MESA

Mayor: Mesa to keep trying for ASU campus downtown, without higher taxes

Chris Coppola
The Republic | azcentral.com
A rendering of the proposed ASU campus in downtown Mesa.

Mesa Mayor John Giles said the city is committed to working with Arizona State University to create a downtown campus, but the effort won't rely on a tax increase.

Giles said voters sent a clear message in the Nov. 8 election when they rejected a proposed increase in the city sales tax to fund new educaiton facilities for ASU as well as additional police officers and firefighters.

"It won't be through higher taxes, it'll be through other ways,'' he said.

ASU, in response to an inquiry from The Republic specifically asking whether ASU remains committed to downtown Mesa, said in a prepared statement it is open to working with Mesa, but mainly stressed the importance of programs at its current location in southeast Mesa.

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It did not refer specifically to downtown, other than thanking Mesa officials and voters "for considering ASU’s vision on election day,'' Nov. 8.

"We look forward to our continued partnership with the city of Mesa, expanding our community and social impact, and serving the citizens of Mesa through our Polytechnic campus. Working together we will further enhance opportunities for students in the fields of engineering and technology through distinctive course offerings and industry partnerships,'' the ASU statement said.

It added: "ASU is committed to exploring new ideas with partners like the city of Mesa, and we look forward to further discussions with the city and community.''

Mesa exploring options

The site plan for the proposed Arizona State University satellite campus in downtown Mesa.

Giles said he spoke to university officials after the election who assured him they still were open to working on a downtown plan.

"I've met and spoken with the administration of ASU and their situation is the same as it was before the election,'' Giles said. "They need to find seats for additional students, they need to find vocations for next-generation programs and so their needs and our needs remain the same. I think we're both anxious to explore innovative ways to see if we can correlate those things together.''

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He said options could include improvements to existing facilities where available space could be converted for higher-education needs.

The proposed improvements called for about 200,000 square feet of new space for ASU and 26,000 square feet of additional space for Benedictine University downtown, in addition to parking and open space, with an estimated cost of $127 million. A sales-tax increase would have paid for the improvements, along with enhancing public safety.

'We could've done a better job'

A rendering of the proposed ASU campus in downtown Mesa.

Mesa still must determine how to fund the needed public safety personnel in coming years.

City Councilman Chris Glover, whose district includes downtown, said tying public safety needs with the higher-education plans probably hurt the proposal.

“Sometimes we probably should separate issues so voters can decide on the merits of the project itself. That gives us the opportunity to see what areas we did strongly and what areas there are room for improvement,'' he said. "I think we could’ve done a better job of explaining this.''

Glover said he believes a majority of the City Council is committed to landing an ASU satellite campus in downtown Mesa, so he expects the city to explore options while being mindful of the voters' message.

“I’m a firm believer of doing the will of the public. The voters didn’t want us to build a campus so we will have to explore other options,'' he said.

ASU's Polytechnic campus, adjacent to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport in southeast Mesa, focuses on technology and engineering programs. Academic programs at a downtown Mesa campus would have focused on arts and media, digital and sensory technology, early-childhood education and entrepreneurship, officials said.