Tucson Development Thread

[kaneui]

Two new upscale clubs and a restaurant will add more energy to the downtown nightlife scene along Congress St.:



Swank bars, world cuisine latest additions to Congress
by B. Poole
July 15, 2009
http://www.downtowntucson.org/

A Scottsdale native is about to bring Downtown Tucson an injection of Las Vegas energy. Longtime local businessman Luke Cusack and a handful of property owners have teamed up to launch two upscale clubs and an eatery along the north side of East Congress Street. Zen Rock, Sapphire lounge and A Steak in the Neighborhood will all be open by the end of July, if plans proceed as scheduled. A sports bar and grill is planned for the south side of the street next year.

The businesses will add energy to a growing entertainment district along Congress. The investment in the city’s heart is long overdue, said Cusack, who is spending about $1.6 million to open the nightspots. “This is what should have happened Downtown 15 years ago,” said the former University of Arizona physics major who left college for restaurant and bar design two decades ago. Cusack is diving headlong into the city center at an economic time when some fear potentially shallow waters. He is not afraid. “It’s like (Wall Street guru) Warren Buffett says, when everybody is being aggressive, be conservative. When everybody is being conservative, be aggressive,” he said.

Cusack’s commitment is evidence that new, private investors are willing to tap the Downtown market, said Scott Stiteler, a principal in the Downtown Tucson Development Corporation and owner of the newly renovated One North Fifth apartment building. Stiteler, whose development company owns the south side of the 200 block of Congress, has been working to develop the heart of the Downtown entertainment district for three years. There is a growing positive vibe among Downtown residents and entertainment seekers, Stiteler said. “If you go down there you can see it, you can feel it,” said Stiteler, who has an apartment at the North One Fifth complex.

Fernanda Echávarri, a 23-year-old resident at One North Fifth, agrees the scene is growing. Downtown crowds have steadily increased in the three years she has lived in the area. University of Arizona students who would normally go to Fourth Avenue are coming Downtown in increasing numbers, she said, suggesting there are few offerings for upscale patrons. “That crowd isn’t coming Downtown right now,” Echávarri said, noting that she’s excited to have a couple upscale nightspots in the neighborhood. City Councilwoman Nina Trasoff, whose Ward 6 includes the businesses, is glad to see the investment. “It’s an amazing infusion from one person,” she said.

Cusack is convinced his upscale venues and stepped up service at reasonable prices – drinks will start in the $3.75-$4.25 range and steak entrees start at $6.95 – will bring crowds. Zen Rock, at 111-121 E. Congress, is a tech-heavy upscale club with a jazz room in the basement that features numerous leather couches and conversation nooks. Cusack said he had expected Zen Rock to be open by the end of June or beginning of July, Cusack said. Sapphire, a lounge at 61 E. Congress that will feature a rooftop, couch-scattered “sky deck” with a glass wall overlooking Stone Avenue, should be open by the end of July. A Steak in the Neighborhood, 135 E. Congress, will serve quick, quality filet mignon and chicken dishes. Meals from the restaurant will be available at Sapphire and Zen Rock, Cusack said. Zen Rock and A Steak in the Neighborhood are owned by Cusack, though he is leasing the properties. He is managing Sapphire for property/business owners Tony and Magdalena Kenon. The steak restaurant will open first and will follow the example of a similar restaurant Cusack designed for Boston’s Downtown Sheraton. Negotiations are underway for a 20,000-square-foot sports bar in the Valley Bank building at 20 E. Congress - the similarly upscale bar and grill would have space for business meetings.

With A Steak in the Neighborhood, Cusack hopes to tap a relatively untapped market. “We’ve got restaurants, but a lot of the restaurants down here are lunch places,” he said. Entrees, which Cusack called “world cusine,” will include filet mignon stroganoff, Thai spicy filet salad and chipotle chicken Alfredo; prices start at about $7 and range up to $13. The Downtown bars will be slightly downscaled versions of Cusack’s Pearl nightclub on Wetmore Road, where he said customers are being turned away by the hundreds on weekends. The Downtown spots will offer service and surroundings a bit less pricy and extravagant. “We’re not going to take it too upscale,” Cusack said. “This is more about bringing people Downtown.”

The former bar and restaurant designer for Sheraton Hotels and Holiday Inn has ample experience. His Tucson-based consulting firm, Monte Carlo Companies, has launched more than 200 establishments across the nation. “We stopped counting at 150,” he said. Cusack has watched as Downtown deals failed one after another in recent years. He blames the faltering economy, not the City Council. “They aren’t the bank,” he said. With plans inching along for a streetcar running from Congress to UA and real estate prices low, Cusack saw an opportunity he couldn’t resist. “It’s no stroke of genius. It’s the time to do it. The economy is down,” he said. The businesses are not a short-term investment for Cusack, who joins a raft of investors who are sinking energy and cash into the city’s center. “Many of these deals we have are 20 year leases,” he said.

Stiteler considers the businesses a move toward an entertainment/residential critical mass that could be self-sustaining. “We’re nearing that point where things are beginning to crystallize,” he said. Zen Rock, Sapphire and A Steak in the Neighborhood will employ a combined 85 people, about a third of them full time. The bars will be open Thursday-Sunday evenings. A Steak in the Neighborhood will open earlier in the day – likely from 11 a.m. – to capture the lunch crowd.

[kaneui]

And the drama continues...here's an employee's defense of the Rialto Theatre's need to keep the green room and storage space as part of its ongoing operations. If the Rialto block owners and the theatre cannot agree to lease terms, it is likely the city will condemn the disputed space currently in use by the theatre in order to preserve its asset and to keep the venue afloat as an anchor for the redevelopment of E. Congress St.:




The Rialto Theatre is laying claim to property it doesn't own—and here's why
by Curtis McCrary
Tucson Weekly - Guest Commentary
July 15, 2009

Most Tucson Weekly readers know that there is a dispute over property between the Rialto Theatre Foundation, a not-for-profit organization for which I work, and the Downtown Tucson Development Corporation (DTDC), which owns the Rialto building (but not the theater). The property in question—two small storefront bays on both sides of the Rialto's entrance and an outbuilding along Broadway Boulevard that is used as a green room and the theater's office—totals approximately 4,000 square feet. The DTDC owns the spaces. So why should the theater (owned by the city of Tucson) get to lay claim to it? Let me try to explain.

I became involved with the foundation in the summer of 2004, just before the city completed the purchase of the theater. The idea was that an improved Rialto Theatre would serve as an economic engine with vast spillover benefits for other downtown businesses, and offer visible evidence of progress on downtown revitalization. The theater would harness the power of live music as the proverbial rising tide that lifts all boats. When we took possession of the Rialto, it was in pretty rough shape. It had a host of problems, and it was incumbent on us to cobble together donations, loans and about $350,000 in Rio Nuevo matching funds to get the theater reopened in improved form. By April 2005, we achieved that. Since then, we've steadily and incrementally continued to improve the place, mostly using operating income. In the summer of 2006, Rio Nuevo provided funding for the theater to be air-conditioned. We installed a new, first-rate PA system last summer. We improved the building at 211-215 E. Broadway Blvd. (the "green room") by adding HVAC, creating an office and making the green room more habitable for the world-class artists we host. All of these efforts and expenditures accrue to the public's asset—the theater itself—and not to anyone's private interest.

It's safe to say that the quantity and quality of acts that perform at the Rialto have increased dramatically since 2004, which is something I personally take great pride in, since programming is my responsibility. However, this dispute has become a serious hindrance, and could be fatal if the DTDC evicts us from the spaces they own. We have epitomized the "do more with less" chestnut at every step, and we've brought the theater to a significantly higher level, evidenced by the fact that the Rialto is no. 42 on Pollstar's recently released Worldwide Top 100 Club Venues list (and keep in mind that Tucson is considered a tertiary market). We have accomplished this standing with the bare minimum of what is needed for a quality venue of the Rialto's class.

The city of Tucson was—and is still—willing to make a deal with the DTDC to acquire the spaces in question. The DTDC is now unwilling to negotiate, despite the fact that we were nearly in agreement with the proposed terms of their now-ditched development deal. For some mystifying reason, the council's eminently reasonable request for another three weeks to work out some final kinks caused the DTDC to walk away. The reality is this: Our need for these spaces is not a posture. The spaces are essential if we're to continue our mission to bring Tucson the best live music possible. Furthermore, if we're to have any hope of improving the patron experience at the Rialto (imagine better bathrooms, or a place to sit down and have a beer, or a patio!), we need a small amount of contiguous space into which we can expand. We want to take the Rialto from good to great. The city wants to fairly compensate the DTDC for these spaces. The DTDC will benefit in direct proportion to our success in making the Rialto better. But it would seem they instead want to capitalize on our success more directly, going so far as to persistently insist upon a joint venture that would give them a revenue stream from the theater's concessions.

Being a part of downtown's revitalization requires a commitment to more than blatant self-interest. DTDC needs to walk the talk and demonstrate that they truly value the Rialto Theatre by selling the small amount of space that they themselves understand that we need. From me to the DTDC: Do the right thing, and let's get on with making downtown better.

Curtis McCrary is the general manager/talent buyer at the Rialto Theatre. He is also a longtime Weekly contributor.

[Locofresh55]

Thanks Kaneui. I'm glad they are going to put something there. Hopefully someone will buy the dirt lot behind the jerry bobs restaurants diagonally across from 5151 E Broadway. THey could put some condos or something there and add some new retail stores too. With the proposed streetcar route going through there....that would help spark some interest. Hopefully.


Bourn Partners, the owner of the 16-story office building at 5151 E. Broadway since 2004, is apparently still rehabbing the ground floor for new restaurant and retail space as well as redoing part of the office tower. (And they are supposedly still trying to get financing for The Post, their long-awaited and controversial luxury condo project on Congress St., but apparently haven't sold enough units to secure a loan.)

If Glenn Lyons has his wish, there will be a streetcar/light rail spur running down Broadway, past this building and ending at Park Place Mall. And since it's all within the current Rio Nuevo boundaries, it could possibly tap that source for funding.


http://www.bournpartners.com/bourn/ecs/main/current_projects/5151.html

http://www.loopnet.com/property/14773613/5151-E-Broadway/

[kaneui]

D-Backs, Rockies to share Phoenix-area spring facility
Arizona Daily Star
07.16.2009

The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community announced today it will fund, build and operate a two-team spring-training facility for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies on community land. The facility is expected to be ready for 2011 spring training, as both teams plan to train for one more spring in Tucson. According to the news release, it will be the first major-league spring training facility in the United States to be built on Indian land.

The agreement is for 25 years with options to extend, according to a memorandum of understanding between the community council and the teams. The multipurpose facility will include an 11,000-seat capacity ballpark, 12 practice fields, major- and minor-league clubhouses, training facilities and offices. The site is near Indian Bend Road and the 101 Freeway. HKS Architects will design the new facility. It also designed Camelback Ranch for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox in Glendale.

[Locofresh55]

These events were put into place along time ago. When they decided to put TEP int he middle of nowhere. I guess it kind of makes sense that they would centrally locate the Cactus league in the Phoenix Metro area but it's still a f*cked up situation for poor Tucson. The Pima country Sports and Recreation Authority is still trying to get teams from japan and Korea but I guess Maricopa County is thinking about doing the same thing. Big brother syndrome indeed. What Tucson needs to do is get behind the Tucson Toros while we have them. I have heard nothing but good things about the Tucson Toros and the GBL as well. Tucsonans can't afford to be stingy with what we have and gripe about how the Toros stink. Get behind this team and go to the games to support the team. Maybe then they could fix up hi Corbett and forget about TEP. TEP should be converted to an outdoor pavilion where they could have amphitheaters for outdoor concerts in the fall and early spring. keep some of the baseball fields for the youth baseball leagues but convert from a spring training facility site. Would it hurt the city to put a water park around that area or are we looking for a new women's shelter or primavera daycare advocacy building?

[azliam]

D-Backs, Rockies to share Phoenix-area spring facility
Arizona Daily Star
07.16.2009

The Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community announced today it will fund, build and operate a two-team spring-training facility for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies on community land. The facility is expected to be ready for 2011 spring training, as both teams plan to train for one more spring in Tucson. According to the news release, it will be the first major-league spring training facility in the United States to be built on Indian land.

The agreement is for 25 years with options to extend, according to a memorandum of understanding between the community council and the teams. The multipurpose facility will include an 11,000-seat capacity ballpark, 12 practice fields, major- and minor-league clubhouses, training facilities and offices. The site is near Indian Bend Road and the 101 Freeway. HKS Architects will design the new facility. It also designed Camelback Ranch for the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox in Glendale.

A 25-year lease is an awfully long time. I wonder when the D'backs will decide to ditch that as well...I wonder what the tax benefit will be for the D'backs organization having a facility on Indian Reservation land. I guess that's not going to benefit the state of AZ...way to go D'backs.

[dintares]

Almost there!!

Bridge installed over 4th Ave. underpass
By Andrea Kelly
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.17.2009
advertisementWHAT: A pedestrian bridge over the Fourth Avenue underpass, allowing pedestrians to cross from the Historic Train Depot to a planned development on the east side of the street. The bridge is part of a project to widen the underpass, and add streetcar tracks, lighting, bike lanes and wider sidewalks.
WHEN: The bridge was installed Thursday morning. The project, on which construction started in June 2007, is expected to open to traffic, pedestrians and bicyclists Aug. 20.
WHERE: Parallel to the Union Pacific Railroad tracks, on the downtown side of the underpass, at the three-way intersection at Fourth Avenue, Congress and Toole Avenue.
HOW: Cranes hoisted each end of the bridge to lift the 115-foot structure into place.
HOW MUCH: The bridge is $500,000 of the $26 million underpass reconstruction project.
WHO: The Tucson Department of Transportation and Sundt Construction Inc.

[kaneui]

With the Rialto now given nearly another month to vacate their disputed space, will the city go forward with eminent domain proceedings against the owners so they can keep it anyway? (If not, Stiteler and Martin will be left with vacant space that they probably have little hope of leasing to anyone else.)


Judge rules in favor of Rialto Theatre's board
By Rob O'Dell
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
07.23.2009

The Rialto Theatre Foundation has until mid-August to move out of disputed space surrounding the theater, Superior Court Judge Michael Miller ruled. The 60-day clock started in June, when developers Don Martin and Scott Stiteler first notified the theater it would have to sign a lease to pay for the space, which it had been using for free. Miller ruled the Rialto Theatre had an oral lease to use the space, which gives the theater 60 days to vacate the spaces, including a 1,000-square-foot bay next door used for storage and a 2,500-square-foot adjacent area on East Broadway that serves as a green room and administrative offices.

The theater itself, at 318 E. Congress St., is owned by the city and would remain operating there. The judge also ruled the theater foundation can seek to recover its attorney fees in the case. Martin and Stiteler were seeking a court order to evict the Rialto from the properties immediately. Their push for eviction came just after a proposed development agreement with the city for the property fell through. The Rialto Theatre Board vigorously opposed that development agreement. Miller gave the theater until Aug. 18 to vacate the premises.

[kaneui]

Here's the latest on the construction work at 5151 E. Broadway, Tucson's largest office building:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/5151EBroadway.jpg
Things are buzzing at 5151 E. Broadway, which is undergoing a major remodeling to
accommodate its future tenant, Tucson College, which has signed a 10-year lease for the site.
(photo: James S. Wood)



Same number, but a number of changes at 5151
By Josh Brodesky
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
07.27.2009

Pass by 5151 E. Broadway and you'll see a rare site: construction. The low-level office complex in front of the landmark 16-story tower has been gutted and is undergoing a vast remodel as it becomes the new home for Tucson College, which will soon move from its current location at 7310 E. 22nd St. Tucson College has signed a 10-year lease for 40,945 square feet at the site and plans to move in Oct. 1.

The renovation of 5151 E. Broadway will continue through the end of the year, and the finished product will feature a contemporary design with high-efficiency seamless glass. The property is owned by 5151 Investments LLC, an entity controlled by Scottsdale-based Seldin Real Estate, Inc. Phil Skillings of Bourn Partners, LLC, which is handling the building's leasing and management, said mixed-use zoning and an expansion of space should lead to a dynamic tenant mix. "We think it's a landmark office building," he said. Tucson College, a vocational school that focuses on health and trade programs, said in a news release that its enrollment is up, and the college plans to expand its programs with the move.


DID YOU KNOW
Construction of the 16-story Great Western Bank Building at 5151 E. Broadway began with a groundbreaking ceremony on June 8, 1973. Although not as tall as the Home Federal Savings Tower at 32 N. Stone Ave., the new high-rise, when completed, would become the largest office building in Tucson, with 265,000 square feet of space.

Developed by Philip Wise of New York and Tucson and Joseph R. Cesare, president of the Broadway Realty and Trust Co. of Tucson, it cost more than $5 million to construct. By May 1975, the headquarters of Great Western Bank and the other tenants began moving in.

[kaneui]

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/DCMC-entrance.jpg
An artist's rendering shows the outside lobby area of Diamond
Children's Medical Center, which will be in the top three floors of UMC.
(render: UMC)


Diamond enters home stretch
Children's hospital with space, privacy to open in spring
By Stephanie Innes
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
07.28.2009

After a decade of debating, planning and fundraising, University Medical Center officials are in the final stretch of completing a new multimillion-dollar children's hospital. UMC's youngest patients will likely be moving into the new Diamond Children's Medical Center on the UMC campus next spring, hospital officials said during a tour of the facility's construction site Monday. For children and families, the main differences will be space, comfort and privacy — all of the pediatric rooms will be private. And families, who often spend months in the hospital with their sick children, will have more space and fold-out beds to help ease their stay. A meditation room and separate rooms for grieving parents are also included in the new plans — currently families are often hearing difficult news in hallways crowded with hospital staffers and other families.

