were relocated out with the anticipation that there be new tenants and build-outs that could occur.
“The build-outs ended up being a lot more expensive than that property owner ever expected. And they’re now at an inflection point on how to be able to move forward with the remaining properties that they have available to rent.”
McVay added that two of those properties are or will be under construction for new tenants but the remainder of the properties still do not have tenants lined up.
“We as a team, the city of Mesa, the Urban Transformation, Downtown Mesa Association, economic development - we are working collaboratively to find new retail establishments to come here,” McVay said.
“We work actively to try and help bring those leads to the business, the property owners. …. It’s on the property owner at that point to be able to take it and close the deal and be able to do the build-outs necessary to get those tenants in place.”
