Tucson Development Thread [Archive] - Page 16

kaneui

Apr 18, 2010, 6:41 PM

One of Tucson's top chefs will be returning to downtown after a $300,000 remodel of the former Barrio Grill, across the street from the planned UniSource headquarters:

Wilder chooses downtown location
Mid-priced eatery set to open in Sept. at Barrio Grill site

by Kathleen Allen
Arizona Daily Star
April 18, 2010

Janos Wilder is headed back to where it all began. In September, he plans to open a new restaurant in the space once occupied by Barrio Grill at 135 S. Sixth Ave. That restaurant closed abruptly in February. Wilder's new restaurant will focus on regional ingredients, but the cuisine will be eclectic. The prices, he said, will be in the midrange. The as-yet-unnamed downtown space will bring Wilder close to his roots: His eponymous restaurant got its start in the Tucson Museum of Art's Stevens House 27 years ago. After being squeezed out of the TMA space in 1998 when the museum decided to take over the Stevens House, Wilder settled in on the grounds of the Westin La Paloma resort. The following year, his casual J Bar went up next door to the tony Janos. "Janos is one of Tucson's premier restaurateurs," said Cara Rene, vice president of the Downtown Tucson Partnership. "This is huge for downtown."

Wilder's downtown competitors share Rene's enthusiasm. "I am thrilled; the more, the merrier," said Suzana Davila, whose popular restaurant, Café Poca Cosa, has had a downtown home for 23 years. "Janos is so successful, and he's an amazing chef. I think it will be a huge plus for us downtown." Wilder, a nationally acclaimed chef, has been eyeing space downtown for almost two years. "The last couple of years, downtown has been going through a renaissance and is becoming the urban center that it once was," said Wilder, standing in his new restaurant's dining room. With the art gone, chairs stacked, and kitchen equipment sitting where customers once dined, it looks nothing like the hip space that Barrio called home. "The new (Fourth Avenue) underpass creates a boulevard from downtown to the university. That's big."

Last spring, Janos announced he would open a restaurant at 278 E. Congress St. That deal, which was mixed up with the trolley line, politics and private developers, never came through. And judging by his reaction to the space he'll be taking over, that's a good thing. As he maneuvered his way around boxes, stacks of dishes, and tables piled into the middle of the restaurant's dining room, he became increasingly animated. "It'll have a brand-new identity with a complete remodel," he said. He pulled a curtain aside to reveal big double glass doors that open to the sidewalk along Sixth Avenue. The Barrio entrance was on the building's side, off the parking lot. "We'll move the entrance back to the front, with tables on the sidewalk, and we'll plant trees."

Inside the 3,700-square-foot space, the massive architectural pillars that broke up the dining room will be scaled down; high-back, cushy booths will replace the ones along a low wall; and the upper half of the restaurant will have booths and tables, and will be available as a private dining room. New colors, new art, new tables, new dishes, new floor. The kitchen, much bigger than the one he had at the Stevens House, is smaller than his kitchen at Janos. It'll get a makeover, too. When the roughly $300,000 transformation is complete, the restaurant will seat about 110, approximately the same number Barrio accommodated. "I want it to feel timeless and familiar," said Wilder. "I want it to have a verve and excitement, modern but with a sound quality that isn't overbearing."

Just as his resort restaurants do, the food will depend heavily on local ingredients. Janos serves regional fare with a French accent, J Bar Latin cuisine. But Wilder won't be pigeon-holed with the cuisine at this downtown space. "I haven't written the menu yet, but it'll be food that's exciting, with big flavors of where we are. It won't be just a Latin menu - I want to feel free to experiment with all kinds of cuisines." But he's not looking at high-end prices. "They will be moderate, like the J Bar range and slightly higher." J Bar's menu tops out at $18. He expects the restaurant will be open late on weekends to accommodate theater- and concertgoers. He also plans to serve lunch.