The new center is a partnership between UMC and the University of Arizona's Steele Children's Research Center, merging clinical and research components into one facility for young patients. Anticipated to cost about $85 million, the Diamond Children's Medical Center will more than double the size of the UMC's current pediatric and newborn units. It will occupy the top three floors of the hospital's new six-story tower, which is part of a $184 million expansion project that UMC began in 2006. The expansion project includes 11 phases, seven now complete. The remaining four are: a new adult inpatient unit on the second and third floors of the tower, the three floors of the children's hospital and a new, separate children's lobby. "This is a dream we've had for 10 years," UMC President and Chief Executive Officer Gregory A. Pivirotto said. "It's very exciting for the community."

The children's medical center is named for developer Don Diamond and his family. As plans for the UMC children's hospital were nearing completion, Diamond and his wife, Joan pledged $15 million. The donation was particularly meaningful for the couple because their daughter, Deanne, died of asthma in 1971, when she was 14. The first floor of the new tower — UMC's emergency department and trauma unit — opened June 16. Also on the first floor is a separate children's emergency-room entrance and department. On the top of the six-story tower are three helipads that are already in use. A new lobby, children's library and child-friendly café for the Diamond Children's Center will be constructed in the space that was UMC's old emergency department and trauma unit. Other child-friendly features of the new children's center are slated to include an inspiration garden, outdoor activity area, entertainment area and gift shop.

UMC is Southern Arizona's only Level 1 trauma facility, the highest designation for trauma centers. That means it's the only hospital in the region equipped to handle severe injuries that carry a risk of death or significant disability — in both children and adults. UMC is also a regional center for children who need organ transplants, bone-marrow transplants and cancer treatment. When the project is complete, UMC officials expect to have 24 pediatric intensive-care beds, 12 emergency-room pediatric beds, 36 neonatal intensive-care beds, and 56 regular beds for pediatric patients.

Like other children's hospitals around the country, the new children's medical center is not expected to be a moneymaker. Hospital officials estimate that 55 percent to 60 percent of its pediatric patients are enrolled in Medicaid, which in Arizona is known as the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). AHCCCS is for extremely low-income residents who in general are living at or below the federal poverty level, and current government reimbursement levels for Medicaid patients are below what it costs the hospital to treat them, officials say. UMC isn't the only local hospital expanding its pediatric services. An $8 million to $10 million addition and renovation of its pediatrics area is coming to Tucson Medical Center.

[BrandonJXN]

I don't know about you but I think we (the few Tucson forumers) should get together and have a meet. Walk, talk, take pictures. That sort of thing.

[kaneui]

Senate panel would ax future Rio Nuevo funds
GOP lawmaker demands that for his budget vote

By Daniel Scarpinato
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
07.31.2009

PHOENIX — A Senate committee voted to gut future funding for Rio Nuevo on Thursday to win support from a Maricopa County lawmaker on a controversial sales-tax ballot referral. State Sen. Jack Harper, R-Surprise, said he wouldn't vote to send a sales-tax increase to the November ballot — an agreement between Gov. Jan Brewer and GOP lawmakers — only to see state revenue continue to be redirected to downtown Tucson's stalled redevelopment efforts. "These are other people's spending habits that I am not raising revenues to support," Harper said, referring to Tucson Republican lawmakers who support the project. Specifically, Harper's amendment — introduced and passed in the Senate Appropriations Committee — would cut off any future funding that wouldn't pay for outstanding bonds for projects in downtown Tucson.

The budget and tax-cut package, as a whole, still needs to pass the Legislature and garner the governor's signature. As of Thursday evening, legislative leaders were still working to line up votes. In the short term, the change wouldn't mean much for Tucson or the state. Rio Nuevo redirects state sales taxes collected in its footprint back to the district — that's money that would otherwise end up in the state treasury. Right now, those revenues barely cover the city's debt-services obligations with sales down in the sluggish economy. But over the 16 years remaining in the life of the district, there's a potential for $400 million in revenue to pay for planned facilities that would be lost under Harper's change. And even Harper admitted that taking those future funds may run afoul — as some have suggested — of a constitutional provision requiring a super- majority vote for anything that increases state revenues. "I think we're probably going to discuss it more; there may be litigation," he said.

Formed by Tucson voters in 1999 and extended by the Legislature in 2006, Rio Nuevo is estimated to receive $600 million in state sales taxes by the time it expires in 2025. About $200 million has either been spent, is in the bank or is earmarked to pay off the interest from a December bond sale. Until now, Rio Nuevo has been spared cuts to its revenue for two prime reasons — there's little financial benefit to the state in the short term, and Southern Arizona Republicans have refused to vote for a budget that tinkers with the funding scheme. But that coalition appeared to be unraveling Thursday. Sen. Al Melvin, R-Tucson, voted for the Harper amendment in committee. In an interview, Melvin said he agreed to the language but intends to try to restore the funding next year. "For some reason he's got a hang-up about Rio Nuevo," Melvin said. "He agreed to protect the money for the debt service, and that's what we want."

But Sen. Paula Aboud, D-Tucson, said Harper was unjustly targeting Tucson. Aboud said she took "personal offense" at the notion that a Maricopa County lawmaker was setting policy in a place he knew nothing about — and as part of an exchange for his vote on a sales-tax referral. Aboud said it would be unlikely for the money to be restored at a later point. "Next year there's not going to be any money to fix anything," she said. "We've got Republican legislators that don't have an affinity to Tucson … taking away dollars that are going to provide jobs and build an infrastructure in downtown." Harper had previously said he wouldn't vote for the sales-tax referral — a demand of the governor. He still doesn't support the tax itself.

Sen. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, who has been most vocal about Rio Nuevo's lack of progress, said he had not yet seen the language proposed by Harper. The Rio Nuevo change was actually one of three changes Harper passed through the Senate Appropriations Committee. Harper also wanted a 5 percent cut in state employment by next June, cuts in staff at the Auditor General's Office and a $1 million cut from the Arizona Automobile Theft Authority. Senate Republican leaders would not say whether they had agreed to Harper's requests to garner his support for the sales-tax referral, but all his amendments then sped through committee on party-line votes. The same budget package — without Harper's amendments — passed the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday night.

It was unclear whether Harper's proposals would be acceptable to a majority of lawmakers and to Brewer, given the tenuous nature of the deal between the governor and GOP leaders. Under the sales-tax plan, voters would be asked this November to approve a three-year state sales-tax hike. The increase would be a penny for two years and half a penny for the third year, dropping back to the current 5.6 percent rate after that. It would also be coupled with a spending cap, preventing lawmakers from spending more than $10.2 billion a year for three years. And lawmakers want to refer another measure that would ask the public to allow them to dip into earmarked funding for programs voters have previously protected, like publicly financed elections and early childhood development. The budget package also includes other changes to Rio Nuevo, part of a compromise reached months ago between city lobbyists and lawmakers. If the package is signed by the governor, the Tucson City Council would no longer be in control of the project. An already existing oversight board would have jurisdiction instead. That board would be totally restructured. The governor, the speaker of the House and the Senate president — rather than the City Council — would appoint its members.

[kaneui]

The city is looking for ways to save and restore downtown's historic warehouses, while developer Town West wants to build student housing on the site of their proposed El Mirador mixed-use project:


City Council to revisit Warehouse Arts District Plan
By Donovan Durband
http://tucsoncitizen.com/downtown/
July 31, 2009

Now that the proposed blockbuster deal with the Downtown Tucson Development Company is dead, the City Council is turning its attention back to aiding the development of the Warehouse Arts District by seeking control of key properties that are now in the hands of the state Transportation Department–and then seeking like-minded private sector partners, rather than relying on contributions to Warehouse District development from DTDC. Wednesday, August 5, the Council will consider a proposal to trade surplus City-owned properties to ADOT for three key Warehouse District properties: the Steinfeld Warehouse, the “Toole Shed”, and another building on Toole to be occupied by teen club Skrappy’s.

Vice Mayor Regina Romero, whose Ward 1 includes the western portion of the District, would like to see the three properties redeveloped and managed by a non-profit entity that will return these buildings to active arts uses, and will propose a Request for Qualifications and Request for Proposal process to seek qualified partners. The three buildings, as well as others in the District, are likely to be auctioned off by the State and razed at some point, unless the City creates another path to developing the properties, consistent with the adopted Tucson Historic Warehouse Arts District (THWAD) Master Plan (2004).

There should be a balanced long-term implementation strategy, and this seems like a good start. Some private-sector ownership of the district is needed to get housing and commercial space developed at some point, but preservation of properties that give the area character, especially the Steinfeld Warehouse, should be a high priority. The Warehouse Arts District has more than its share of vacant parcels that can be developed for market-rate housing and retail by a for-profit developer at some point—probably after the completion of the Downtown Links roadway in a few years—but the remaining warehouses should be saved and developed with arts-related uses. Trading surplus property that the State may need for its own future transportation projects is a way to secure properties like Steinfeld without dropping cash at a time when the City can ill afford to spend any. The area has long been a home for Tucson’s true “creative class”, not the yuppie version of creative class for whom local economic development-types seem to yearn, after they all drank the Richard Florida Kool-Aid a few years ago.

Also on Romero’s plate: the Citizen’s Warehouse on 6th Street, opposite the railroad tracks from the Steinfeld Warehouse. The building is probably best known as the home of BICAS, a non-profit organization that refurbishes bicycles for people who need safe, reliable, affordable transportation. Romero wants the City to obtain an easement on Citizen’s, to spare it from public auction and to maintain the existing arts uses while Downtown Links is under construction just north of the building.

Lurking right around the corner is a revision to Town West Development’s plan for the “Platforms” site that came to the public’s attention a few years ago when Nimbus Brewing Company sought the property to build a brewery and restaurant. Town West, which wrangled the rights to develop the property from Nimbus after owner Jim Counts was unable to secure financing within a six-month window granted by the City Council, is now proposing student housing and lots of surface parking. Town West also has its eye on Steinfeld, which is just west of the Platforms lot, the site of the annual All Souls’ Procession finale.

Downtown artists fear that Town West’s plan is to gain ownership of Steinfeld with a promise to refurbish it for a brew-pub, and then decide that it is too far gone to fix up, tearing it down for more student housing. I think that student housing is part of Downtown’s future, but I can’t see the El Presidio neighborhood or Dunbar Spring neighborhood standing for it there, nor do I see the artists supporting the Town West plan, which bears little resemblance to the goals set for that property in the THWAD Master Plan. Town West has told city officials that student housing is the only use that lenders will finance for the property now.

Romero says it’s also time to construct a long-promised capital element of the THWAD Master Plan, the “Art Walk” on Toole Avenue. I don’t know where the funding would come for the Art Walk, but having been a party to meetings with landscape architects and city officials years ago concerning this project—the construction of a green, accessible, inviting stretch of roadway, pedestrian/bicycle path, landscaping, and public art on Toole between 6th Avenue and 9th Avenue—I say get it going. I drove that segment of Toole twice on Thursday, and it is anything but green and inviting. Yuck.

I know that the Warehouse Arts District plan has its detractors around the Tucson community, but we should all be able to get behind following through on plans to move things forward downtown. Fans of the Warehouse Arts District can join forces with the “just do something” crowd on this. If we can’t save and restore buildings like Steinfeld in Downtown, and practice adaptive re-use, then what’s the point of downtown revitalization? We could just build a faux downtown on a tract of vacant Tucson land. Yuck again.

(Disclosure: I have been a board member of WAMO—the Warehouse Arts Management Organization—for several years, although I was more active when I was working for the Tucson Downtown Alliance and Downtown Tucson Partnership. WAMO is committed to the implementation of the District’s master plan, developed by a transparent public process and then adopted by the City Council five years ago.)

[kaneui]

The actual "plaza" of the new Depot Plaza project will provide a shaded gathering place for downtown's east end:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/HotelCongressplaza.jpg
Construction workers, from left, Joaquin Ortiz, Carlos Santacruz, Jermaine Roebuck
and Heath Edwards pour concrete for a parking lot curb outside Hotel Congress.
(photo: Jill Torrance)



Plan is for friendly haven outside hotel
New plaza unfolding downtown

By Rob O'Dell
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
08.01.2009

Hotel Congress and its Cup Cafe will have a new enlarged seating area come late August, as the hotel is in the midst of completing a new plaza on Toole Avenue where its parking lot once sat. The plaza, which will cost about $116,000, is modeled after a Parisian plaza and will feature brick-on-sand pavers and lots of trees to provide shaded areas where "the public can meet, eat, drink and enjoy the urban experience," said hotel owner Shana Oseran. Oseran said she hopes the plaza evokes thoughts of Europe, where such open areas are popular gathering spots, adding she hoped this will set a trend in downtown Tucson because open spaces are so needed.

Oseran said downtown has become a place of plaques that celebrate old accomplishments, rather than a place people can congregate in and use. Completion is scheduled to coincide with the ribbon-cutting at the reopening of the Fourth Avenue underpass in August. The plaza was designed by architect Bob Vint, and it is being built by NAC Construction of Tucson. The triangular shaped Hotel Congress Plaza occupies the site of what was originally a portion of East 10th Street, which was purchased by the Oserans several years ago and used as a parking lot. The parking will now be reconfigured in a V-shape extending into the north part of the triangle formed by Fifth Avenue to the west, Toole Avenue to the northeast and Hotel Congress on the south.

Oseran said the hotel will lose only a couple parking spaces in the conversion, and said the new parking lot will allow patrons to enter and exit on Fifth Avenue, rather than exiting the parking lot on Toole. She said she hoped the new parking garage on Fifth behind the former Martin Luther King, Jr. apartment complex can accommodate excess parking once the structure opens.

[kaneui]

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/ThePost-demo.jpg
Historic buildings were demolished for The Post project in 2004, but five
years later the condominium project shows no signs of getting under way.
(photo: David Sanders)


Development template would serve city well
Our view: Tucson doesn't need to start from scratch as it creates every contract
ARIZONA DAILY STAR - Opinion
08.02.2009

The story of Tucson's downtown redevelopment efforts in recent years is, well, rife with failed development deals. Now City Manager Mike Letcher wants to set up a large hedge against such problems by working with the executive director of the Downtown Tucson Partnership, Glenn Lyons, on a template for development agreements. "The way it now works is that each agreement has to be custom made," Lyons told us last week. "That means you have to spend more time working on it, and there's no system. The result is you get some very unusual deals."

We all know how well that's been working out for the city. That's why we hope efforts to standardize downtown development deals will succeed. You may remember that in November 2007, the city severed an agreement that allowed developer Peggy Noonan to buy a city-owned lot and build Presidio Terrace, a proposed seven-story condominium just north of City Hall. The city's cited problem: She failed to comply with a city deadline to find financing. Noonan responded by suing the city. That suit is still pending. The city-owned property lies fallow.

Five years and waiting
Another development agreement that so far has managed only to enrage preservationists is The Post, a condominium project by Bourn Partners on East Congress Street between Stone and Scott avenues. A century-old building was torn down in 2004 to make way for the project. The city paid $500,000 to demolish George Pusch's 19th-century building and clean up the lot. Bourn bought most of the block from the city for $100 in 2004. The development agreement was reworked several times. So far, nothing has been built on the property.

In December, the City Council signed off on an predevelopment deal with four developers who promised to take over the planning of 75 acres at the east end of Downtown, including finding a home for Skrappy's youth club and spending $500,000 for an assessment of the buildings in the warehouse arts district, in exchange for land. The partnership of developers broke up, but two of the four, Don Martin and Scott Stiteler, continued negotiating with the city. Their final deal was essentially that they would develop their property on East Congress Street in exchange for land valued at $4 million. The City Council rejected that deal largely because it offered too few protections to the Rio Nuevo-owned Rialto Theatre — the developers wanted an easement in the theater, for example. Since then, the developers have left the negotiating table. Similar examples of deals gone awry abound.

Standard language
Lyons, who has been at the partnership for 18 months, spent most of his career in Calgary, Alberta, working as a city planner, running the city's downtown alliance and later operating a consulting firm. "In Calgary, I must have negotiated 70 deals for skywalks, and they were all based on the same 40-page document," Lyons said. "It was like buying a house. You had a document and you were only asking, 'What's different in this deal from the standard language?' " One way to get projects moving downtown, Lyons says, is to make it simpler and quicker for developers, businesses and nonprofits to get approval. The land-use code is a problem, for instance, he said.

But another key element of streamlining the process is a stock development agreement in which "the builder commits to do X and the city commits to Y," he said. A standard document would simplify the process and give both sides leverage if the other suddenly demands something unusual. "The answer is, well, we have standard language here," Lyons said. Lyons is working with Letcher and City Attorney Mike Rankin to develop a template. "We'll be involving some of the developers, too," he said. Seems simple enough, but given Tucson's wild and woolly downtown-development history, we're sure it will be a challenge. We hope the City Council will support the effort, and that Letcher, Lyons and their team succeed.

[ljbuild]

Looks like I-10 in Tucson is finally and I mean finally finishing up.

But dam IT TOOK 2 1/2 YEARS to do it. :slob: :slob: Whereas here in Phoenix it took

slightly over a year to widen the Superstition (hwy 60) from three lanes in

each direction to 6 lanes & in some areas there are 7 lanes (about 5 years ago give or take).:tup:


So to sum things up,

In Phoenix:
more miles and more lanes of (widened freeway) took less time to build.

In Tucson:
less miles and lesser lanes of (widened freeway) was built but it took twice as much time.

This is very bizarre?

[Teacher_AZ_84]

Looks like I-10 in Tucson is finally and I mean finally finishing up.

