Photo via Arizona Museum of Natural History
By Cecilia Chan | East Valley Tribune
Arizona Museum of Natural History isn’t living up to its potential and could be a cultural hub that drives economic development to Mesa and put the city on the global map.
Council recently agreed to move forward on a plan that calls for tearing down the city-owned museum downtown and replacing it with a much larger building as part of a mixed-use development with a boutique hotel and retail and dining amenities.
It agreed to spend $6 million over the next two years to flush out the concept that could cost $300 million to implement.
“Our vision is to build something that is deeply Mesa, undeniably Amazonian and globally significant,” said Simon Tipene Adlam, the museum’s director. “What you’re going to see is globally groundbreaking. It is incredibly unique as a self- sustaining economic engine.