The restaurant will employ about 40-50 people, the combined number his two La Paloma restaurants, which do not serve lunch, now employ, he said. And he isn't planning to scale back his established restaurants - which have increased business over this time last year - to focus on his new one. "I'm reinvesting in the Foothills," he said. "I've ordered new furniture, new drapes, new china. Janos is the flagship restaurant," and it will remain that way. Still, he can't hide his excitement for the new venture. "Downtown is something I want to be a part of," he said. "It's exciting to me to think we can help to give voice to what's going on down here."

Did you know:
The building Janos Wilder is moving into is in the area of downtown known as SoCo - South of Congress. It is owned by photographer Tim Fuller and artist Barbara Grygutis, who have studios there. Etherton Gallery occupies the second floor, and the restaurant will be on the street floor. Dubbed the Odd Hall - it's the former Odd Fellows Hall - it was designed by Henry Jaastad and built in 1914. Jaastad also designed the Manning House, Tucson High School and the now-gone Conquistador Hotel, and he redesigned the facade of San Augustine Cathedral in 1929, Fuller said. Grygutis and Fuller have occupied the building since they bought it 22 years ago. The restaurant space has been occupied that whole time, too - first by Bowen & Bailey, and then Barrio.

kaneui

Apr 20, 2010, 4:26 AM

Originally slated to break ground in 2001, the 10-story Casino del Sol Hotel & Convention Center under construction will target metro Tucson and Mexican residents, as well as small- to medium-sized conventions:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/PascuaYaquicasino.jpg
The sun is rising for Tucson Pascua Yaqui leaders who finally started construction on
their $100-million hotel and convention center that was delayed twice in the past decade.
(render: Leo Daly)

Sol Casinos: Hotel & Convention Center
14 April 2010 23:07
by Christy Krueger
www.biztucson.com

Original plans were to begin construction in fall 2001, but the September 11 attacks led to a downturn in the economy and the tribal council postponed its start, said Wendell Long, CEO of Pascua Yaqui Gaming Enterprises. New council members were ready to pick up the venture again in December 2008, but the recession hit. “Third time’s a charm,” Long quipped. “We’ve been planning this for over a decade and we’ve been able to get to the stage to start. The great thing is we’ve looked at this hard for three years and each time it gets better – it’s well thought out.” In addition, the tribe is saving millions of dollars by launching the project in 2010 instead of few years earlier. Tribal members, government officials and casino staff joined with contractors’ representatives at the February 9 groundbreaking ceremony at the site of the new hotel, which is immediately adjacent to Casino del Sol.

The Sol Casinos Hotel and Convention Center will displace some of the existing parking, but the project includes a multi-level, 1,120-space parking garage. Long said this will be a great option for patrons, especially during summer months. The the large surface lot remains at the nearly 5,000-seat Anselmo Valencia Tori Amphitheater (AVA) a few hundred yards to the east. The 10-story hotel will include 215 guest rooms, several small break-out rooms, three conference rooms that open to a 1,500-seat ballroom, plus restaurants and a fitness center with spa. A southwestern-style steakhouse offering fine dining will overlook the casino floor. Other dining options will include a full international buffet similar to those in Las Vegas, a lobby bar and a poolside snack bar serving frozen drinks. The pool area will accommodate up to 3,000 guests for special events, according to Long.

“Our primary audience will be the people of Tucson,” he said. “They have been good to us and they want more options. After a show at AVA, they want to stay and make a weekend of it. We’d like to broaden our reach – to the Oro Valley crowd. It’s a far drive. If you stay, you have no worries.” Conference space is designed for small- to medium-sized conventions from out of town “to fill up the mid-week times,” Long said, as well as for local companies looking for new places to meet. “There’s a huge demand for space locally. Businesses like to have offsite events for their planning conferences." Rick Vaughan, senior vice president of sales and marketing for the Metropolitan Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau, said he believes the new hotel will fill a unique niche. “Obviously, from a casino standpoint, it provides an opportunity for them to excite another audience in gaming. It will entice different types of groups and people who love events.” Vaughan also said the hotel will be important in attracting visitors from Mexico, which he says is “a very significant part of our economic development.”

