Mesa City Council approved a development agreement on July 1 for the Medina Station project, including an element marketed as “Restaurant Row” intended to attract mid‑ and upscale restaurants to the city.

Council Member Go Forth said attracting higher‑quality dining and experiential retail was a campaign priority, arguing that residents currently travel outside Mesa for some restaurant options and that sales tax leakage hurts the city. “Jobs follow talent, and we must build a city that is highly desirable to the talented people who will attract and fill the jobs,” she said.

Deputy City Attorney Kelly Whittemore briefed the council on the development agreement’s eligibility requirements for the retail‑tax reimbursement portion. Whittemore said qualifying restaurants must be mid‑class or high‑quality operators with fewer than 100 locations nationwide and generally must not be located within 10 miles of the Mesa site; there is an exception for a location at Mesa Gateway Airport. Reese Anderson, representing Simon CRE (the developer), said many of the national tenants displayed on the project website are not part of the Restaurant Row reimbursement program and that the DA ties reimbursement eligibility to specific retail anchors and to the cross‑hatched eligible areas shown in the council packet.

Anderson and Whittemore clarified that while many tenants will participate in the project, the DA separates two types of reimbursements: construction sales‑tax reimbursement that can apply broadly across the development and a retail‑sales‑tax reimbursement that is narrowly targeted to specified anchors and to the Restaurant Row area.

Council approved item 10A and item 10B in separate motions; both passed unanimously with Council Member Heredia absent.

Discussion only: council discussed policy goals for retail attraction, types of qualifying restaurants and whether national brands on the project website would qualify for retail‑tax incentives. Direction/next steps: the development agreement moves forward; the city will execute the contract and the developer will proceed with site work and tenanting. Formal action: approval of the development agreement and a companion item; no additional incentives were created beyond what the DA specifies.