But dam IT TOOK 2 1/2 YEARS to do it. :slob: :slob: Whereas here in Phoenix it took

slightly over a year to widen the Superstition (hwy 60) from three lanes in

each direction to 6 lanes & in some areas there are 7 lanes (about 5 years ago give or take).:tup:


So to sum things up,

In Phoenix:
more miles and more lanes of (widened freeway) took less time to build.

In Tucson:
less miles and lesser lanes of (widened freeway) was built but it took twice as much time.

This is very bizarre?

I agree things move more quickly in Phoenix metro. But, here in Tucson, they had to deal with rebuilding 7 bridges and keeping traffic underneath flowing.

I live on the west side and am glad that it is almost done 6 months early. It has been a headache trying to go east under the freeway.

[kaneui]

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/MaynardsMarket2.jpg
Patrons dine on the patio at Maynards Market in the Historic Train Depot. The restaurant
has an agreement for its rent to be waived through February 2011.
(photo: James S. Wood)


City lowers rent to help 2 tenants stay
Taxpayer-subsidized leases would help keep Maynards Market and LP&G in the depot

By Rob O'Dell
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
08.03.2009

Two of the anchor tenants in the city's Historic Train Depot are getting their rent lowered in order for those tenants to stay in business there on the east end of downtown. Advertising and public relations firm LP&G Inc. is getting a $26,000 reduction in rent for its office space for the next six months, in order keep it at the depot, which has struggled to be the "east anchor of downtown" that Mayor Bob Walkup said it would be when it opened in 2001. LP&G's taxpayer-subsidized lease is up for approval at Wednesday's City Council meeting as part of the consent agenda, a list of items routinely approved without discussion.

Maynards Market and Kitchen, which is often cited by downtown advocates as a downtown success story, is getting its rent lowered as well. But Maynard's rent reduction won't take effect until March 2011 because until then, it doesn't pay any rent. A deal signed in late 2007 gave Maynards owner Richard Oseran free rent for the year it took to renovate and open the business, which he did in December. The free rent continued through February 2011 to give the operation time to get on its feet and offset access problems due to Fourth Avenue Underpass construction. At $7,010 a month, which is what Maynards was supposed to start paying in March 2011, the rent waiver was worth about $280,000. City officials would not disclose how much the rent will be lowered, saying the negotiations have not been finalized.

The city and Oseran both cited the current economic conditions as grounds for the business to pay less. "Our rental rate has been adjusted to market conditions," Oseran said, noting this is occurring all over the country. "Everybody in town is trying to work with their tenants. . . . I think the city wants to keep us and are happy to work with us to keep us there." Oseran added that he has improved the publicly owned space with nearly twice the money that was stipulated in the lease agreement — $1 million instead of $500,000 in improvements. He is also adding an office space to the property, Oseran said. He noted that LP&G is getting its lease lowered and said a new tenant in the depot has a cheaper lease as well. Oseran's market is the second store to be given a subsidized lease in that space: The Central Bistro restaurant closed after getting $225,000 in tenant improvements and free rent for 18 months — after which it failed to pay any rent.

Councilwoman Nina Trasoff said she viewed the lowering of rents as two separate cases. For LP&G, Trasoff said the city would be out $47,000 in lease payments if the company were to leave, plus another $24,000 in payments to keep up the Depot common areas, which LP&G will continue to pay for the six months. "It's about losing a tenant or retaining some income and helping a local business," Trasoff said. "They weren't playing games with us; they opened their books to us." Trasoff said the hope is that as LP&G's business improves, the rents will begin going back up as well. Maynards is simply getting a market-rate adjustment, although Trasoff said she couldn't say why the city needs to make the change now. When asked if Maynards' lease would be adjusted upward in 2011 if market rates are higher then, Trasoff said that would be a good problem to have.

The $12 million depot restoration was supposed to attract offices, shops, a museum and restaurant — and most importantly, people. But it has never been a huge draw for visitors and shoppers. Leslie Perls, LP&G's owner, said her company was the first tenant in the depot and wants badly to stay. She noted the company would still being paying the $24,000 in common-area charges and $21,000 in rent over six months. "We had a great reduction in revenue and are unable to maintain the current rent we are paying," Perls said. "We love the space and want to try to stay if we can."

Lou Ginsberg, the city's special-projects manager for real estate, said the city rewrote the lease after LP&G approached the city and opened up its books to prove its financial situation. Ginsberg said the lease was on the consent agenda because "that's where we put lease agreements." He declined to comment on the lease for Maynards because he said it isn't finished. Council members Karin Uhlich and Regina Romero both said it might be better financially for the city to lower the lease payments rather than have the business vacate the space. Both declined to comment on the lease for Maynards because they had not seen information about it.

[kaneui]

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Steinfeld-warehouse.jpg
Steinfeld Warehouse


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Steinfield-conversion.jpg
Concept drawing of Steinfeld conversion


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/191-197Toole-conversions.jpg
Concept drawing of 191-197 E. Toole Ave. conversions
(photo, renders: Tucson Citizen)


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/191-197ETooleAve-warehouses.jpg
Warehouses at 191-197 E. Toole Ave.
(photo: A. E. Araiza)



Mayor & Council: Develop Warehouses for Arts & Downtown Revitalization
by Ben McNitt
http://tucsoncitizen.com/art/
August 5, 2009

THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL THIS AFTERNOON UNANIMOUSLY OKAYED the first step in a series of land-swaps and leases to breathe life into plans to convert downtown warehouses into affordable living and working space for artists and in the process make the district a destination for citizens and tourists alike seeking entertainment, dining and fun. “It’s a good move,” said Warehouse Arts Management District (WAMO) President Marvin Shaver. “This is saving some important buildings and moving toward realizing the vision of the 2004 arts district master plan.” WAMO will bid to acquire the buildings on the land the city will receive in a land swap with the state. Other bidders are possible, too.

The bottom line here is that within a year the long abandoned Steinfeld Warehouse at 101 W. 6th St. could begin a new life as artists' residences, workshops and galleries. Done right, it could be the keystone of an economically vibrant and attractive arts district to give a core identity to the city’s long neglected downtown. Council members at today’s study session where the first steps were approved seemed keen to assure that it be done right. Vice Mayor Regina Romero and council members Nina Trasoff and Karin Uhlich spoke about performance deadlines in any final deal and provisions to ensure development is consistent with the arts district master plan. “This is really pretty wonderful,” said council member Steve Leal, “because it writes artists into the district’s development using the powerful principle of affordability.”

The plan would keep all the land in the city’s possession and provide that allcosts for code upgrades and improvements be paid by the entity that wins a bid to acquire the buildings. Here are the details in brief: the city will acquire Steinfeld’s and “the Toole shed” properties at 191 and 197 E. Toole from the Arizona Department of Transportation in exchange for city-owned property. Within a projected 60 days, the city will prepare Requests for Qualifications and Proposals for long term leases to upgrade and develop the buildings. Once a bid is awarded, work will begin.

Shaver said that if WAMO wins the bid he’d expect some initial occupancy at the Steinfeld Warehouse within a year and completion within three years. This blog will keep you posted as the plan progresses, but suffice it to say today was a milestone in shifting downtown revitalization into gear.

Full disclosure: I volunteer on WAMO’s communications team.

[BrandonJXN]

^ About time. That area could really take off. WAMO if done right could really be a unique area in downtown.

[kaneui]

After the main entrance is moved to the east side, the hotel should begin construction in March, the TCC expansion in May, and the adjoining parking garage in June--with all projects completed by June, 2012:



Convention center revamp to start next month
Inside Tucson Business
August 07, 2009

Work continues to move forward on renovations of the Tucson Convention Center and a new 26-story convention hotel. The project’s developer told the City Council Aug. 5, work a new east entrance to the convention center is due to start in September and be finished in January before the start of the next Tucson Gem and Mineral Show in February.

Plans for the other portions of the project should be finalized next month, preceding a cost and financing plan. Preliminary estimates put the construction cost at $240 million. City leaders say the project is a necessary component in the Rio Nuevo downtown revitalization plan because it will allow the city to compete for conventions in order to bring in the tourist dollars. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by 2012.

[dintares]

So the other day, I noticed that other cities and older pictures of Tucson had signs with the business name that stuck out from the building. It makes it easy to look down the street and see what business are ahead if walking down the sidewalk or driving down the street, as opposed to flat against the building. Asthetically, I think it looks better and easier to locate businesses. Im wondering why this isnt done anywhere downtown except for maybe the Fox Theatre sign.

[kaneui]

So the other day, I noticed that other cities and older pictures of Tucson had signs with the business name that stuck out from the building. It makes it easy to look down the street and see what business are ahead if walking down the sidewalk or driving down the street, as opposed to flat against the building. Asthetically, I think it looks better and easier to locate businesses. Im wondering why this isnt done anywhere downtown except for maybe the Fox Theatre sign.

^I'm sure it has to do with the city signage requirements, etc. Flagstaff was similar until they did a revamp of their downtown, which then encouraged the type of signage you are suggesting:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/AspenAve-1.jpg
(photo: Flagstaff Chamber of Commerce)



A render and photo of the new "Parisian plaza" going in just north of Hotel Congress:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/DepotPlaza-render.jpg


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/DepotPlaza-railing.jpg
(render, photo: Inside Tucson Business)

[kaneui]

Some major cost overruns for the 4th Ave. underpass and Cushing St. bridge along the new streetcar route:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/4thAveUnderpassConstr2.jpg
The city bid the project using a "construction manager at risk" method,
or selecting contractors based on qualifications without regard to cost.
(photo: Kelly Presnell)


4th Ave. Underpass rises to $46M
For six years, city did not reveal additional $15M

By Rob O'Dell
Arizona Daily Star
08.09.2009

The new Fourth Avenue Underpass connecting downtown to Fourth Avenue will open in two weeks to some sticker shock: a previously undisclosed cost of $46 million. City estimates throughout the past six years have never put the cost higher than $31 million — although the city now acknowledges its wasn't revealing the entire costs for the past six years. The city's $31 million budget included only actual construction — it left out $15 million in other costs associated with the bridge. Not previously disclosed: $2.8 million for designs that were scrapped; $3.7 million for the current design; $1 million for design work that needing fixing during the construction process; $2.3 million for city staff time, inspections and testing; and $5 million for "incidentals" such as public art, relocating railroad tracks and moving some utilities.

The total bill once all costs are disclosed: $46 million. Most of the cost was paid by Tucson's share of state gasoline tax money, and the rest came from the Regional Transportation Authority, said City Transportation Director Jim Glock. The city also overshot construction costs, going from a $26 million "guaranteed maximum price" to $31 million. That $31 million is the same cost as an earlier bid for a duel-underpass design that was scrapped as too expensive in 2005 after $2.8 million in design work. Also included in the $46 million is $4 million in add-ons requested by the city's Rio Nuevo redevelopment agency, which the Transportation Department covered because Rio Nuevo is out of available money. Rio Nuevo had originally requested $5 million in improvements, but Glock said he was able to cut out $1 million.

Using city general-fund money for Rio Nuevo requests was a driver in the City Council's firing of City Manager Mike Hein in April. Mayor Bob Walkup said the opening of the underpass should be reason for a celebration. He acknowledged the $46 million cost, but said the city's construction budget was on target, adding he didn't consider design costs part of the budget. Walkup said the added cost to pay for Rio Nuevo-requested changes was "appropriate." "We got a lot of value for the money that we spent," Walkup said. "I'm pleased with the outcome. It was money well-spent."

The city bid the project using the "construction manager at risk method," which selects contractors based on qualifications without regard to cost. The city later gets a "guaranteed maximum price" from the contractor — but that maximum can be easily increased by issuing change orders. The same process was used for the Cushing Street Bridge, which has also experienced delays, redesigns and cost increases, and for the $9 million Scott Avenue/Congress Street Infrastructure Project, originally estimated at $6 million. (See related story on Cushing Street on Page A1.) Glock said the city used that builder-selection process to get the underpass going quickly, selecting Sundt Construction Inc. and starting construction even though the design was only 60 percent completed. That led to at least $1 million in extra design costs, he said. "We probably should have waited until we were at 90 percent, but we were in a rush to get done," Glock said.

For the Cushing Street Bridge, the city also selected Sundt, on designs that were only 30 percent finished. Penny Cobey, an expert in construction law with the firm McKenna Long & Aldridge in Los Angeles, said she was surprised the city went forward with projects when designs were that incomplete. Cobey, who has worked on construction contracts for 26 years, said hiring contractors on qualifications without regard to price is unusual and isn't allowed in many states, although it is in Arizona. However, she said the bidding process isn't the necessarily the culprit, as much as the people running it. A "construction manager at risk" process, which includes cost controls, is used by the most sophisticated cities or owners for the most complex projects. If the traditional design-bid-build contracting is the four-door sedan of government contracting, Cobey said, the "construction manager at risk" process is the Maserati. If someone not sophisticated enough to drive the car crashes it, "It's not the fault of the Maserati," Cobey said.



_____________________________________________________________________________


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/SantaCruzbridge--site.png


Costs soar for bridge's 4th redesign
Original design could cause flooding; price tag jumps from $6M to $10M

By Rob O'Dell
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
08.09.2008

A bridge to extend Cushing Street over the Santa Cruz River was supposed to cost $6 million and be open next month. Now it will cost more than $10 million and may not be completed until 2012. The bridge, approved by the City Council in 2006 to connect downtown to the west side, is being designed for the fourth time at a cost of $600,000, on top of $1 million already spent on earlier designs. Previous designs would have caused water backup and flooding upstream. Although one of the eight contractors bidding to build the bridge warned the city about the flood potential, the city awarded the job to a company that agreed to build it as designed — only to recognize after the fact that the warning was accurate.

In fact, one member of a city panel ranking the bids gave up to 35 points on a 25-point question to four firms that agreed to build the bridge as designed. The city said it was an administrative error that didn't affect firms' rankings, although the four companies that got the extra points were the same four that made the short list of bidders.It's a moot point now anyway, because even the winning bidder is out. The project has taken so long that the Rio Nuevo downtown redevelopment district, which secured legislative authority to collect an extra $500 million in sales taxes in 2006, has since committed all the money to other projects and doesn't have enough left to cover the higher bridge cost. So the city is trying to get the federal government to foot the bill.

But federal guidelines don't allow the bidding and procurement process used for the bridge, forcing the city to terminate its contract with Sundt Construction — paying it $57,000 in preconstruction costs — and rebid the project. And even though the new design will reduce the water backup caused by support pilings placed in the river bottom, there could still be some damming effect, forcing the city to undertake two lengthy federal permit processes to build the bridge. One permit is required from the Environmental Protection Agency and one from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. If everything goes right, City Transportation Director Jim Glock said, construction could begin in late 2010 and be completed by early 2012. If the city misses that mark, it could impact the planned modern streetcar, which is supposed to access Rio Nuevo's museum district on the west side of the Santa Cruz via the bridge starting in 2012.

Four bridge designs
A team of designers led by AMEC Infrastructure Inc. began work in early 2007, shortly after the City Council approved $6 million for the bridge. The target date to complete the project was September 2009. But Mike Hein, then city manager, and Rio Nuevo officials rejected the group's first, basic design as "not elegant enough," Glock said. Hein and Rio Nuevo officials wanted a bridge with arches and trees to create "a grand boulevard from the Tucson Convention Center to Rio Nuevo West." The addition of the arches and the trees, and modifications required to support the extra weight, "drove the costs up exponentially," Glock said, from $6 million to $12 million — costs Rio Nuevo may have been able to cover at the time.

The killer problem, discovered further along in the design process, was that pilings large enough to support the extra weight of arches and trees could trap debris in a major storm and flood properties upstream all the way to West 22nd Street. The city would have needed flood walls on the Santa Cruz River, Glock said, which would have run the cost up to $16 million. As a result, the city designed the bridge again. But FEMA and the EPA still require federal permits because, although the new design reduces the potential for water backups, it doesn't eliminate the problem. That will delay the project for a least a year. Glock said the city will have a fourth design, to eliminate the trees and bring the construction cost under $10 million. He hopes to add no more than $600,000 to the already $1 million in design costs.

Hiring a builder
The city hired Sundt to build the bridge in mid-2008, using a process called "construction manager at risk," where builders are picked on qualifications without regard to cost. Eight builders competed. One, Hunter Contracting Co., warned there would be problems with flooding on the Santa Cruz, and the bridge's design would cause costs to explode. Hunter suggested a different design, but decision-makers graded it among the lowest of the eight bidders. In ranking them, Bill O'Malley, then Rio Nuevo construction manager, gave more points than allowed in the experience-and-qualifications category to four of the seven bidders who signed off on the city's design. O'Malley, who is no longer with the city, rated Hunter's proposal the lowest of the eight. He didn't answer questions about his ratings.

Matt Hausman, the city's principal contract officer, said the extra points were his administrative mistake, adding they did not affect the outcome. Todd Jackson, a project manager with Hunter at the time, said the city simply had its mind made up on the design. Jackson is no longer with Hunter and said his comments shouldn't be seen as coming from the company. Others involved in the bidding process refused to comment. Jackson said the city picked a firm to build its preferred design with no regard to price. And builders agreed to do what the city wanted to win the contract, he said. "We told them what the real issues were … to help them solve their problems," Jackson said. "They didn't want to hear it." The new bid procedure must include cost controls to qualify for federal funding.

