If this was a movie shoot, it might be âtake 17.â
Back in the mid-1980s, the City of Mesa was so eager to flip a single-family neighborhood into a commercial development that it used eminent domain to forcefully purchase the properties, clearing the way for an eagerly-anticipated resort, conference and water park project.Â
Thirty-five years later ⦠nada.
Near the busy corner of Mesa and University drives, a chunk of ugly, dirt lots sit behind the office of Maricopa Adult Probation as the land patiently waits for someone to take it out of development jail.Â
The water park was dunked, other ideas ranged from pop flies to strikeouts. So, 25 acres of prime, city-owned land remain a blank canvas waiting for an idea.