Mesa will continue to provide emergency beds for homeless residents but it won’t be at the Sunaire property, a former hotel that the city bought and renovated for $14 million and is ready to shelter families with young children, seniors and veterans.
Instead Sunaire will sit empty in central Mesa until the council decides its fate, which could include selling the building. The city instead will stay at the Windemere hotel, leasing rooms for its Off the Street Emergency Shelter Program.
“What concerns me most about this project is not the cost for me,” said Councilwoman Dorean Taylor, whose district includes Sunaire. “It is also the precedent and the process and the long-term expansion of government responsibility without direct voter consent.”…