By The Mesa Tribune
For a long time, Mesa officials have followed the mantra “we don’t chase retail.”
The theory was the city should focus on bringing high-quality jobs to the city, and the quality retail, dining and nightlife would follow to chase the resulting households with disposable income.
But some Mesa residents and council members think high quality shops and restaurants are lagging behind the residential and industrial development in some neighborhoods.
There’s plenty of demand and disposable income in those areas, but the restaurants especially haven’t materialized.
That is resulting in “leakage” of sales tax revenue as residents travel to neighboring Gilbert, Tempe and other municipalities to eat and shop, District 6 Councilman Scott Somers argued in a recent study session.
Following a nudge by Somers, Mesa is deviating from its mantra and will get more proactive about luring premium restaurants and retail in the next fiscal year beginning July 1.