More delays
Because it takes so long to get the permits required by the EPA and FEMA, city officials said everything will have to go right to finish in time for the streetcar in 2012. According to e-mails in the city's procurement files, Cushing Street Project Manager Mo El-Ali told the bridge designers he was "shocked and disappointed" about needing a FEMA permit because it "has tremendous schedule implications that can't be easily repaired." City Manager Mike Letcher, who was not in charge of Rio Nuevo during the initial bidding process, said the focus should now be on getting the bridge built on time for the streetcar in a manner that's "as cost-effective as possible." With Rio Nuevo stripped of its staff, Glock is now in charge of the project. Glock "understands the critical nature of getting this done in time for the streetcar. He's given me assurances it will be ready," Letcher said.

Cushing Street Bridge Timeline
• Dec. 2006: City Council approves $6 million for the Cushing Street Bridge as part of a larger spending package for the west side. Opening planned for September 2009.
• May 2007: The city hires AMEC Infrastructure Inc. to design the bridge.
• March 2008: City Manager Mike Hein and the Rio Nuevo office declare the first $6 million bridge design not elegant enough, causing it to be redesigned.
• April 2008: City unveils second design, with estimated cost of $12 million, complete with trees and arches. Says construction will begin within one year.
• July 2008: City learns new bridge design will cause upstream flooding on Santa Cruz River, triggering federal permitting process. City decides to move forward despite flooding, and costs escalate to $16 million.
• Oct. 2008: City approves contract with Sundt Construction to build the design with trees and arches.
• Jan. 2009: City puts the bridge on wish list for federal stimulus money twice, once for $12 million and once for a $16 million deluxe version.
• April 2009: City designs bridge a third time, but cannot totally eliminate flooding risk. Federal government still requires permits for effects on river.
• July 2009: Seeking federal money, the city terminates Sundt's contract because federal rules do not accept the city's procurement method. Bridge to be designed for a fourth time and construction contract rebid.

[dintares]

Its funny, in the newest issue of Zocalo, it states that 4th avenue underpass is right on time and on budget. Shortly after, articles come out stating they went beyond their budget.

[kaneui]

Beowulf Alley Theatre could be restoring its original Art Deco exterior, replacing either the Rialto Block or Wig-O-Rama in the city's façade restoration program:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/beowulf-alley-render.jpg
Design of Beowulf Alley Theatre's new façade


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/beowulf-alley-theatre.jpg
Beowulf Alley today, near Broadway and 6th Ave.
(render, photo: www.tucsoncitizen.com)



Beowulf Alley Theatre launches capital campaign for façade redo
by Donovan Durband
http://tucsoncitizen.com/downtown/
August 10, 2009

A few weeks ago I noticed an appeal on Facebook from Beowulf Alley Theatre Company to contribute to its new capital campaign for façade renovation. Always pleased to see Downtowners working to help themselves, I made a small donation to the cause through a program called “Cause”, and emailed Beth Dell, the Managing Director at Beowulf, to learn more. It was clear that Dell wanted to be proactive, self-reliant, and to make Beowulf’s theatre, which occupies what was once the Johnny Gibson Gym Equipment Company, an attractive feature on 6th Avenue in Downtown. “A few weeks ago, I decided to go about this on my own because it’s really important to me to see us grow and cleaning up the front of the building for our 5th anniversary on 6th Avenue,” says Dell. “It would not only help us but will also make a difference in the Downtown appearance, too.”

Just today, a Facebook announcement from Ms. Dell confirms what she told me a few days ago, that Beowulf has been selected by the City of Tucson to receive a façade renovation matching grant. It seems that her and Beowulf’s initiative is being rewarded. Last year, Beowulf was among eight semifinalists for funding from the Downtown Façade Improvement Program, but was not among the four selected for the first round of grants. Two projects are under construction through the program: The Screening Room marquee on Congress and the office building at the corner of Scott and Broadway. Also awarded grants: the Rialto Block project and the Wig O Rama building at Scott and Congress. Dell was informed that one of the latter two projects has dropped out, leaving some funding available to Beowulf as a replacement project.

“I’d like to try to raise the full $10,000 to do the original façade plan,” she told me last week. “If I can do that, the Gibson’s (Johnny Gibson’s family, which still owns the building) seem willing to offer their original commitment of $15,000, and we have an in-kind commitment of $5,000. The City would match these dollars with $30,000, and our $60,000 renovation would make a huge difference in the outside appearance of the building as well as attract a whole lot more attention to help us grow and expand our service to the community.” “I am not really good at making appeals but I am sure excited about this.” Dell has raised just shy of $1,000 through the Facebook appeal and from a few others who didn’t want to contribute through the “Cause” page.

Dell seems giddy, grateful, and proud at the same time. “It’s almost as if we were meant to be here to have this phone call (with the news of the grant). We’ve spent the past season building many new programs and have more planned for the fall. Our commitment to the community is strong and many performing artists have benefited from our being here. We’ve doubled our season subscribers, had a huge increase in single ticket sales, added both youth and adult education classes, late night and lunchtime theatre programs and started a program for playwrights to have their plays read. This fall, our new season has many new local directors, actors and technicians added to our roster. All of this meets our mission of creating a community of theatre where our home-grown artists can come to create.”

Beowulf has a design for the refurbishment of its Art Deco-style façade, drawn up by local architect Bob Vint. Beowulf’s 2009-2010 season features six productions, leading off with Seascape, by Edward Albee, September 26 to October 11. November brings Rabbit Hole, by David Lindsay-Abaire (November 7-22). Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love runs January 16-31, 2010, followed by Flaming Guns of the Purple Sage, by Jane Martin, February 27-March 14; Last of the Boys, by Steven Dietz, April 10-25; and The Vertical Hour, by David Hare, May 29-June 13. Significant donations to the façade renovation campaign will receive 2 season tickets.

For more information on Beowulf’s programs and upcoming season, visit www.BeowulfAlley.org or call 520.622.4460 (administrative office), or 520.882.0555 (box office). To contribute to the facade renovation campaign, go to Beowulf Alley Theatre Company’s “Causes” page on Facebook.

[kaneui]

The new Cushing St. (formerly Clark St.) underpass built by ADOT was funded with $9M from Rio Nuevo to accommodate the new streetcar line, whose western terminus will eventually reach Avenida del Convento and W. Congress St. by 2012 (once a less costly bridge over the Santa Cruz River is designed and built):



Cushing Street’s wider, brighter I-10 underpass set to open
August 11, 2009
By Teya Vitu
http://www.downtowntucson.org/

The second half of August will be the season for new downtown underpasses. Along with the new Fourth Avenue underpass, a new Cushing Street underpass will also open under Interstate 10 by the end August, Arizona Department of Transportation spokeswoman Linda Ritter said. The Cushing Street underpass links the two freeway frontage roads and provides direct access from the Tucson Convention Center to the Riverpark Inn. It will especially come into play in February as gem show visitors park in the TCC lots to go shopping on motel row along the frontage road. Ultimately, the underpass is envisioned as the gateway to the now indefinitely delayed Tucson Origins museum complex and the Mercado District of Menlo Park housing development. The proposed streetcar to link the University of Arizona to downtown and the West Side is aligned to travel through the underpass.

The underpass has changed name and personality since closing for freeway widening work in 2007. The Clark Street name was changed to Cushing so that the same street name continues from the TCC through the underpass, onto the proposed bridge over the Santa Cruz River and into the Origins complex. The Cushing Street underpass is 225 feet wide, with 20-foot-wide sidewalks on each side and plenty of daylight streaming in. Narrow piers divide the underpass into two 70-foot wide sections and an 85-foot-wide middle section, where space is dedicated for streetcar tracks. “It does not have a tunnel feel anymore,” Ritter said. The old underpass had two 40-foot wide spans separated by thick pillars with sidewalks barely three or four feet wide. “The old one used to have a feel of a tunnel,” Ritter said. “The piers were solid, obstructed the view, and it felt very narrow. Now the way the piers are there is a feeling of openness.”

[kaneui]

After a $550,000 restoration facelift, the Santa Cruz Catholic Church at 1220 S. Sixth Ave. is reopening on Saturday, August 15. The 1919 Spanish Colonial Revival structure, resembling a convent in Ávila, Spain, is the largest spanned adobe structure in the Southwest:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Santa_Cruz_Church_2006.jpg
(photo: Santa Cruz Parish)


Santa Cruz church restoration nears end
By Carmen Duarte
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
07.26.2009

Brother Salvador Roman is giving new life to 20 religious statues that have graced the historic Santa Cruz Catholic Church for nearly 90 years. In February, he began cleaning and restoring the statues that were made by the Daprato Statuary Co. of Chicago and New York, which was founded in Italy in 1860. The artistic legacy continues at the company known for its design and manufacture of church art decor and stained-glass windows. Roman, of the Order of Discalced Carmelites, is cleaning and sanding wood, mixing colors and putting on finishing touches on the plaster images that have touched thousands after the church was established in 1919 in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson.

The church, which is on the National Register of Historic Places, closed in February for a $550,000 restoration project being done by Camwest Group, Inc. The work includes a new roof, an air conditioning system, interior lighting, flooring and painting. The funding was raised through benefactors, donations, grants and events. The flooring will be done in phases and is expected to be completed next year with a $58,000 grant from the Koch Foundation based in Chicago, said Ralph B. Lares, Santa Cruz's business manager and director of stewardship and development. A celebration with organ and mariachi music is set for Aug. 15 with the reopening of the church for a 5:30 p.m. Mass followed by a fiesta in the parish hall.

Meanwhile, Roman continues restoring the saints for the church and its celebration. He studied under Brother Claude Lane, an iconographer, in Mount Angel Seminary in St. Benedict, Oregon. He also does research online and worked with Czerina Espinosa, a parishioner who restores statues. "Some of the images are 6 feet tall and it takes four men to carefully move them," said Roman. "I have mixed emotions about my work. I feel honored, proud and grateful to be able to lend my talent. I learned quickly that you need a lot of patience with this type of work. You can't rush it," he said. "People have come and prayed for years in this church. They pray and have grown closer to God because of the representation of the saints. I feel proud that I can say I have helped them a little bit in their spiritual life," said Roman.

Among the statues are Our Lady of Mount Carmel, St. Teresa of Ávila, the main crucifix with the Blessed Mother and St. John, St. Vincent de Paul and the angels. There also is St. Peter, St. James, St. John of the Cross and Saint Theresa of the Child Jesus, also known as St. Theresa the Little Flower. As the church is undergoing restoration, the statues were stored in the diocesan archives on the property of St. Ambrose Church, 300 S. Tucson Blvd., and will be returned and put up on wall pedestals and at the main altar before the refurbished pews are installed.

Last week, painter Ramón Luján said he feels privileged to be a part of the renovation. "I have come to this church for about 25 years and I love the architectural style. All the saints add a special feeling when you pray," he said while standing on a ladder inside the empty church. Parishioner Annie López, who turns 79 the day before the church reopens, said the soon-to-be-completed renovation is "the best birthday present." The church celebration will be led by Rev. Bernard Perkins, the pastor, and among the invited guests are former priests who were assigned to the parish and priests from the Order of Discalced Carmelites in Redlands, Calif. This celebration will take place on the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Pieces of the old wooden trusses that supported the roof will be given to parishioners as a keepsake at the celebration, López said. "The fundraising for this renovation began about four years ago by parishioners, and it now is being supported by the community," said Lares. "People who attended this church as children and now belong to other parishes have come back to help raise funds for their church. It has become a work of love," said Lares, who spearheaded the fundraising efforts. Next year, parishioners will continue working to raise $100,000 to paint the outside of the church and then start working on a $7 million capital campaign to restore the school and the parish's St. Anthony and Our Lady of Guadalupe chapels.

[kaneui]

El Presidio neighborhood residents have had a downtown graffiti art wall repainted as a mural more to their liking--a project partially funded by the city of Tucson:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Graffit_art_d-tTucson.jpg
The original work was created as part of the Winta Fresh event in late December.
But nearby residents were outraged by the mural work, which was done by graffiti-art students.
(photo: Mamta Popat)



http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Muralart-d-tTucson.jpg
Rocky Martinez applies finishing touches to a redone mural now depicting
a desert landscape. Originally, it was a collection of graffiti art.
(photo: Greg Bryan)

(for more photos: http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/byauthor/305043)



Downtown wall that stirred furor redone with less-strident imagery
By Rob O'Dell
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
08.15.2009

The wall next to the Tucson Water building, where a graffiti mural sparked outrage from neighbors earlier this year, is being painted over by a group of spray-paint artists similar to those who did the first mural. However, this time the graffiti mural is not controversial. The city-sponsored graffiti art class has been repainting the mural with images acceptable to the city and to residents of nearby El Presidio Neighborhood.

The first mural was painted in late December during a festival called Winta Fresh, which was put on by Rocky Martinez, who also teaches a graffiti-art program for the city called Arts in Reality. Although the city did not directly pay for the Winta Fresh event, many neighboring residents were outraged by the images on the nearly block-long, city-owned wall, which they said looked like trashy boxcar graffiti. In addition, some were outraged that the city paid for graffiti classes at all. To make things right, Martinez and his class held several meetings with the neighborhood, the Tucson Museum of Art and others to design a mural that would be more acceptable.

Tom Pashos, an El Presidio resident, said the mural's new focus, to paint some of the history of the area, including nearby homes, was much more acceptable. However, he said a small portion of the original graffiti mural that was painted by a famous out-of-town graffiti artist will not be painted over. The city's Arts in Reality class, funded in part by $8,000 from Councilwoman Regina Romero's discretionary funds for youths, is painting the new mural. Much of Romero's $8,000 will go toward the new mural, which is on a wall adjacent to the Tucson Water building, just off North Granada Avenue and West Alameda Street.

Romero said the new mural evokes the Sonoran Desert and other elements of Ward 1, which she represents. "From a misunderstanding and a bad situation, they turned a bad situation into something really, really good," Romero said. Romero also said she wants the Arts in Reality program to create a public-service announcement where youths teach other youths that aerosol art is good but not if it's done illegally without permission. We want to show them "illegal graffiti is not cool, but art is, especially when you follow all the rules." The new graffiti mural will be unveiled Aug. 25 during a celebration in the adjacent parking lot, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

[kaneui]

While Rio Nuevo's future leadership remains in limbo, their Rialto Theatre has been given a two-week reprieve by landlords Stiteler and Martin to remain in their disputed space:


Rialto, developers agree to 2-week extension
by Donovan Durband
August 16, 2009
http://tucsoncitizen.com/downtown/

The Rialto Theatre Foundation and Rialto Block Project LLC (Don Martin and Scott Stiteler) have reached an agreement that will allow the Foundation to continue to occupy the so-called “Green Room” and office building at 211-215 E. Broadway Blvd., as well as the storefront bay at 316 E. Congress St., adjacent to the theatre lobby, until September 1, 2009. A release dated August 16 quotes Scott Stiteler, expressing hope that the two parties can come to an agreement “regarding a permanent resolution of matters related to the Theatre’s needs for space.” The announcement gives the Rialto Theatre Foundation two weeks beyond an August 18 deadline to use the properties while it continues to negotiate for a longer term lease. A judge had given the Foundation until August 18 at a July hearing that was held to determine if Stiteler and Martin could evict the Foundation from the spaces then.

While the spaces in question are owned by Rialto Block Project LLC, the theatre itself is owned by the Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District, whose board of directors has been involved in the negotiations. The Rialto Theatre Foundation operates the theatre on behalf of Rio Nuevo. The Foundation has used the spaces for free but has expressed willingness to pay rent. The two parties have not yet agreed on a lease term, and there does not seem to be a shared vision of the long-term space needs of the theatre or the relationship between the theatre and the rest of the block. Nor does there seem to be a shared vision of the relationship between the Foundation and its landlord, the City of Tucson/Rio Nuevo, a circumstance that is very puzzling.

Rio Nuevo and the City of Tucson, for which Rio Nuevo is a proxy, have an inherent interest in protecting their asset, one of the few completed projects in Rio Nuevo. Rio Nuevo and the City also have an interest in fostering private-sector investment and development in Downtown, which means they don’t want to chase off Stiteler and Martin. This apparent dilemma need not play out as if Rio Nuevo had to choose sides. Nonetheless, the theatre itself is a unique National Register asset, and Rio Nuevo has a compelling rational interest in seeing this asset protected and enhanced. From an outside perspective, however, there appears to be a reluctance to demonstrate leadership in protecting one of Rio Nuevo’s four completed projects.

[BrandonJXN]

Remember Thursday is the reopening of the 4th Ave underpass. Anyone going?

[dintares]

Im definantly going and bringing the camera along, It starts at what time again?

[BrandonJXN]

^ From 4 to 10 pm. Remember, it'll be a pretty large event with events at Main Gate, 4th Ave, and downtown.

I'm going. No camera but I'll be there. :tup:

[Leo the Dog]

Are they starting train service on Thursday too?

[dintares]

^Yes the trolley is running and they are giving free rides all day. Does anyone know if the little park behind Congress is going to be finished that day also? Last I heard it was opening that day too.

[kaneui]

^Yes the trolley is running and they are giving free rides all day. Does anyone know if the little park behind Congress is going to be finished that day also? Last I heard it was opening that day too.

^It should be ready, according to Richard Oseran, although I believe most of it will be for Cup Cafe patrons. And the view from the webcam shows that the adjacent small parking lot has been paved and striped, so it's probably a go for tomorrow.

http://www.transview.org/cams/LiveViews/east.htm

[kaneui]

With TIF revenues in a slump and the December bond money spent, Rio Nuevo is using general fund dollars to keep the TCC expansion and new hotel moving forward:



Rio Nuevo is forced into fund shift to pay for hotel's design
By Rob O'Dell
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
08.16.2009

The city's Rio Nuevo redevelopment district is being forced to take money from the taxpayer-subsidized Tucson Convention Center to pay for the design of a new convention center hotel. The fund shift is necessary because all the money from the city's $80 million bond sale last December is gone. The city sold the TCC to its Rio Nuevo redevelopment district in 2002, and leases the facility back from the district for $3.7 million a year. Rio Nuevo uses the lease payments to pay off the debt issued to buy the center.
Money to underwrite the hotel design will come from those lease payments. The City Council, which has final authority over Rio Nuevo, has approved using the $3.7 million lease payment to refinance $11 million in existing bonds and add another $9 million in money to pay for the final design of the hotel and for a new entrance to the TCC. The entrance is needed so the hotel can be built next to it.