Architect Leo A Daly and general contractor McCarthy Building Companies are both headquartered out of state, but have offices in Phoenix. “We were committed to staying in Arizona,” Long said. “They need to have casino construction experience. Our goal is to hire as many subcontractors as possible in Tucson.” He estimated about 250 local workers will be used to build the facility. Currently, Casino of the Sun and Casino del Sol employ a combined staff of 1,000. Long said they plan to hire an additional 250 for the hotel and convention center. He plans to hire a general manager early on, and “one year prior to opening we want to have our sales staff.”

Long anticipates the hotel will create entertainment opportunities year round, with concerts and boxing events offered indoors in the ballroom during amphitheatre’s off season – November to March. He also plans to add more festivals to the schedule. “We don’t make money or see much casino play out of them, but it’s our way to give back to Tucson.” Native American tribes of Arizona have proven they create a good product and continue to add to the state’s economy and entertainment options, Long said. Sol Casinos Hotel will be another contribution “I think it’s an exciting project that Tucson can be proud of. It’s a nice place for the people of Tucson and out-of-town guests. And anything that brings business to Tucson is good for everyone.”

Sol Casinos Hotel and Convention Center
Casino del Sol
5655 West Valencia Road
Projected opening Fall 2011
www.casinodelsol.com
(800) 344-9435

kaneui

Apr 20, 2010, 6:46 AM

After renovating the exterior of St. Augustine Cathedral a few years ago, the interior of the 1868 structure is getting a $1M update:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/StAugustineinterior.jpg
Richard Baeuerlen of the Golden Brush applies wallpaper over an arch inside
St. Augustine Cathedral, a technique designed to make it appear as though
carved stone is over the arches.
(photo: Mamta Popat)

St. Augustine getting major redo
by Patty Machelor
Arizona Daily Star
April 19, 2010

Nearly gone is the mottled white paint, and deteriorating pews are being replaced with pews replicating designs from at least as far back as 1911. St. Augustine Cathedral, a downtown Tucson centerpiece, is being changed from having an austere, outdated interior to one of warmth and light. The $1 million renovation has "totally changed the feeling of the cathedral," said Fred Allison, spokesman for the Catholic Diocese of Tucson. The cathedral, at 192 S. Stone Ave., will soon have a cream-colored interior and a design scheme meant to draw the eyes of visitors and parishioners toward the sanctuary.

The white ceiling is getting a coat of wood-toned paint, and symbols are planned to pay tribute to Father Eusebio Kino, as well as Gospel writers Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Architect John Shaheen, the diocese's property and insurance director, said wallpaper around the archways is being used as part of artist John Alan's concept of trompe l'oeil, or "fool the eye." "The artist is utilizing color, light and shadow through paint and paper applications to 'create' architectural elements, (such as) the railing, cornice moldings, window trim and, in this case, the detail around the arches," Shaheen said. The 1960s red-tile floor is also being restored by hand because years of wax kept clogging machines. About half of the new pews have been installed so far. Some of the old pews fell apart when they were removed. Those that remained intact have been given away, many to churches in Mexico.

What's next?
The sanctuary's wooden statue of the risen Christ, which weighs roughly a ton and is beginning to crack, probably will leave soon, perhaps to oversee congregants in a local parish. The replacement hasn't been announced, but one guess might be what's taking place in the nearby parish hall, where art conservators Tim Lewis and Matilde Rubio continue the painstaking restoration work on the Pamplona Crucifix. This statue has been at St. Augustine since the mid-1920s and is believed to be from a Spanish artist - then living in Tucson - who acquired it at an auction in Pamplona, Spain. Historians believe the statue is about 600 to 800 years old.

