How once sleepy downtown Mesa became an "overnight sensation"

Downtown Mesa, with its ample breweries, award-winning restaurants and artsy vibe, is one of the trendiest gathering places in the Valley.

Reality check: You don't have to look far into the past to know it hasn't always been that way.

The big picture: Mesa is the Valley's largest suburb. With more than 512,000 people, it's larger than Atlanta and Kansas City.

• Yes, but: For decades, its downtown faded into oblivion as residents moved into newer neighborhoods and shops and restaurants followed.

Flashback: When I moved to downtown Mesa eight years ago, one of my friends called it "the armpit of the Valley" and I could hardly blame her.

• It had been almost 30 years since a residential building permit had been issued downtown.
• The handful of restaurants rarely stayed open past 8pm and were mostly closed on weekends.
• The light rail had just been extended down Main Street, but the vibrancy it was supposed to bring hadn't arrived.

What they're saying: The word "potential" was probably the nicest way people used to describe downtown Mesa in the '90s and early 2000s, Mesa Mayor John Giles told Axios.

• "'Potential' is the saddest word in the English language. Because it describes something that doesn't happen," Giles said.

Still, he and other leaders decided to keep investing downtown, with the hope it could have a comeback akin to Phoenix's.

• The city voted in the '90s to build the Mesa Arts Center, despite resident requests to put it in a more lively neighborhood.
• It courted colleges like Benedictine University and eventually ASU and made the controversial decision to bring light rail into the city.

Flash-forward: What resulted was what we see today: a n "overnight sensation that took decades to come to pass," Giles said.

• First came breweries, restaurants, vintage boutiques and record stores. Then came the housing.
• Since 2021, more than 500 apartment units have sprung up along or near Main Street and hundreds more are under construction .

Zoom in: Downtown Mesa Association president and executive director Terry Madeksza tells us downtown Mesa has thrived because of the "uniquely local" businesses that gambled on downtown before it was a safe bet.

• She says that while there's excitement about new eateries and bars, the community is dedicated to protecting the pioneers.
• "We're not going out recruiting Nordstrom and Applebees. We're working hard and with intention to keep downtown Mesa unique," Madeksza said.

What we're watching: The city and ASU, which opened the Media and Immersive eXperience Center in 2022, are considering redeveloping the Post Office building on Center Street to allow the university to expand and bring more degree programs to Mesa.

• Site 17, a long-vacant downtown parcel with a painful past , is slated to become a residential and commercial project by the developers behind Tempe's car-free community .
• Voters will consider two bond questions in November, including one that would provide funding for an expansion to the downtown children's i.d.e.a. Museum .

The bottom line: "The word 'potential' doesn't come up anymore," Giles said.