The city also hopes to use the lease revenues to eventually finance a $33.5 million expansion of the TCC later. The final design for the hotel is estimated at $12 million, while the new entrance to the TCC is estimated to cost $4 million. About $7 million needed for the hotel will come from a December bond sale that came under fire because the bonds were put on the market when interest rates were high, partly to forestall the state Legislature taking the money back. But the money from the sale is all but gone once that $7 million is used, said Finance Director Sylvia Amparano. "There isn't any money left from the bond proceeds for a master developer (for the TCC) or a new TCC entrance," Amparano said.

The city pays an annual subsidy of $1.3 million from the taxpayer-supported general fund to supplement TCC-generated revenues used to pay for the operation. Now, instead of financing Rio Nuevo's purchase of the TCC, a portion of the money will go to the new convention center hotel, as well as the TCC expansion. Council members said they support jump-starting the convention center hotel, and added that they either didn't know or weren't concerned about the general-fund subsidy going toward Rio Nuevo projects. Mayor Bob Walkup said the city is "moving ahead smartly" with the hotel, and the TCC leases payments are a "revenue stream that is already in the budget." Although Rio Nuevo is out of bond money, Walkup said the bond sale was "absolutely a success" and the expenditure of the money was "exactly why we went out and bonded."

Councilwoman Nina Trasoff said the city had intended to use all the money from this bond and then issue several more. But she said the economy crashed and the Legislature threatened to end the Rio Nuevo district or reform it substantially. Trasoff said she didn't know about the subsidy, but said the "bottom line is we have to find a way to move forward with the seminal project downtown." Councilwoman Regina Romero said she was concerned about the long-term impact of the hotel project on the city's general fund, but added that she wasn't concerned about the TCC subsidy from the general fund because it was an existing revenue stream. "The money has been budgeted for the TCC," Romero said of the subsidy. "We're not using any more money than what has been budgeted."

[kaneui]

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Maynards-patio.jpg
Day fades to night as diners visit Maynards, at the
Historic Train Depot, 400 N. Toole Ave.
(photo: David Sanders)



Dining, clubbing in city's center
As the underpass opens at last, we dig into downtown's mushrooming restaurant, nightclub scene
http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/aznightbuzz/305486
08.20.2009

As a couple hundred people waited last Saturday to get into the new club Zen Rock, On a Roll sushi prepared for the crush of its reverse happy hour and Maynards wowed diners with its late-night menu. It's a downtown scene that didn't exist two years ago when construction began on the Fourth Avenue Underpass. Thursday, Aug. 20's grand opening of this vital gateway is a grand excuse to explore the emerging dining and nightclubbing scene in the city center. Downtown, after all, has nearly 50 restaurants and bars offering everything from gourmet burgers to flamenco.

"You can feel the excitement," said acclaimed chef Janos Wilder, who opened his first restaurant downtown in 1983 and hopes to return with another. "There's energy in the streets at night, restaurants are full of diners, nightclubs are pulsing with music and dancing. There are people in the streets and they have something to do. A new downtown is emerging. This is becoming a downtown where people will want to be."

______________________________________________________

For all the festivities surrounding tomorrow's opening of the 4th Ave. underpass, check out the Downtown Tucson Partnership website:

http://www.downtowntucson.org/news/?p=437

[Locofresh55]

Downtown Tucson is really coming around and there is sign of life down there during the day and at night. I think this thing tomorrow will be awesome because they are having the Tucson b-day celebration so there will be a big ole presence in Downtown. I would like to try and go but I will be working til 6PM.

[Sonoran_Dweller]

Birthday celebration?? How old is The Old Pueblo turning?

Also does anyone know when UA is back in session?

[kaneui]

Birthday celebration?? How old is The Old Pueblo turning?

Also does anyone know when UA is back in session?

Officially, Tucson is 234 years old, dating from the establishment of Presidio San Agustin by the Spanish on Aug. 20, 1775. However, San Xavier Mission, 10 miles south of downtown, was founded in 1699, and archeological ruins excavated near the Santa Cruz River date from nearly 4,000 years ago.

And I believe classes at the UofA begin next Monday...

[kaneui]

The problematic Biosphere 2 was built by billionaire Ed Bass in the late 80's for $150M on 3 acres of a 1,650-acre spread north of Catalina. Although the property was bought by CDO Ranching and Development in 2007 for luxury homes, the main campus is now leased to UofA for climate change research:



http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Biosphere2-aerial.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Biosphere2-interior.jpg
UA researchers plan to alter the ocean biome to resemble the Gulf of California.
(photos: CDO Ranching and Development)



Whole New World
The UA is turning Biosphere 2 into a climate-change laboratory

by Jim Nintzel
Tucson Weekly
August 20, 2009

As director of external affairs for Biosphere 2, Hassan Hijazi sometimes finds himself fielding phone calls from Hollywood producers who want to know if the giant terrarium is available for reality-TV shows. He politely lets them know that the Biosphere is more interested in working with the Discovery Channel these days. "We want to do serious science at the Biosphere," Hijazi says.

That hasn't always been the case. The Biosphere 2 has, in the words of UA College of Science Dean Joaquin Ruiz, "a complicated history." When it was first under construction in the late 1980s on Oracle Road/Highway 77 north of the tiny community of Catalina, the gleaming glass building—which covers roughly 3.14 acres and rises 91 feet from the ground—was designed to be sealed up for a century, with small crews rotating in and out every two years. It included different "biomes"—a tropical rainforest, a grassland savannah, a mangrove wetland, a desert, a small saltwater ocean and beach, and a farm where Biospherians were to grow their food—along with compact crew quarters and a mission-control center that bore some resemblance to the starship Enterprise. The first jump-suited crew entered the building in 1991, with considerable media fanfare and the suggestion that this could be the first step toward developing outposts on other planets.

But many scientists were skeptical of Biosphere 2, and the mission came to a premature end shortly after the second crew entered the facility in 1994. Billionaire Ed Bass, a Texas oilman whose fortune paid for most of the Biosphere's $150 million construction cost, pulled the plug on the management and eventually turned over control to Columbia University, which ran it until the college abandoned the project in 2003. Today, Biosphere 2 and the 1,650 acres that surround it are owned by CDO Ranching and Development, which plans to build green, luxury homes on the property.

In the meantime, CDO is leasing out the 34-acre Biosphere 2 campus to the University of Arizona, which is covering the costs of running the facility through a $30 million grant from Bass' Philecology Foundation. Travis Huxman, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology who is the director of Biosphere 2, says a team of UA faculty consulted among themselves and with outside scientists to determine how they could use the facility for research before agreeing to take it over. "We've seen it go through cycles of promising good science and then being less than able to deliver on it," Huxman says. "We wanted to be sure that we would be doing science that couldn't be done anywhere else and use the facility to full capacity. ... If you can do it somewhere else, you should, because it's cheaper." The new focus: studying the impact of climate change, particularly on water patterns. Several small-scale studies are underway; Huxman was a co-author of the first peer-reviewed paper involving the Biosphere 2 since the UA took it over. The report, which ran in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, examined how well piñon pines from New Mexico survived under drought conditions in different biomes. The conclusion: Under typical drought conditions, the pines die off five times more often if temperatures rise by 7 degrees Fahrenheit.

Researchers are now planning their first large-scale experiment. They've cleared out the biome where Biospherians once grew their crops, and the now-bare concrete floor will soon be covered by experimental hillsides to better understand how water moves through the earth from mountains to rivers, says John Adams, Biosphere 2's assistant director for planning and facilities. Once three hillsides have been created, researchers will pour rain onto them and use sensors to measure the movement of the water. After taking those measurements for a few years, they'll add vegetation and eventually start adjusting temperatures and CO2 levels. "This will be an experiment that will be 10 years or longer, and you've got people who are soil scientists; you've got plant physiologists; you've got people who put together all these models and predictions of how things may or may not change if temperatures rise or CO2 levels increase," says Adams.

How water patterns will be altered as a result of climate change remains a mystery. Huxman says Biosphere 2 offers the chance for researchers from hydrology, ecology and atmospheric sciences to find new ways to collaborate on water studies. "It's a little shocking that something that's so important to us doesn't have a stitched-together fundamental theory," Huxman says. "We understood how to split an atom and create an atomic bomb before we understood the physics of how water ascended a tree and evaporated into the atmosphere." Researchers at work on experiments sometimes play a public role, explaining their work to visitors to Biosphere 2. The tours—last year, the facility hosted about 65,000 people, but the university hopes to boost that number to 120,000 within a few years to generate funds to help offset operating costs—take guests through the biomes and offer a look at the old living quarters. Visitors also get a backstage peek at the concrete tunnels underneath Biosphere 2, where rumbling machinery and a network of pipes and vents maintain temperatures and other climate conditions.

Maintaining those environments in the Sonoran Desert summer is not cheap, but the university is working to lower the costs. Opening some windows and venting the giant greenhouse has helped lower energy costs by as much as 70 percent, Adams says. As a first step toward developing solar energy on the property, Biosphere 2 received a donation of 470 solar panels earlier this year, courtesy of SOLON Corp., a German engineering firm that has a Tucson manufacturing plant. The 40 kilowatts of solar panels will help power a collection of casitas and a conference center known as the B2 Institute, where the UA hosts symposiums, teaching seminars and other get-togethers. This summer, for example, it played host to elementary-school science and math teachers from around the state who attended a three-week training course to hone instructional skills.

Jim Gentile, the executive director of Tucson-based Research Corporation for Science Advancement and a member of Biosphere 2's advisory board, says hosting conferences at the facility offers a chance for participants to seriously focus on whatever topic is at hand. "For those kinds of conferences, you don't want to go to a fancy resort, because there's too much else to do," Gentile says. "People lose the focus of why they're there. Having a rattlesnake-surrounded conference center as nice as the Biosphere is really of value."



For more info.: http://www.b2science.org/

[kaneui]

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/UofAMathematicsBldg.jpg
UA Mathematics Building (Cain Nelson Ware and Cook, 1971)
University of Arizona campus


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/ValleyNationalBank.jpg
former Valley National Bank (Friedman/Jobusch, 1971)
3033 E. Broadway


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/CatalinaAmericanBaptistChurch.jpg
Catalina American Baptist Church (Charles Cox, 1961)
1900 N. Country Club
(photos: Dean Knuth)


Tucson's 'Modern' architectural gems are cited
By Tom Beal
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
08.21.2009

Some significant "Modern" buildings stand out — the church on North Country Club Road with the thin-shelled concrete roof that touches the ground at the edges of its joined parabolas, the big white bank that incorporates its concrete artwork into its temple-like facade or the car dealership with porte-cochere tall enough to shade a semi-truck. Others, built mostly between 1945 and 1975, blend into their strip-mall surroundings, their quality noticed only by a trained eye that appreciates columns aligned with double-mullioned windows.

We tend to dismiss them, lumping them with the aging, less distinguished shops, restaurants and other businesses that cloned themselves along our major streets in those decades of our air-conditioned expansion. The Modern Architecture Preservation Project of Tucson has compiled a list of 50 "exceptionally significant" Modern buildings in an attempt to make us look more closely and appreciate the contributions made by Modern architects to the Tucson street scene. The project hopes that recognition will spare some of these buildings from demolition. A number of factors make them under-appreciated.

• These buildings aren't "Old Pueblo-ish," said architectural historian Annie Nequette. "They don't fit people's picture of what should be here."
• "They're not old," said architect Chris Evans. "They were built, usually within our lifetimes, so people don't accord them the same respect they do historic buildings." People often confuse Modern with "contemporary," Evans said, rather than thinking of Modern as a style that dominated architecture during a 30-year period after World War II.
• Some are simply easy to overlook. Pima Community College's West Campus and the Tucson Police Department's headquarters downtown are prime examples of a Modern style known as "Brutalism," with their unfinished concrete exteriors.

We may have found them stark when first built, but we've grown to accept the style. The police building, said Nequette, "is kind of quiet in a way. Some of those Brutalist buildings are just so solid in terms of the quality of design and construction. The police station doesn't have that kind of 'Look at me' quality." Many of the buildings on the list have uncertain futures, with a number sitting along streets that are slated for widening. "We've made some really good saves," said Nequette, citing the Wilmot branch of the Pima County Library System and the Chicanos por la Causa building, formerly the First National Bank, at 200 N. Stone Ave.

Evans recently completed a renovation of the former Catalina American Baptist Church on Country Club Road. The structure's roof line soars from ground level to a 30-foot apex. The congregation of the church, now named Catalina Church of Midtown, had debated demolition before deciding to restore the church. The Modern church, with its pews and organ loft, is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and hosts "traditional" worship services. Contemporary services are held in a newer, adjoining building that is equipped with a stage, amplifiers for a variety of musical instruments, lighting and video equipment.


For the complete list and more info.: http://mapptucson.org/

[dintares]

New 4th ave. underpass! There was way more people than I expected. Pictures of new park behind Congress and tiki god at The Hut on 4th ave (almost three stories high!)





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[PHX31]

Looks pretty cool. Is there anyway you (or someone) could post a map of what this is? I think it is the extension of the old historic trolley, or it could be the initial phase of the new streetcar line. I don't know.

[BrandonJXN]

Looks pretty cool. Is there anyway you (or someone) could post a map of what this is? I think it is the extension of the old historic trolley, or it could be the initial phase of the new streetcar line. I don't know.

All it basically is is just a extension of the old historic trolley. However, it makes getting into downtown Tucson so much easier and faster.

Anyway, I was there until midnight last night and I've never seen so many people downtown. I don't think that downtown Tucson can handle so many people. Everyone was out having a good time. I rode the trolley numerous times. Although it was weird that they didn't have one trolley go the entire length of the route (you had to get off one trolley and hop on the other on 4th ave). They also had a updated map of the modern street car (as well as a lifesized banner of the streetcar over the underpass).

It was really fun. All this for a underpass though. :shrug:

[PHX31]

I guess I don't really get it. But it still seems cool. So the Tucson streetcar project is completely separate?

[poconoboy61]

I guess I don't really get it. But it still seems cool. So the Tucson streetcar project is completely separate?

Before the underpass was completed there was an older streetcar that ran from the U of A down University Boulevard and down 4th Avenue. The streetcar line ended right about a block before the underpass.

Now the older streetcar will go under the underpass, which it hasn't done since 1930, circle around the Rialto Theater downtown, and head back toward the university. This older streetcar is completely volunteer-operated, and its unclear on whether this streetcar will continue to circle around the Rialto or still stop in the same area it has stopped since 1930.

At the same time, the city is developing a modern streetcar that WILL run through downtown, under this same underpass, up 4th Avenue, up University Boulevard, through the university, and to the Medical Center. That streetcar won't be in operation until at least late-2011.

[PHX31]

Ah ha... now I see. Will the modern streetcar be implemented in phases? Or will the entire thing open at once?

[kaneui]

Nice pics of yesterday's underpass celebration, dintares--and no monsoon storm to spoil the party!


Ah ha... now I see. Will the modern streetcar be implemented in phases? Or will the entire thing open at once?

^Yes, it should open all at once--and they're still saying late 2011. Although with the Cushing St. bridge over the Santa Cruz River now in its fourth redesign, I'll guess that it won't be ready until sometime in 2012. (See the Metro Tucson project list for a map of the complete 4-mile line.)

In the meantime, the tracks will be used by the trolley, taking its usual route down 4th Ave. and looping around the Rialto block at the south end, I believe. Once the complete line is finished, the streetcar and trolley will share the tracks.

[poconoboy61]

Nice pics of yesterday's underpass celebration, dintares--and no monsoon storm to spoil the party!




^Yes, it should open all at once--and they're still saying late 2011. Although with the Cushing St. bridge over the Santa Cruz River now in its fourth redesign, I'll guess that it won't be ready until sometime in 2012. (See the Metro Tucson project list for a map of the complete 4-mile line.)

In the meantime, the tracks will be used by the trolley, taking its usual route down 4th Ave. and looping around the Rialto block at the south end, I believe. Once the complete line is finished, the streetcar and trolley will share the tracks.

ADS noted that the old trolley will NOT continue looping around Rialto. Who knows the reason why.

[kaneui]

ADS noted that the old trolley will NOT continue looping around Rialto. Who knows the reason why.

^Perhaps it might interfere with the remaining streetcar line construction, or maybe Phase II of the Infrastructure Improvement Program that will begin soon along Congress, Broadway, and Arizona Ave.

[kaneui]

Builders and homeowners in the upscale Mercado District are glad to have their view of downtown back--as well as The Gadsden Co., whose development parcel was temporarily occupied by the city's dirt pile:


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(photos: Inside Tucson Business)


Mountain be moved!
By Joe Pangburn
Inside Tucson Business
August 21, 2009

A pile of dirt adjacent to the westside showpiece development Mercado District of Menlo Park has been moved. Home builders in the Mercado say they weren’t looking for handouts from the city but they wanted the obstacles remedied that were hindering them from selling homes. One obstacle was a 70,000 cubic-yard mountain of dirt put there when the city dug a hole for what was going to be a parking garage. Over time that was reduced to a 20,000 cubic yard mountain but it still blocked any view of downtown of anything except the very top of the UniSource Energy tower. In June, city officials told Inside Tucson Business they had no plans to remove the dirt, saying they couldn’t use Rio Nuevo money for it.

