Mesa hears final terms for Cul de Sac ground lease and phased development of Site 17

Mesa City Council received a presentation Aug. 28 on proposed ground-lease and development agreements with Cul de Sac for the 19.14-acre Site 17 near University and Mesa Drive. City staff said the package uses a lease-with-options structure intended to phase development and protect city interests until public improvements are complete.

The proposal, presented by Jeff McVay, manager of Urban Transformation, Jimmy Turacio, Downtown Transformation project manager, and Ryan Johnson, Cul de Sac CEO and cofounder, would place the entire site under a single ground lease with phased purchase options. "The lease is gonna be for the entire 19.14 acres of the site all at 1 time," Turacio said, adding the lease term is 50 years but that "it's just the lease is a vehicle for the purchase," a point Legal Counsel Mr. Smith reiterated.

The nut of the arrangement is a staged pathway to sale: Cul de Sac would develop the site in three phases and must complete specified public infrastructure and start vertical construction before the city is obligated to sell each phase. Turacio described option mechanics: a $100,000 option payment for Phase 1 (applied to purchase) that expires after 36 months, with the city manager having authority to extend the option up to six months. Turacio said Phase 1 must include at least $3,200,000 of public improvements before the city must sell that portion.

Why this matters: the plan would convert a long-vacant city parcel into a mixed-use, mostly residential neighborhood the developer describes as car-light and walkable. The documents the council will…