Mesa to act on $8M garage purchase

Jul. 9—The Mesa City Council is scheduled to vote Monday, July 10, on the possible purchase of the three-story South Hibbert parking garage for $8 million from Sunbelt Holdings.

Mesa officials hope the purchase of the long-vacant 900-space parking garage on the northwest concern of Main and Hibbert streets will be a win-win for city employees and downtown businesses.

Downtown parking has been a major concern ahead of an expected influx of new residents as a string of apartment projects near completion.

In October, the 280-unit Grid is expected to open and the first phase of the 335-unit Melody on Main project opened in April.

These new projects include on-site residential parking, and Downtown Transformation Manager Jeff McVay has said repeatedly that with 5,000 off-street spaces in downtown, there's plenty of available parking.

But he acknowledged that the locations of these spaces are not always ideal for supporting new businesses.

The Hibbert garage would free up parking closer to Main Street dining and nightlife, he told council members.

If the council approves the purchase, Mesa also plans to move 600 city employee spots currently split between the Pepper, Sirrine and Centennial garages to the Hibbert garage.

The vacated permit parking spots in the three garages could then be used by employees of downtown businesses or their customers.

The Hibbert garage would require badged entry, except for special events downtown, staff said.

Brown and Brown Chevrolet originally built the secure Hibbert garage in 1998 as a showcase for vehicles. The city provided the land to the dealer for $1 as an incentive to stay and expand in downtown.

AutoNation subsequently bought the dealership and eventually sold the property as it relocated the business to the Gilbert Motorplex. Per its original agreement with Brown and Brown, Mesa received $2 million in compensation for the land that the city says it set aside for the purchase of the Hibbert garage.

During her sharp questioning of city staff in February, Councilwoman Julie Spilsbury said that downtown needs ample, convenient parking to attract new customers and restaurants.

McVay responded in part by saying the ultimate fate of the empty Hibbert garage needed to be settled before the city could dive into its long-range planning on downtown parking.

He said private and public investments in new parking likely would be deterred until the city decided what to do with the Hibbert facility.

City Manager Chris Brady said the Hibbert garage would also provide safer parking for city employees, especially those arriving very early in the day.

"One of the most common frequent comments I get from city employees that work in downtown is how they do not feel safe in some of these (current) parking spaces," Brady said.

McVay said the city experiences issues with theft and vandalism of city vehicles in the current garages.

He also said employees report finding people sleeping in the garages when they arrive in the morning.

The city runs a shuttle from the three current garages to City Hall for employees. Moving employees to the Hibbert garage would consolidate this shuttle, and McVay said the walk from the Hibbert garage down Main Street to city buildings is open and well lit.

If Council approves the deal tomorrow, Mesa officials estimate the Hibbert garage would need at least a year to come into service.

Officials are eyeing $3 to $4 million in safety improvements and updates, including a new pedestrian access on Main Street.

As part of the deal, seller Sunbelt would have the option to lease up to 300 spaces in the garage from the city to support development of land it owns nearby. The price would be $420 per year for each space for the first five years before price increase would take effect.

McVay told council members the price for the garage was reasonable.

It appraised for over $11 million, and a construction firm told the city it would cost $30 million to build a comparable garage today.

McVay said the parking leases to Sunbelt might also generate $3 million for the city over 20 years.

Councilwoman Jenn Duff, who represents downtown Mesa, expressed some reservations in February about investing too heavily in downtown parking to the detriment of other amenities.

She argued for a walkable city core, but supported the city's purchase of the Hibbert garage.

"This is really good," she said. "Downtown is just bursting at the seams with so many businesses opening continually and the demand is only going to grow and we have so much on the horizon."

"I don't want to be one of those downtowns that's like, 'I don't want to go there because you have to drive around trying to figure out parking.' Having those (Hibbert) spaces available is really going to be a huge economic return for us in downtown."

With the mayor's endorsement of the purchase and no major objections raised by council members in the study session, the purchase appears headed for approval.