Financing
The diocese's capital campaign - dubbed "Our Faith, Our Hope, Our Future" - was under way when the recession hit. Nevertheless, Bishop Gerald F. Kicanas said parishioners were "amazing" in their generosity, pledging more than $44 million toward the $28 million goal. The campaign hopes to realize more than $33 million overall, and pledges, which can be fulfilled until 2013, continue to be steady; $1 million of this funding is being used on the current interior renovations.

Did you know
The choir loft has never been used for a choir or anything else, for that matter. Why? There's no stairway to access it - only a straight up-and-down ladder. "The artist has not started work in this area," John Shaheen, the diocese's property and insurance director, said of the choir loft. "He is awaiting the completion of the ceiling and adjacent walls so he can design this space within that context. His goal for this space is to enhance the presence of the rose stained-glass window."

About the name
A cathedral is called a cathedral because of the bishop's seat at the head of the sanctuary. This adorned chair is called a "cathedra," a Greek word meaning "chair" or "throne." Each time a new bishop joins a diocese, a new ecclesiastical coat of arms adorns the back of the chair. The cathedra at St. Augustine Cathedral has had its coat of arms changed five times.

For more interior renovation photos: http://azstarnet.com/promo/homepage/collection_f9a19536-4996-11df-9629-001cc4c03286.html

kaneui

Apr 21, 2010, 8:38 PM

Although Rio Nuevo has already spent $8.2M on planning and architectural drawings for the proposed convention center Sheraton, the struggling economy and recent bad news from other cities are casting a long shadow on the hotel's prospects for public-backed financing:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/TCCSheratonrender-1.jpg
The proposed Sheraton hotel.
(render: DLR Group)

Downtown Reservations
The city will soon decide whether a proposed convention-center hotel is worth the substantial risk

by Dave Devine
Tucson Weekly
April 21, 2010

Two recent headlines in other cities are not welcome news for supporters of a publicly owned, 525-room, $170 million Sheraton hotel proposed for downtown Tucson. In September, The Oregonian declared, "Portland Convention Center Hotel Is Dead." In March, Standard and Poor's bond-rating service announced, "Downtown Phoenix Hotel's Outlook Is Revised to Negative." In response to disappointing results during its first year of business—such as operating revenues 19 percent below forecasts—Standard and Poor's changed the outlook for the Phoenix Sheraton hotel's senior, non-publicly backed bonds from stable to negative. In Portland, a 20-year effort to build a convention center hotel ended last year, because, as the Oregonian summarized: "The sticking point has always been the risk to taxpayers." In both cases, public revenues were to be the ultimate guarantor of some of the bonds used to finance hotel construction. In Phoenix, city officials took that risk with subordinate bonds; in Portland, city officials declined. The Tucson City Council and the Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District Board will soon be facing the same dilemma. They'll be provided a draft capital plan for the proposed convention-center facility, and they will have to decide: Should Tucson proceed with construction of the hotel, even though it may place City Hall's own revenues in jeopardy?

Stephen Moffett, of Garfield Traub, the Dallas-based firm that would build the facility, thinks the city should proceed. He calls the risks "negligible." Moffett believes revenue streams produced by the hotel—such as room rentals and internal taxes—should be sufficient to cover the construction debt. He also points to the positive results in a recently released market study done on the proposed hotel by HVS. He even calls the study's conclusions "somewhat conservative." Moffett emphasizes what he sees as both long-term and short-term benefits of building the hotel. "The biggest reward," he says, "is getting Tucson back into the convention business. The overall economic impact of that is overwhelming. The No. 1 reason national meeting-planners select a city is because of a headquarters hotel and availability of room blocks." Tucson doesn't provide those now, but Moffett says that if the hotel and a 33,000-square-foot expansion of the convention center are built, "It will open up Tucson to a whole new level of conventions." As far as the hotel's short-term benefits, Moffett emphasizes the construction jobs that would be created. He estimates that approximately 70 percent of the hundreds of workers required would be from Tucson. Moffett also highlights an October headline from The Dallas Morning News. It read: "Convention Center Hotel Is Helping Dallas Book More Business." After an expensive campaign, Dallas voters last May narrowly approved city ownership of a convention-center hotel. Based on that, advance bookings for convention business there began to rise. Moffett indicates that construction drawings for the Tucson hotel are 90 percent complete, and if the Rio Nuevo board and City Council give the go-ahead shortly, the hotel could be open by the summer of 2012.