But today, that dirt pile is gone. “It makes such a huge difference,” said Dante Archangeli, owner of Tucson Artisan Builders. “I know it was on their list of things to do, but I don’t think it would have happened as quickly if the stories hadn’t come out about it. Jessie Sanders, in the city’s development services department, said the project is part of what they’re calling the “West Side Stabilization Plan” and money to pay for it came from drainage bonds. It cost about $380,000 for dirt work, along with some other expenses for drainage pipes and contingencies.

“The purpose of that dirt was to take surrounding land and elevate it out of the flood plain,” Sanders explained. “We’ve had a historic problem with drainage in that area. We’ve looked at it in detail and have needed to do something about it, but we couldn’t use Rio Nuevo funds for it.” A second pile at the foot of ‘A’ mountain was also to be completely removed as of the end of last week, Sanders said. That pile changed the flow of water runoff from the mountain so that it went north toward Barrio Sin Nombre. The water is supposed to flow south into the Santa Cruz River. “We’re working to restore much of the natural flow,” Sanders said.

[azliam]

Builders and homeowners in the upscale Mercado District are glad to have their view of downtown back--as well as The Gadsden Co., whose development parcel was temporarily occupied by the city's dirt pile:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Mercadodirtpile.jpg
(photos: Inside Tucson Business)


Mountain be moved!
By Joe Pangburn
Inside Tucson Business
August 21, 2009

A pile of dirt adjacent to the westside showpiece development Mercado District of Menlo Park has been moved. Home builders in the Mercado say they weren’t looking for handouts from the city but they wanted the obstacles remedied that were hindering them from selling homes. One obstacle was a 70,000 cubic-yard mountain of dirt put there when the city dug a hole for what was going to be a parking garage. Over time that was reduced to a 20,000 cubic yard mountain but it still blocked any view of downtown of anything except the very top of the UniSource Energy tower. In June, city officials told Inside Tucson Business they had no plans to remove the dirt, saying they couldn’t use Rio Nuevo money for it.

But today, that dirt pile is gone. “It makes such a huge difference,” said Dante Archangeli, owner of Tucson Artisan Builders. “I know it was on their list of things to do, but I don’t think it would have happened as quickly if the stories hadn’t come out about it. Jessie Sanders, in the city’s development services department, said the project is part of what they’re calling the “West Side Stabilization Plan” and money to pay for it came from drainage bonds. It cost about $380,000 for dirt work, along with some other expenses for drainage pipes and contingencies.

“The purpose of that dirt was to take surrounding land and elevate it out of the flood plain,” Sanders explained. “We’ve had a historic problem with drainage in that area. We’ve looked at it in detail and have needed to do something about it, but we couldn’t use Rio Nuevo funds for it.” A second pile at the foot of ‘A’ mountain was also to be completely removed as of the end of last week, Sanders said. That pile changed the flow of water runoff from the mountain so that it went north toward Barrio Sin Nombre. The water is supposed to flow south into the Santa Cruz River. “We’re working to restore much of the natural flow,” Sanders said.

The Mercado District is upscale? All of a sudden? In other words...that area was really "dirt" before there was ANY talk about Rio Nuevo and redevelopment which involved them not spending a dime (looking for a handout). So now, people who should be happy that their property values (let's include business owners and home builders) have completely appreciated are complaining about their "views" of downtown??? GMAFB.!!! I'm all for promoting downtown, but I'd like to see a little more private investment that isn't demanding handouts from the city.

[kaneui]

The Mercado District is upscale? All of a sudden? In other words...that area was really "dirt" before there was ANY talk about Rio Nuevo and redevelopment which involved them not spending a dime (looking for a handout). So now, people who should be happy that their property values (let's include business owners and home builders) have completely appreciated are complaining about their "views" of downtown??? GMAFB.!!! I'm all for promoting downtown, but I'd like to see a little more private investment that isn't demanding handouts from the city.

^With most homes selling for over $500k, the new Mercado District is certainly pricier than the surrounding Menlo Park neighborhood. The whole concept of this "New Urbanism" development was built around the idea of having all these new cultural attractions--multiple new museums, rebuilt convento/gardens, etc.--as well as new retail, office, and a streetcar line all within walking distance. Thus, the home prices are a reflection of eventually having all those amenities in place.

With the economic downturn, of course, all the cultural attractions have been postponed indefinitely and most housing construction is at a standstill, which I'm sure hasn't helped property values. Plus, the tight credit markets will undoubtedly affect plans for further proposed development. Other than the Mercado San Agustin currently under construction, they'll be lucky to see the streetcar line finished in a few years.

I know if I had plunked down that kind of money for a home there, having my view blocked by the city's dirt pile would just be adding insult to injury. If there were any handouts, they were given to the developers and builders who took a chance and believed that the city would deliver its part of the bargain--and for the near future, it's not looking very promising.

[kaneui]

If Flagstaff's efforts to silence the trains passing through are any guideline, it will take at least a few years for all the approvals and implementation:



Plan would silence train whistles in downtown Tucson
By Andrea Kelly
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
08.23.2009

The city wants to take the train whistles out of downtown by improving the safety of four rail road crossings. The topic has been discussed at advisory committee meetings for the Downtown Links road project. The new road will allow traffic to go from Barraza-Aviation Parkway to I-10 by swinging north around downtown and the Union Pacific Rail Road tracks. As part of the road design, the at-grade (or street-level) rail crossing at West Sixth Street and North Ninth Avenue will become “grade separated,” so cars will use an underpass to avoid the trains. This eliminates the need for whistles at that crossing. But in order to apply for a no-whistle zone for the whole downtown area needs to do more. Those crossings would be on North Main Avenue, West Fifth Street, and the intersection of East Seventh Street and North Seventh Avenue.

The crossings need to be upgraded with different gates to make it harder for cars to get around the gates and onto the tracks when a train approaches without an audible warning, said Andrew Singelakis, deputy director for the city’s transportation department. The city is preparing an application with information on improving the safety of the crossings. Clearing the plans with federal, state and railroad officials could take two years, he said. The crossings would be addressed as part of the $84 million Downtown Links project, but the cost of the safer gates and other improvements isn’t estimated yet, said Mike Barton, a senior traffic engineer for HDR engineering firm. The road project is scheduled to be finished by 2015, he said.

[Leo the Dog]

Tucson has tremendous potential. Unlike Phoenix, which focused on freeway construction for the past 40 years and is now playing catch up, Tucson has the opportunity to build a nice network of modern streetcars because of the lack of a freeway system down there.

Congrats on the new track milestone down there.

[Don B.]

^ Tucson has no real potential until they actually start building some stuff in their downtown. I'm not talking about skyscrapers, by the way. I'm talking about dense urban development up to ten stories tall. That's what will make downtown Tucson something special.

Tucson also needs a facelift...random weeds, dirt lots, crummy sidewalks and curbs (if they exist at all) and dirty things does not for a nice city make. They need to start taking some pride in their city, which means spending some frakking (BSG expression) money to make it look decent.

--don

[azliam]

^ Tucson has no real potential until they actually start building some stuff in their downtown. I'm not talking about skyscrapers, by the way. I'm talking about dense urban development up to ten stories tall. That's what will make downtown Tucson something special.

Tucson also needs a facelift...random weeds, dirt lots, crummy sidewalks and curbs (if they exist at all) and dirty things does not for a nice city make. They need to start taking some pride in their city, which means spending some frakking (BSG expression) money to make it look decent.

--don

Tucson's had good potential for a long time now. It's just that there haven't been many changes until recently. One thing Tucson IS lacking in (when compared to Phoenix) is empty parking lots that stand where history used to (yes there are a couple of places like that in Tucson, but not nearly as bad as Phoenix).

[poconoboy61]

Well, even if Tucson isn't currently doing much to improve its appearance and urban appeal, it still has the potential to be great when the right leadership finally does step in.

Downtown Tucson has improved by leaps and bounds from this time last year. The opening of Maynards, the construction of One North Fifth, the opening of the 4th Ave underpass, the new electric streetcar rail and poles, the opening of several restaurants that are open well into the night, and the opening of several night spots that cater to the younger crowd are all examples of how Downtown Tucson has improved.

Frankly, I would argue that Downtown Tucson offers a lot that Downtown Phoenix can't. Is Downtown Phoenix full of younger people on weekend nights to the degree of Downtown Tucson? Is there an equivalent to Congress Street in Downtown Phoenix? Has Downtown Phoenix used its old train station as a restaurant/bar with live music well into the night?

[PHX31]

We shouldn't really get into a Tucson v. Phoenix pissing match. I agree with azliam that Phoenix stupidly bulldozed a large portion of the historic building and housing stock in and around downtown... and Tucson seems to have smartly/luckily kept a lot of it.

However, i completely disagre with poconoboy. While there may be a couple places that the UofA's proximity feeds into downtown Tucson, downtown Phoenix really offers much more than downtown Tucson can. Just for Poconoboy's information... From the obligitory stadium/arena/performing arts crowds (Suns, D-backs, Mercury, herberger, dodge, orpheum)... To the Washington Street clubs which have a bunch of young people - Bar Smith, PHX, Silver, even Majerles. To the scattered, but popular and growing dining scene (how many new unique/local restaurants have opened in the past couple years? I can think of probably a dozen.) To the Heritage Square scene - Pizzeria Bianco, Rose & Crown, etc. To probably the most popular to the younger/hipster crowd - Roosevelt Street which has Carly's, Lost Leaf, The Roosevelt, and those couple of restaurants/bars that were fate. On First Fridays nights that place is a madhouse and it extends to Grand Ave (which I really think could take off more than it already has... as long as they can get rid of some of those crappy businesses along Grand).

[kaneui]

In a boost to Tucson's growing biotech industry, the proposed Arizona Bioscience Park near I-10 gets some stimulus funds for infrastructure before starting Phase I in 2011:



UA Bioscience Park gets $4.7M
US funds to pay for roads, utilities, landscaping work

By Becky Pallack
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
08.25.2009

Federal stimulus money will help the University of Arizona start construction on its planned Arizona Bioscience Park. The Arizona Board of Regents and the University of Arizona won a $4.7 million grant from the federal Economic Development Administration, the federal agency said Monday. The tax dollars will be used to pay for roads, utilities and landscaping at the future park at East 36th Street and South Kino Parkway. Contractors will bid for the yearlong job and begin work in November or December, said Bruce Wright, UA associate vice president for economic development. "This is a big step forward in developing a core piece of the Tucson metro area," he said. The land could be ready for facilities construction in January 2011. A private development partner will help the UA bring investment capital and fill the buildings.

A master land-use plan approved by the Arizona Board of Regents in June includes spaces for university and high school use, student or faculty housing, research and development projects, laboratories, offices, a hotel and conference center, and open space. "The park really is intended to be something of value not only for the university but for the entire community," Wright said. It would allow startup companies and other bioscience companies suitable work spaces not found elsewhere in Tucson, he said. It would also help create jobs in the industry, which is a target for economic development in the state.

The UA is in discussions with some prospective tenants, Wright said. The 65-acre park will be part of a 357-acre development called The Bridges, which includes other housing and shopping-center projects. Flood-control improvements already have been made.

[Jsmscaleros]

Phoenix and Tucson are both struggling to find their identities at this point in time. We have two metropolitan areas in this state currently in the midst of rediscovering themselves for the 21st century.

There is tremendous potential in both to define what a city should be in the Sonoran desert - reshaping the sprawling suburbs that define the cityscape as the pendulum begins to swing from isolated car culture back to a more connected urban village.

We should be positive as we work toward making better cities and learn from each other's good and back ideas. The re-emergence of the streetcar, for example, has had positive impacts on both cities and will continue to do so as the Valley grows accustomed to LRT and the Tucson system continues to develop.

[azliam]

Phoenix and Tucson are both struggling to find their identities at this point in time. We have two metropolitan areas in this state currently in the midst of rediscovering themselves for the 21st century.

There is tremendous potential in both to define what a city should be in the Sonoran desert - reshaping the sprawling suburbs that define the cityscape as the pendulum begins to swing from isolated car culture back to a more connected urban village.

We should be positive as we work toward making better cities and learn from each other's good and back ideas. The re-emergence of the streetcar, for example, has had positive impacts on both cities and will continue to do so as the Valley grows accustomed to LRT and the Tucson system continues to develop.

I think it is possible that we can have two vibrant and different metro areas in AZ. Phoenix may not have the history but has a much larger footprint, more commercial development downtown and has the opportunity to build on that (fill in the gaps) as well as bring in more residents (if those units can sell). I think Phoenix needs more apartment buildings or affordable housing downtown and I think the new ASU campus will help bring more life to downtown (I hope), and the LRT has certainly helped.

Tucson is quite a different animal. It has the university population living close, it has the history, walkability factor, but not the commercial investment, and it has a smaller footprint. It could use both affordable and luxury (to a smaller degree) housing downtown. Hopefully that will change and we'll get to see more commercial development occur and I think the downtown will be expanded to include other areas not considered "downtown". The new Fourth Avenue underpass has helped to re-connect Fourth with downtown and I think the streetcar will help to connect other areas.

[poconoboy61]

We shouldn't really get into a Tucson v. Phoenix pissing match. I agree with azliam that Phoenix stupidly bulldozed a large portion of the historic building and housing stock in and around downtown... and Tucson seems to have smartly/luckily kept a lot of it.

However, i completely disagre with poconoboy. While there may be a couple places that the UofA's proximity feeds into downtown Tucson, downtown Phoenix really offers much more than downtown Tucson can. Just for Poconoboy's information... From the obligitory stadium/arena/performing arts crowds (Suns, D-backs, Mercury, herberger, dodge, orpheum)... To the Washington Street clubs which have a bunch of young people - Bar Smith, PHX, Silver, even Majerles. To the scattered, but popular and growing dining scene (how many new unique/local restaurants have opened in the past couple years? I can think of probably a dozen.) To the Heritage Square scene - Pizzeria Bianco, Rose & Crown, etc. To probably the most popular to the younger/hipster crowd - Roosevelt Street which has Carly's, Lost Leaf, The Roosevelt, and those couple of restaurants/bars that were fate. On First Fridays nights that place is a madhouse and it extends to Grand Ave (which I really think could take off more than it already has... as long as they can get rid of some of those crappy businesses along Grand).

I completely disagree with your assertion. Really, if you haven't been to Tucson in the past couple of weeks, you have no idea. This is not a comparison on the number of bars/restaurants in Phoenix to Tucson. I am comparing the downtown areas solely on nightlife. There is a continuous corridor of nightlife activity from U of A to downtown Tucson. Phoenix doesn't have anything comparable. Last time I went to Downtown Phoenix on a Friday or Saturday night, there were no nightclubs that had people waiting half a block to get in.

Phoenix might have clusters of bars, but no continuous corridor.

[vertex]

Hmmm, if you combined the Scottsdale nightclub scene, Tempe's irreverence, and add DT Phoenix's infrastructure, you would have something much, much, much bigger and more interesting than anything Tucson can pull together.

4th ave. and Congress are cute, but let's not get carried away.

[azliam]

I completely disagree with your assertion. Really, if you haven't been to Tucson in the past couple of weeks, you have no idea. This is not a comparison on the number of bars/restaurants in Phoenix to Tucson. I am comparing the downtown areas solely on nightlife. There is a continuous corridor of nightlife activity from U of A to downtown Tucson. Phoenix doesn't have anything comparable. Last time I went to Downtown Phoenix on a Friday or Saturday night, there were no nightclubs that had people waiting half a block to get in.

Phoenix might have clusters of bars, but no continuous corridor.

I have seen a lot more activity as well. Granted, school is back in session, but there's much more life on Congress as well. From Centro, Zen Rock all the way down to Hotel Congress, the Rialto, Maynards, through the new underpass to Fourth Ave and on over to University. The new streetcar will only help to connect these places even more.

[PHX31]

I completely disagree with your assertion. Really, if you haven't been to Tucson in the past couple of weeks, you have no idea. This is not a comparison on the number of bars/restaurants in Phoenix to Tucson. I am comparing the downtown areas solely on nightlife. There is a continuous corridor of nightlife activity from U of A to downtown Tucson. Phoenix doesn't have anything comparable. Last time I went to Downtown Phoenix on a Friday or Saturday night, there were no nightclubs that had people waiting half a block to get in.

Phoenix might have clusters of bars, but no continuous corridor.

Well, it must depend on where you are and when you're there. Is there a continuous street in Phoenix? No... but I highly, highly doubt what you're talking about in Tucson has become like Beale Street in Memphis. Combine the northeast area of downtown Phoenix only (PHX, Silver, Bar Smith, Sky Lounge, Majerles, The District, Hanny's, maybe even to the AZ Center) and you've got bars/restaurants/upscale bars/cocktail lounges/and clubs. I really can't remember the last time the Bar Smith/Sky Lounge area didn't have a line after 11pm (although it's not a half-block college kids waiting to get in/fake ID line).

[azliam]

Hmmm, if you combined the Scottsdale nightclub scene, Tempe's irreverence, and add DT Phoenix's infrastructure, you would have something much, much, much bigger and more interesting than anything Tucson can pull together.

4th ave. and Congress are cute, but let's not get carried away.

I believe we were comparing the downtowns of Phoenix (alone) and Tucson, which incidentally, the Tucson metro is still 1/4 the size of the Phoenix metro. In addition, the Tucson area also has other pockets of places with many restaurants and clubs - not to the degree of Scottsdale or Tempe, but they exist.


