A planned 90-unit affordable housing development is stirring tensions between Chicanos Por La Causa and historic preservation advocates in Mesa.
CPLC’s for-profit development arm purchased the former Kiva Lodge at 668 W. Main Street and neighboring sites with plans to demolish the former motel to build the new project. The Kiva makes up approximately 17% of the overall site.
The lodge is one of the oldest in the state and its neon sign has been a popular photographic curiosity for decades. The inn declined in its later years and was a human smuggling and drug site.
Before CPLC bought the site, the State Historic Preservation Office had determined it was not eligible for historic status. SHPO has since reversed itself, which is one reason for the controversy over the plan.
Project representatives went before the Mesa Board of Historic Preservation last year after opposition arose to the demolition plan and City staff urged coordination between the developer and the Board because of the lodge’s perceived historic significance.
The developer disagrees with SHPO’s revised decision, saying there had been many additions to the main site over the years and that the buildings are in extremely poor condition.
Preservationists want as much of the lodge as possible preserved in the new development. CPLC representatives have said the project will not pencil out if preservation elements are incorporated. They propose donating the neon sign to an off-site facility and memorializing the lodge through photos and documentation.
Mesa Preservation Foundation President Vic Linoff counters that additions are so old that they would still qualify as historic. He said the City would be willing to work with CPLC, such as possibly approving an additional story if need be to allow enough units to develop while preserving the historic structures.
CPLC intends to pursue federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to fund the new affordable housing development.
CPLC still needs to secure rezoning or a use permit to move forward with the plan, which may be challenging if the preservationists express strong continued opposition. (Source)