However, Heywood Sanders, of the University of Texas at San Antonio—a frequent critic of the convention industry—warns of the financial risks of hotel public ownership. "Folks get into this without any clear understanding of it," he says about the financing implications. "I anticipate Tucson will have to make a pretty serious financial commitment behind the bonds, and some officials will pooh-pooh that, because they always do." Sanders cautions that backing such hotels can have consequences. "A convention-center hotel is a financially risky proposal," he observes, "but if you've bought it, you've got to pay for it. It's easy to say, '(A lack of business) won't happen,' but it has, a lot."

Reciting a long list of communities that have learned that lesson the hard way, Sanders comments: "It's all dependent upon the hotel's performance, and we've seen a lot of cases where consultants said it would do fine, and the hotels simply haven't done that." Sanders also addresses the idea that Tucson should enter the "arms race" for convention business. "Tucson (is being asked) to do what everybody else will or has done, bigger and better," he says about enlarging convention-center facilities and building adjacent hotels. Sanders points out that convention business has fallen dramatically during the recent recession—and whether or not it will come back is open to serious question. Plus, he says of other market studies done by HVS that he's reviewed: "In a great many cases, things haven't turned out how they predicted." Sanders says that publicly backed convention facilities that wind up falling short of expectations don't go bankrupt. "Instead, they just sit there and bleed money, and the city has to pay the bondholders. If Tucson officials aren't prepared to do that, they should rethink this proposal."

While it's easy to compare the city's risk of building a convention-center hotel to that assumed by Pima County when it approved construction of Tucson Electric Park—which is now devoid of both minor-league baseball and spring training—perhaps another analogy is more appropriate. A story from October 1974 in the Arizona Daily Star summarized the financial situation of the Tucson Community Center (TCC) that had opened a few years earlier. "'Self-Supporting' TCC," said the article's headline, referring to financial promises previously made about the facility, "Costs Residents Millions."

Listen to a four-part interview with Mr. Sanders regarding the financial viability of city-owned convention hotels posted on April 30 on http://tucsongrowup.com/ .

kaneui

Apr 22, 2010, 9:09 AM

In an effort to inject new life and activity into the once bustling Miracle Mile strip, the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation plans to restore and reinstall several neon signs that illuminated the busy roadway in its heyday:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/GatewaySaguaro.jpg
The Gateway Saguaro, near the Oracle Road median, just
north of Drachman Street. The 30-ft-tall neon public art
piece, by local artist Dirk J. Arnold, shows people traveling
northbound on Oracle the history of the roadway, and if
they are traveling southbound it welcomes them to Tucson.
(photo: Jill Torrance)

Vintage glow
Miracle Mile, a home to neon back in the day, may get a little brighter with help

by Coley Ward
Arizona Daily Star
April 22, 2010

Evan Voyles lives in Austin, Texas, and sells classic neon signs on his website, Neon Jungle. Many of his signs come from the Lone Star State, but some come from other parts of the Southwest - including a few from the Tucson area. One of the Tucson signs says "RADIO" and has an antenna in place of the "I." Another, from the Sunset Motel in Willcox, features the word "Sunset" in bright red letters. Voyles, whose neon treasures have been featured in magazines and on MTV's "The Real World," says he scavenges for classic signs in places where the economy has dried up. "I'm going to find the old road into town," he says. "Places that have not had a revival. Places that haven't had a reason to take neon down."