Well, it must depend on where you are and when you're there. Is there a continuous street in Phoenix? No... but I highly, highly doubt what you're talking about in Tucson has become like Beale Street in Memphis. Combine the northeast area of downtown Phoenix only (PHX, Silver, Bar Smith, Sky Lounge, Majerles, The District, Hanny's, maybe even to the AZ Center) and you've got bars/restaurants/upscale bars/cocktail lounges/and clubs. I really can't remember the last time the Bar Smith/Sky Lounge area didn't have a line after 11pm (although it's not a half-block college kids waiting to get in/fake ID line).

No, but all places start from somewhere and it is still a concentrated area bringing many people into downtown. In addition, I've been going to downtown Phoenix for years even before the Crowbar (when it existed) and Amsterdam were there, and I am now starting to see some momentum in downtown; however, it still isn't up to par with Tucson (this is only my opinion). I understand that downtown Phoenix gets crowded during First Fridays, but have you ever really seen downtown Tucson and Fourth Avenue during Club Crawl?

BTW, I'm 38, and the trendy clubs I go to have got plenty of people who aren't of the college crowd. In addition, the new Sapphire Lounge, w/ a rooftop sky deck to open next month on Congress will be catering to the 25+ crowd, even though the 21-year-old clientele will still be serviced.

[Jsmscaleros]

I believe we were comparing the downtowns of Phoenix (alone) and Tucson...

You can't really exclude the rest of the valley when talking about Phoenix. They are interconnected cities all part of the same metropolitan area. Truth is, most people in Glendale, Chandler, Tempe, etc... will tell friends or relatives in other cities that they live in Phoenix - because essentially, they do.

If Oro Valley had a bustling downtown area that Tucson folks visited regularly, they would likely include it in a comparison. I live in Tempe, but I go to downtown Phoenix several times a week on the train.

[azliam]

You can't really exclude the rest of the valley when talking about Phoenix. They are interconnected cities all part of the same metropolitan area. Truth is, most people in Glendale, Chandler, Tempe, etc... will tell friends or relatives in other cities that they live in Phoenix - because essentially, they do.

If Oro Valley had a bustling downtown area that Tucson folks visited regularly, they would likely include it in a comparison. I live in downtown Tempe, but I go to downtown Phoenix several times a week on the train.

But, I can. We were originally talking about the downtowns of both cities, not the entire metro areas. Again, although Tucson doesn't really have the outlying cities like Phoenix does, it also has different pockets (although to a lesser degree) where people like to eat/go out (La Encantada, Tanque Verde)...but the place to gather would primarily be downtown Tucson (Congress, Fourth Ave over to University).

[PHX31]

On the same token, we could easily bring downtown Prescott into the mix. That has 1/16 the population of Tucson and 1/64 the population of Phoenix (I could be way off on those) but Whiskey Row/Gurley Street and all the side feeder streets have a higher concentration of bars and probably a more bustling nightlife than Phoenix and Tucson. And it's not just shitkicker bars anymore... there are gay bars, live music bars, dance clubs, microbrew bars, and more.

Frankly, with a major university so close to downtown Tucson, I would expect more. Thinking of major college towns (and semi-cities, similar to Tucson) like Austin, Madison, Columbus, Eugene, etc.etc., those places are "off the hook".

The continuous street of nightlife is a great luxury, one that Phoenix bulldozed. But the combination of all of the pockets of activity through out downtown Phoenix (completely disregarding game nights, show nights, and First Friday), is great and growing all the time. If there was a scoreboard, I'd give Tucson the more cohesive, more continuous area for nightlife. But comparing both downtowns as a whole, Phoenix is bigger and has more going on.

[azliam]

On the same token, we could easily bring downtown Prescott into the mix. That has 1/16 the population of Tucson and 1/64 the population of Phoenix (I could be way off on those) but Whiskey Row/Gurley Street and all the side feeder streets have a higher concentration of bars and probably a more bustling nightlife than Phoenix and Tucson. And it's not just shitkicker bars anymore... there are gay bars, live music bars, dance clubs, microbrew bars, and more.

Frankly, with a major university so close to downtown Tucson, I would expect more. Thinking of major college towns (and semi-cities, similar to Tucson) like Austin, Madison, Columbus, Eugene, etc.etc., those places are "off the hook".

The continuous street of nightlife is a great luxury, one that Phoenix bulldozed. But the combination of all of the pockets of activity through out downtown Phoenix (completely disregarding game nights, show nights, and First Friday), is great and growing all the time. If there was a scoreboard, I'd give Tucson the more cohesive, more continuous area for nightlife. But comparing both downtowns as a whole, Phoenix is bigger and has more going on.

This part I agree with. If Tucson had 4.3+ million people in its area and a city population of 1.5+ million, perhaps it too would have more "overall" things to do downtown.

I'm not sure what more you expect from the U of A. Playboy ranked it #4 party school this year, so it can't be that boring. Didn't ASU used to be up there in the rankings?

The bottom line is that the city of Tucson is 1/3 the size of Phoenix and the metro is 1/4 the size of Phoenix metro. Having said that, I think Tucson can hold its own. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy Phoenix because I do.

[combusean]

Prescott's downtown is simply dazzling. It works on so many levels...the wooded, hilly setting...an insane concentration of life especially for its size...everything revolving around Courthouse Square... It takes the cake anywhere in Arizona afaict.

Central Ave could easily be that strip ... if the County moves out of the Security buildings, Westward Ho becomes a hotel again, and depending on the vacant lot...one can dream.

Until then, the pockets of life can't hold a handle to a continuous strip. A continuous strip is an obvious destination in and of itself, with something immediately to do all around you in spur of the moment stuff, capturing the energy of the street which exponentially builds on itself.

Phoenix has sooo many places to stretch out and fill its britches downtown it will take billions of dollars to finish it, and even then it won't nearly be as cohesive as what Tucson will grow into. Phoenix will grow into a clusterfuck of destinations like Scottsdale but, lacking the small scale in enough places, still won't have something to do on its own.

Tucson's strips are undeniable assets, and it will be much easier to fill them out with easier financed low/midrise stuff. Any of downtown tucson's 4-6 story projects would be a waste to build in downtown Phoenix with the highrise mentality here, but there they work all too well there.

You can't really exclude the rest of the valley when talking about Phoenix. They are interconnected cities all part of the same metropolitan area. Truth is, most people in Glendale, Chandler, Tempe, etc... will tell friends or relatives in other cities that they live in Phoenix - because essentially, they do.

I wish the periphery cities would develop their own identity rather than corrupt Phoenix's. The core of Phoenix, like Tucson, is diverse and progressive but gets totally overshadowed by the politics originating from the extreme east and west sides of the metro.

[poconoboy61]

Well, it must depend on where you are and when you're there. Is there a continuous street in Phoenix? No... but I highly, highly doubt what you're talking about in Tucson has become like Beale Street in Memphis. Combine the northeast area of downtown Phoenix only (PHX, Silver, Bar Smith, Sky Lounge, Majerles, The District, Hanny's, maybe even to the AZ Center) and you've got bars/restaurants/upscale bars/cocktail lounges/and clubs. I really can't remember the last time the Bar Smith/Sky Lounge area didn't have a line after 11pm (although it's not a half-block college kids waiting to get in/fake ID line).

Why are you bringing in Memphis? I am talking about Phoenix and Tucson. That's it and that's all. I didn't say Tucson's entertainment district was the equivalent to Bourbon Street or Las Vegas Boulevard.

It's really a shame that people from Phoenix can't admit when Tucson has the edge on a particular aspect of urban life. I guess since Phoenix doesn't measure up to any American city of similar size, in any aspect of urbanity, there is quite an inferiority complex up there.

Between 4th Avenue and Congress Street, Phoenix has nothing similar. The nightlife of downtown Tucson is not only comprised of college students of LEGAL age, but many 20somethings who call Tucson home.

[poconoboy61]

Hmmm, if you combined the Scottsdale nightclub scene, Tempe's irreverence, and add DT Phoenix's infrastructure, you would have something much, much, much bigger and more interesting than anything Tucson can pull together.

4th ave. and Congress are cute, but let's not get carried away.

Again, I am comparing nightlife of Phoenix proper to Tucson proper.

The Valley is not one city. The Valley is a metro area. I am comparing Phoenix to Tucson. I have a feeling that you realize that Phoenix with 1.6 million people does not have a continuous nightlife district similar to Tucson with 545,000 people.

It's cute that Phoenicians have to use Scottsdale and Tempe as a crutch to make their city SEEM great. Until Phoenix somehow incorporates Tempe and Scottsdale into its city limits, my point stands. It's also cute how Phoenicians use people emptying out of sporting arenas in DT Phoenix to drive or take the light rail back to the suburbs as a sign of urban activity.

[PHX31]

I've already agreed that a continuous strip of nightlife is great and Tucson is better for that (Prescott even better). However, there's more options and greater nightlife throughout Phoenix proper than there is in Tucson (obviously this is where we are agreeing to disagree).

[Classical in Phoenix]

I was kinda thinking that a strip of strip clubs would be pretty cool.

[vertex]

It's cute that Phoenicians have to use Scottsdale and Tempe as a crutch to make their city SEEM great.

Wow. Comments like this coming from Tucson residents just go to show how badly the little brown pueblo continues to fail at measuring up.

[kaneui]

I believe there is a growing sense that, in spite of past mistakes, Tucson can seize this current window of opportunity to successfully revive its downtown and make it more attractive and relevant to the metro area. Certainly, numerous recent projects indicate a building momentum in that direction: the facade restoration program for historic structures, an expanded convention center and accompanying hotel, the aesthetic facelift to streets and sidewalks through the Infrastructure Improvement Program, the upcoming Mercado and Convento Districts west of I-10 as new additions to the urban scene, and a new streetcar line that will help connect the dots. Coupled with the proximity to the population and resources of UA, these recent pulses of activity are attracting more restaurants, nightlife, and patrons to downtown in numbers not seen in many years.

Of course, the noisy naysayers will continue pointing to Rio Nuevo's dismal track record and the dwindling TIF resources needed to continue its funding. However, Glenn Lyons, as new CEO of the Downtown Tucson Partnership, is emerging as a potential leader with the necessary vision, experience and clout to bust through the inertia and incompetence at City Hall and bring downtown into the 21st century. It would seem like an almost insurmountable task--but given Tucson's urban renewal history and the challenges of the current economy, it's nice to see any ray of hope on the horizon.

[kaneui]

After its numerous remodels/additions, there apparently wasn't enough of the original hotel remaining to put the Santa Rita on the National Register of Historic Places, or convince the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission to demand its preservation:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/SantaRitaHotel-demo.jpg
A demolition crew brings down the historic Santa Rita Hotel. A new headquarters
for UniSource, the parent company of Tucson Electric Power, will replace it.
(photo: James Gregg)


Farewell to Santa Rita Hotel
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
08.26.2009

Final demolition of the Santa Rita Hotel downtown started this week. Humberto Lopez, who owned the hotel since 1979, sold it this summer. The hotel had been closed since late 2005 for a planned $40 million renovation into condos, retail, restaurant space and parking. Those plans fell through in 2007, and Lopez said then that he hoped to turn it back into a boutique hotel.

UniSource Energy Corp purchased the hotel this summer for $6.55 million. Unisource, the parent company of Tucson Electric Power, said it plans to turn the site at 88 E. Broadway into TEP's headquarters. A new one should be finished by the summer of 2012.


Did You Know...
The 100-room Santa Rita Hotel was built in 1904 on land donated by the city. Fifty rooms were added in 1917.

In 1903, the year before the Santa Rita even officially opened, the Arizona Daily Star called it "the most beautiful hotel in the Arizona Territory." The hotel was demolished and rebuilt in 1972.

The Santa Rita was host to several well-known community organizations. The Mountain Oyster Club was founded at the hotel in 1948. The hotel was also the headquarters of the Tucson Press Club from 1956 to 1962.

[Jsmscaleros]

But, I can. We were originally talking about the downtowns of both cities, not the entire metro areas. Again, although Tucson doesn't really have the outlying cities like Phoenix does, it also has different pockets (although to a lesser degree) where people like to eat/go out (La Encantada, Tanque Verde)...but the place to gather would primarily be downtown Tucson (Congress, Fourth Ave over to University).


Continuous areas of nightlife in Phoenix:

1. Downtown (Core): Places to go - Amsterdam (and surrounding clubs), Seamus McCaffrey's, Hanny's, PHX, Sky Lounge, Bar Smith, Majerle's, Hard Rock, Cooperstown, Stoudemire's, The District, etc...

2. Roosevelt St. Area (just north of downtown and a 10-20 minute walk from any of the aforementioned places): Places to go - Modified, Carly's, Fair Trade, Turf, The Lost Leaf, Fate (whatever it's called now), more than a dozen art galleries.

3. Grand Ave. Arts Area: Places to go - Trunkspace, Tilt, Phix, The Paisley Violin, Bikini Lounge, Fatcats, bunch mo' galleries.

4. Mid-Town 7th Ave. (Just north of Indian School): Chez Nous Cocktail lounge, Fry Bread House (awesome), Copper Star Coffee (also awesome), Z Girl Bar, E Lounge, Bunkhouse Lounge, Char's Has the Blues, and others.

5. Phoenix Biltmore - usually more money than I'm willing to spend...

That's just off the top of my head. There are plenty of places you can plant yourself and walk around - it's a big city.

[azliam]

Continuous areas of nightlife in Phoenix:

1. Downtown (Core): Places to go - Amsterdam (and surrounding clubs), Seamus McCaffrey's, Hanny's, PHX, Sky Lounge, Bar Smith, Majerle's, Hard Rock, Cooperstown, Stoudemire's, The District, etc...

2. Roosevelt St. Area (just north of downtown and a 10-20 minute walk from any of the aforementioned places): Places to go - Modified, Carly's, Fair Trade, Turf, The Lost Leaf, Fate (whatever it's called now), more than a dozen art galleries.

3. Grand Ave. Arts Area: Places to go - Trunkspace, Tilt, Phix, The Paisley Violin, Bikini Lounge, Fatcats, bunch mo' galleries.

4. Mid-Town 7th Ave. (Just north of Indian School): Chez Nous Cocktail lounge, Fry Bread House (awesome), Copper Star Coffee (also awesome), Z Girl Bar, E Lounge, Bunkhouse Lounge, Char's Has the Blues, and others.

5. Phoenix Biltmore - usually more money than I'm willing to spend...

That's just off the top of my head. There are plenty of places you can plant yourself and walk around - it's a big city.

Honestly, do you really see people walking from downtown through all of these areas and to the Biltmore area? Amsterdam to Chez Nous is over 3 miles. Sure you can plant yourself (after driving) and then walk 'within' these areas, but I don't see people walking from downtown to some of these areas. It's just not as cohesive as downtown Tucson and I'm not sure if I'd call your route continuous.

[azliam]

I've already agreed that a continuous strip of nightlife is great and Tucson is better for that (Prescott even better). However, there's more options and greater nightlife throughout Phoenix proper than there is in Tucson (obviously this is where we are agreeing to disagree).

While this may be true as the vast population difference certainly would allow for more and varied establishments in the Phoenix metro, Tucson is not some backwater city (as some may conclude). There are some pretty nice newer establishments to visit (if you haven't been to Tucson in awhile). In addition, I'd have to say I'd prefer a much more vibrant energy in a downtown atmosphere than hopping in a car and going from point A pocket of nightlife to point B pocket of nightlife. I like Phoenix and Scottsdale - don't get me wrong - and I'm exciting about all of the construction over the past few years downtown. If this Jackson Street Entertainment District ever lifts off of the ground, I think I'd certainly want to spend more time in downtown Phoenix, but at the same time, Tucson is going through its own renaissance of sorts downtown and it's already ahead of the ball when it comes to nightlife.

[kaneui]

As expected, Tucson is moving towards giving a big chunk of city planning to the Downtown Tucson Partnership and its CEO Glenn Lyons. However, the plan is not without its detractors, and how the DTP will mesh with the new Rio Nuevo board to be appointed by the governor and state legislators is anyone's guess:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/UniSourcebldg.jpg
Will Glenn Lyons save downtown and Rio Nuevo?
(photo: Joe Pangburn)


Passing the Buck
Tucson's city manager works to hand off downtown planning responsibilities

by Carli Brosseau
Tucson Weekly
August 27, 2009

Ex-City Manager Mike Hein had a reputation among political insiders for deals "written on the back of a napkin." As a result, he was fired. As he exited, a call for transparency was trumpeted, and a new way forward on downtown development was proclaimed. But neither Hein's dismissal nor the pledges of accountability have erased the leftover promises, real and perceived, many of which centered on Tucson's beleaguered and decades-long efforts to revitalize downtown.

The keeper and occasional scribe of Hein's metaphorical napkins—the deals that were supposed to jumpstart downtown and defy expectations of development malaise—was left behind when Hein packed up in April after three years on the job. Assistant to the City Manager Jaret Barr, Hein's longtime right-hand man and his point man on downtown, still holds his title, though his boss has changed, and it's unclear what his current duties are. The mention of Barr's name now has the potency to kill a deal. An agreement that would have formalized a consulting relationship between the city and the nonprofit Downtown Tucson Partnership was quietly withdrawn earlier in August after Barr was revealed as the would-be public-finance specialist and right-hand man to the proposed new downtown planner, partnership CEO Glenn Lyons. In interviews, City Council members cited a variety of reasons for revising the contract with the downtown booster group, including the need for clearer boundaries between the city and the partnership, a more explicit description of the services to be provided, and spelled-out procurement practices.

