Mesa moves vote on furniture contract for controversial transitional shelter to next year

A furniture contract for a controversial Mesa transitional housing project has been put on hold after the Mesa City Council decided to vote on it next year.

Two years ago, the City of Mesa purchased the Grand Hotel — now called Sunaire — with the intention of turning it into transitional housing for unhoused individuals. The furniture contract was originally scheduled for the Nov. 3 city council meeting, then moved to Nov. 17. That date also coincided with Republican Councilmember Dorean Taylor’s first council meeting.

Taylor won a recall election earlier that month, driven in part because of Sunraire. A spokesperson told KJZZ that staff recommended continuing the furniture contract to give Taylor time to become familiar with the project.

City of Mesa statement

"The vote on the Sunaire furniture contract was originally scheduled for the Nov. 3, 2025, City Council agenda and was continued to Nov. 17, 2025, at the Mayor’s request for more information regarding the procurement process and the funding source. The date of November 17, 2025, coincided with Councilmember Dorean Taylor’s first council meeting. Given that Sunaire is in her district, staff recommended continuing the Sunaire Furniture contract proposal to a future date to allow her time to become familiar with the project.

The situation for Councilmember Taylor is unique in that she had less than 2 weeks to prepare for her first Mesa City Council meeting following the recall election held on Nov. 4, 2025. In primary elections and runoff elections, Councilmembers are elected in August or November and have approximately 2 to 4 months to prepare for their terms in office."