By all accounts, Barr, who makes an annual salary of about $106,000, will not be part of the revision. He's not part of City Manager Mike Letcher's new downtown team, and no one on the council or in the City Manager's Office is willing to talk about what he is, in fact, doing. Barr himself demurred, saying that the negotiations over the contract were between the City Manager's Office and the Downtown Tucson Partnership, and did not involve him. As a political appointee, he works at the will of the city manager, without the security of civil service protection. He would not say what he anticipated doing next. City Council members promised after firing Hein that there would be no purge of municipal employees close to him—and no one was closer than Barr. Fran LaSala, who oversaw the Scott Avenue streetscape project as an assistant to the city manager, was also included in the earliest iteration of the agreement with the partnership, but he has since been assigned to a position in the city's Environmental Services Department. He has civil-service status.

Despite the wrangling, the deal between the city and the Downtown Tucson Partnership will likely live on. "We'll be contracting directly with Glenn," said City Manager Mike Letcher. "Otherwise, I'd have to hire someone. We just don't have that expertise." Letcher has designed a downtown team without the usual suspects, and they've been meeting weekly since April. The team is envisioned in three overlapping parts: finance, led by the finance director; operations, led by the director of the General Services Department; and planning, led by Lyons, even though the city is not paying him. (He continues to draw an annual salary of about $130,000 from the partnership.) Under Letcher's plan, Lyons' list of tasks is long. It runs from downtown master planning to customer service and quality assurance to negotiating development agreements and designing a standard agreement form.

Critics of the plan say it would contract out decisions to the Downtown Tucson Partnership that should be made inside the city bureaucracy, to ensure transparency and minimize unfair influence. Bill Risner, president of the Community Development and Design Center and a longtime activist on downtown issues, has been one of the most vocal opponents. He thinks the contract would increase the influence of developers and political insiders. Among the suggestions Lyons made in a draft downtown master plan is that the city and county review their land holdings and sell off the surplus downtown land for development, in an effort to guide downtown revitalization over the next 15 years or so. "It's simply a mechanism to loot the city," he said. "This is how you do it if you're trying to rip the public off." Risner said the draft version of Lyons' vision for downtown shows that his goals aren't consistent with the city's, and that they favor developers over the taxpayers. Risner said by advising the city to sell the land now, while the real estate market is struggling, is analogous to looting. "It just doesn't make sense," he said. Risner is also concerned that the deal would result in more trouble for the public to obtain records. The contract specifies that all records requests must go through the city.

Members of the City Council argue that hiring Lyons would actually have the opposite effect to what Risner suggests. "It would provide a set of checks and balances that up until now, we've not had," Council-woman Karin Uhlich said. "Glenn would report to the city manager as a consultant," Councilwoman Regina Romero said. "It's not just the Downtown Partnership making the decisions." The contract will specify that the city is hiring Lyons himself, Letcher said. In that scenario, the partnership's board, which includes several power brokers who have been involved in Tucson's downtown for decades, would have a say only in approving the contract, not in Lyons' specific duties.

Lyons is keenly attuned to the controversy. "I understand conflict of interest," he said. "I understand that you work for your client." Letcher is betting on Lyons to rescue a project beset by a public perception of failure and inside dealing; an attempt by the state Legislature to sever the sales-tax stream that funds Rio Nuevo; and a recession that has all but eliminated the funds that were expected. Before becoming city manager, Letcher knew little about these Rio Nuevo issues, despite being deputy city manager under Hein. Minutes after Hein was fired, Letcher received a stack of papers—an introduction, if you will. But that was only part of the picture. The other bit was on napkins. "Having both a planning and finance background is what makes Glenn unique," Letcher said. "He has experience, and I've had a chance to kick the tires and see whether it works. ... This is a forward-looking contract." The council is scheduled to review the revised agreement in September.

[PHX31]

Honestly, do you really see people walking from downtown through all of these areas and to the Biltmore area? Amsterdam to Chez Nous is over 3 miles. Sure you can plant yourself (after driving) and then walk 'within' these areas, but I don't see people walking from downtown to some of these areas. It's just not as cohesive as downtown Tucson and I'm not sure if I'd call your route continuous.


I think he was saying there are 4 or 5 separate areas with a bunch of options within walking distance. I don't think he's saying you can walk between all 5 easily. Although downtown and the Roosevelt are definitely withing walking distance (or if you're lazy light rail)... I've done that multiple times. Then you can now take light rail home after 2am on the weekend. There were many places jsmscaleros didn't even mention downtown or in Roosevelt area (the two are merging). The old Jefferson St. bar, the bars at the Hyatt and the Wyndham, Moira Sushi (and Sake bar), Rose & Crown, Bar Bianco, Portlands, Sens.... etc. I think you (and definitely poconoboy) are greatly underestimating downtown Phoenix's nightlife now-a-days, and I could go on, depending on your style, but I doubt you'll ever go to the Ruby Room. And I'm probably underestimating Tucson's.

[Jsmscaleros]

I was indeed referring to separate areas - and the Ruby Room does also kick ass.

[azliam]

I think he was saying there are 4 or 5 separate areas with a bunch of options within walking distance. I don't think he's saying you can walk between all 5 easily. Although downtown and the Roosevelt are definitely withing walking distance (or if you're lazy light rail)... I've done that multiple times. Then you can now take light rail home after 2am on the weekend. There were many places jsmscaleros didn't even mention downtown or in Roosevelt area (the two are merging). The old Jefferson St. bar, the bars at the Hyatt and the Wyndham, Moira Sushi (and Sake bar), Rose & Crown, Bar Bianco, Portlands, Sens.... etc. I think you (and definitely poconoboy) are greatly underestimating downtown Phoenix's nightlife now-a-days, and I could go on, depending on your style, but I doubt you'll ever go to the Ruby Room. And I'm probably underestimating Tucson's.

I am not underestimating it, in fact, I've seen it grow. I still go to Phoenix occasionally just to club, eat, concerts, I did the pool parties at Hotel San Carlos, etc. It's only 1.5 hours away - that's a plus for both cities. Phoenix is just the victim of not much older infrastructure left downtown to build upon like Tucson. Every city tears down buildings here and there, but I've seen those older photos of Phoenix and it makes me cringe now. But alas, the downtown is definitely improving. I've still not rode the LRT; it's definitely on my to-do-list.

[PHX31]

Phoenix is just the victim of not much older infrastructure left downtown to build upon like Tucson. Every city tears down buildings here and there, but I've seen those older photos of Phoenix and it makes me cringe now.

Very true... it's horrible how much was torn down up here. If the areas torn down weren't over-zoned, downtown could be built into a sea of modern 3-5 story mixed used buildings with some of the left over historic building stock sprinkled in, which would be awesome. One thing I was thinking of for which Phoenix is pretty lucky is the amount of historic "skycrapers" the downtown area has. Westward Ho, Hotel Monroe, Orpheum Lofts, Old City Hall, Luhrs tower, Luhrs building, Security Building/Hotel San Carlos are all nice assets. The first two could really become something special. The Hotel Monroe was planned to have several cool bars and clubs, if you remember the plans. Hopefully it will someday finish renovations.

[azliam]

Very true... it's horrible how much was torn down up here. If the areas torn down weren't over-zoned, downtown could be built into a sea of modern 3-5 story mixed used buildings with some of the left over historic building stock sprinkled in, which would be awesome. One thing I was thinking of for which Phoenix is pretty lucky is the amount of historic "skycrapers" the downtown area has. Westward Ho, Hotel Monroe, Orpheum Lofts, Old City Hall, Luhrs tower, Luhrs building, Security Building/Hotel San Carlos are all nice assets. The first two could really become something special. The Hotel Monroe was planned to have several cool bars and clubs, if you remember the plans. Hopefully it will someday finish renovations.

I'd love to see the Hotel Monroe in that fashion. BTW, has anyone heard what the height may be for the proposed hotel at the Luhrs City Center?

[PHX31]

I believe they received FAA approval for the 514' limit... but who knows when, if ever, that comes to fruition. I could be wrong though, I'd have to dig up the Luhrs City Center thread.

[BrandonJXN]

As someone who has only been to Phoenix a few times (both times I ended up at the park with the glowing vagina), I haven't really explored it's night life. With that said, I think Tucson has one of the best club scenes of ANY city. All of which are located primarily on the trolley line (University Ave, 4th Ave, and Congress). It's also interesting how each area caters towards a unique demographic. University is more for the dumb frat boy crowd, 4th Ave is more along the lines of the hippies and granola eaters, and Congress is for the unique hipster crowd. Especially with Zen Rock opening as well as Centro which is as close to an LA club as you're going to get.

[kaneui]

To accommodate pedestrians and the new streetcar, Rio Nuevo kicked in several million dollars to more than double the width of the new $15M Cushing St. underpass at I-10, which partially opened today. Although it now goes just to the frontage road west of I-10, Cushing will eventually extend over the Santa Cruz River and connect with Avenida del Convento for the streetcar line, scheduled to debut in November, 2011:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/CushingStUnderpass2.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/CushingStUnderpass3.jpg
(photos: lasertrimman)


Future in sights at Cushing underpass opening
August 27, 2009
by Teya Vitu
http://www.downtowntucson.org/

The new Cushing Street underpass partially opened Aug. 27 with mayoral pomp and a look ahead to the role it will play for in connecting Downtown to the West Side. Cushing Street is not a main drag by any means, but more than 100 people showed up for the opening ceremony at the Riverpark Inn at the west end of the underpass. “It has never been a big deal until this very moment,” Mayor Bob Walkup said about the Interstate 10 underpass. “All of a sudden, it becomes the Gateway to the West Side.” The underpass will be open from 3 p.m. to 3 a.m. for the next few weeks as crews finish painting and pigeon mitigation – the installation of netting to keep pigeons from roosting in various nooks and crannies, Arizona Department of Transportation spokeswoman Teresa Welborn said.

The Cushing Street underpass links the two freeway frontage roads and provides direct access from the Tucson Convention Center to the Riverpark Inn. It will especially come into play in February as gem show visitors park in the TCC lots to go shopping on motel row along the west frontage road. Even more critical, gem show dealers on both sides of the freeway do loads of business with each other, said Maurice Destouet, general manager of the Pueblo Gem and Mineral Show at the Riverpark Inn. “The last two years have been extremely difficult for our exhibitors,” Destouet said. “Our exhibitors do an immense amount of business with (gem shows on the TCC side of the freeway). Ultimately, the underpass is envisioned as the gateway to the now indefinitely delayed Tucson Origins museum complex and the Mercado District of Menlo Park housing development. The proposed streetcar linking the University of Arizona to Downtown and the West Side is aligned to travel through the underpass with a anticipated first ride on Nov. 11, 2011 – 11/11/11, said Jim Glock, Tucson’s transportation department director.

Sooner than that, work on a Cushing Street bridge will start to link the underpass to the West Side. Construction could start within one year, Glock said. “We have the bridge funded,” Glock said. The Cushing Street bridge has gone through several major design overhauls as well as drastic changes in proposed funding. Two years ago, Rio Nuevo funds were earmarked for the bridge. The combined collapse of Rio Nuevo and emergence of President Obama’s stimulus package has refined where the money will come from for the estimated $10 million bridge. Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will pay for citywide pavement improvement projects, freeing up that money from the transportation department’s capital improvement budget for the Cushing Street Bridge, Glock said. The Cushing Street bridge will be an homage to the former 1930s Congress Street bridge, which had a balustrade railing. The bridge will also have shade structures with cutouts of iconic images. Twelve times a year, the shadow of an image will line up with the same image embedded in the sidewalk. For example, crosses will project onto the sidewalk on June 24, marking Dia de San Juan and the start of the monsoon season in Tucson.

Meanwhile, the $15 million freeway underpass has changed names and personality since closing for freeway widening work in summer 2007. The Clark Street name was changed to Cushing so that the same street name continues from the TCC through the underpass, onto the proposed bridge over the Santa Cruz River and into the Origins complex. The Cushing Street underpass is 225 feet wide, with 20-foot-wide sidewalks on each side and plenty of daylight streaming in. Narrow piers divide the underpass into two 70-foot wide pedestrian sections and an 85-foot wide middle section for vehicle traffic and the streetcar. “It does not have a tunnel feel anymore,” Ritter said.

The original ADOT design only included the 85-foot-wide middle section. The city supplied $9 million in Rio Nuevo money to widen the underpass to 225 feet and also enhance the Congress Street and 18th Street underpasses. The old underpass had two 40-foot-wide spans separated by thick pillars with sidewalks barely three or four feet wide. “The old one used to have a feel of a tunnel,” Ritter said. “The piers were solid, obstructed the view, and it felt narrow. Now the way the piers are there is a feeling of openness.”

[kaneui]

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/63ECongress.jpg
John Wesley Miller has held several talks with
chef Janos Wilder about opening a restaurant on
the corner of Scott Avenue and Congress Street.
(photo: Inside Tucson Business)


Undaunted, Janos looks at new location for downtown restaurant
By Joe Pangburn
Inside Tucson Business
August 14, 2009

Although his initial plans to return downtown have been stymied, Chef Janos Wilder hasn’t abandoned those thoughts. Instead of being a part of a project that was being proposed for the east end of downtown, he’s now looking a couple of blocks west. The noted chef has had four meetings so far with John Wesley Miller about the possibility of being a part of the renovation of the McLellan Building, 63 E. Congress St.

“Nothing is finalized yet, but we are drawing up some plans,” Miller said. “We’re talking to him about the space on the corner.” Miller said he has had increased interest in the building lately. On A Roll Sushi opened in September last year but after that, not much new happened. But recently, he said, he has signed a deal to open an outlet for Jimmy Johns Gourmet Sandwiches, which is due to open in October, and he’s talking with someone else he wouldn’t identify to take over the remaining space he has available in the building.

“We’ve come a long way from just a couple years ago,” Miller said. “I think more and more people are becoming excited about being downtown. With the Fourth Avenue Underpass opening up and the (modern streetcar) tracks eventually coming by our building we’re told it could double the value of the adjoining properties so people are looking to get in now and secure their space before that happens.” Jimmy Johns franchisee Nick Schaffer said he sees a lot of potential downtown and wanted to get down there. “We’re seeing they want to make things happen down here,” he said. “We’re excited to open up and serve downtown.”

[BrandonJXN]

I really like how Tucson is preparing itself for the modern streetcar. I can imagine what the city will be like in 4 years with all sorts of retail and entertainment along it's route.

[NIXPHX77]

Chez Nous moved to Grand Ave about 2 years ago, fyi.

[Leo the Dog]

I really like how Tucson is preparing itself for the modern streetcar. I can imagine what the city will be like in 4 years with all sorts of retail and entertainment along it's route.

Yeah just imagine all of the urban in-fill, TOD that could occur after the modern street car opens to the public. Tucson should create a network of modern streetcar transit to improve transportation needs instead of focusing on roads/frwys like Phoenix did for decades.

[poconoboy61]

Yeah just imagine all of the urban in-fill, TOD that could occur after the modern street car opens to the public. Tucson should create a network of modern streetcar transit to improve transportation needs instead of focusing on roads/frwys like Phoenix did for decades.

Honestly, Tucson needs to focus on both. It's foolish to believe that Tucson will ever develop a light rail so extensive that it will eliminate the need for Tucsonans to be auto dependent. It's also foolish to think that not developing freeways will force people to ride public transit. No. The only thing not building a crosstown freeway will do is force every major arterial in Tucson to undergo widening projects every 15 years. Projections from PAG (Pima Association of Governments) show that the population of Tucson proper could reach 1 million by 2040, with more than 2 million people in the metro area. Tucson having no crosstown freeway with 1 million people in city limits would be an absolute nightmare.

If I live at the intersection of Sunrise and Sabino Canyon and need to go downtown, automobile is the form of transportation I'll use. Tucson developed around the automobile and it is impossible for public transportation, especially light rail, to be effective throughout the entire metro area of Tucson. Downtown should focus on its redevelopment, including the streetcar, but there should be more realistic transit options for areas outside of downtown.

[aznate27]

Honestly, Tucson needs to focus on both. It's foolish to believe that Tucson will ever develop a light rail so extensive that it will eliminate the need for Tucsonans to be auto dependent. It's also foolish to think that not developing freeways will force people to ride public transit. No. The only thing not building a crosstown freeway will do is force every major arterial in Tucson to undergo widening projects every 15 years. Projections from PAG (Pima Association of Governments) show that the population of Tucson proper could reach 1 million by 2040, with more than 2 million people in the metro area. Tucson having no crosstown freeway with 1 million people in city limits would be an absolute nightmare.

If I live at the intersection of Sunrise and Sabino Canyon and need to go downtown, automobile is the form of transportation I'll use. Tucson developed around the automobile and it is impossible for public transportation, especially light rail, to be effective throughout the entire metro area of Tucson. Downtown should focus on its redevelopment, including the streetcar, but there should be more realistic transit options for areas outside of downtown.

Tucson had a solution to a crosstown freeway that voters voted down well over a decade ago: Grade seperated intersections. And now they are paying the price with heavy congested traffic through midtown.

The plan was to grade-seperate the intersections off Grant/Cambpell, Grant/Swan, Grant/Craycroft and Kolb/Tanqerverde. This would have created a crosstown parkway if you will, without having to put up a concrete monster that cut the city in two and displace hundreds of homes and bsinesses, like what has happened in Phoenix. You could also do this at key intersections on Broadway, like Swan and Wilmont roads. Also doing the same on Golflinks Road at Swan, Craycroft, and Kolb roads. I think that tucson will be forced to look at these options again in the near future as traffic becomes more of a nightmare and as the population grows.

I still think this is a great alternative to just building freeways. This solution along with a more extensive light rail system could do wonders for people getting around the inner city areas and across town.

[somethingfast]

yeah, those freeways really messed up Phoenix...grade-separated intersections are a solution? please! kino and aviation parkways are not the answer...more red lights are exactly what Tucson doesn't need.