Tucson's old road into town, the "Miracle Mile strip," was a haven for neon in the 1950s and 1960s, when flashing signs beckoned to visitors with promises of swimming pools, grassy courtyards and $2 steak dinners. Now, a group of historical preservationists are hoping to bring back the neon buzz. On April 30, The Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation, a non-profit dedicated to preserving Tucson's architectural heritage, will hold a fundraiser on the roof at Hotel Congress to raise money to restore three old neon signs. The group seeks to raise $30,000 to restore the neon signs salvaged from Magic Carpet Golf, Medina Sporting Goods and the Arizonan Motel. The cost is about $10,000 to refurbish and reinstall each sign. The signs would be reinstalled along the route known as the Miracle Mile strip, which runs east from Interstate 10 along Miracle Mile, then south on Oracle Road, until turning again onto Drachman Street to Stone Avenue. "The area we're looking at is about two miles long," Clinco says.

For much of the 20th century, the Miracle Mile strip was the way people drove into Tucson from the north. Many of the motor lodges, restaurants and bars that popped up along the strip announced their presence with bright neon signs. Over the years, Tucson's neon profile dimmed. Many classic signs were taken down and now sit in storage, or were thrown away. Demion Clinco, president of the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation, says he wants the Miracle Mile corridor to become a driveable neon museum. "Neon signs have a real incredible power to activate the nighttime environment," says Clinco, 29, who grew up here and studied art history at Occidental College in Los Angeles.

In recent years, the Miracle Mile corridor has struggled to reclaim its lost luster. Many of the strip's once-glamorous motels are now seedy magnets for dubious activity. Clinco knows neon won't change that all on its own. But he says it could be part of the solution. "One of the tenets of modernity is if you turn on the lights people will come," he says. "When we turn on these signs people will start looking at the area in a different way." The Miracle Mile strip got a little brighter earlier this month, when local artist Dirk Arnold debuted a neon sculpture in the shape of a saguaro at the Oracle Road-Main Avenue-Drachman Street interchange.

Before the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation can start relocating restored neon signs to the strip, the city's sign code must change. Most old signs violate the code because they are too large, too tall or too near a right-of-way. Under the current code, if an owner removes a sign for repair or restoration, it can't go back up. A committee is considering changes to the code that would make it easier to repair classic signs. It will make recommendations soon and a proposed ordinance will be presented to the City Council this summer. The city is also looking into creating a historic register of classic signs, according to Jonathan Mabry, Tucson's historic preservation officer. "The amendment to the sign code will include an explicit and specific definition of what is a historic sign," says Mabry.

If you go

• What: Under the Neon Stars, a dinner event to raise money for the restoration of three signs. Be advised, because of the rooftop's limited capacity, the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation is only selling 100 tickets to its fundraiser. As of press time, there were still tickets for sale - but they were going fast. You can buy tickets or donate money at www.preservetucson.org.
• Where: Hotel Congress, 311 E. Congress St.
• When: 6:30 p.m. April 30.
• Cost: $125.
• Info: www.hotelcongress.com

kaneui

Apr 23, 2010, 4:08 AM

As noted in this Arizona Public Media interview with two new Rio Nuevo board members, May is shaping up as the month for a decision on the proposed convention center expansion and hotel, once a guaranteed maximum price has been submitted by the developer. If they choose to move forward, Rio Nuevo will need the city's financial guarantee on the issuance of construction bonds, as 90% of current TIF revenues are already being spent for debt service of prior obligations:

http://ondemand.azpm.org/videoshorts/watch/2010/4/22/kuat-rio-nuevo-board/

kaneui

Apr 24, 2010, 9:06 PM

Using a combination of tax credits for low-income housing and historic properties, Miracle Mile's long-vacant Ghost Ranch Lodge is finding new life as 112 apartments for seniors:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/GhostRanchLodgeremodel.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/GhostRanchLodgesign.jpg
Jason Hall, left, of American Openings, and superintendent Mitch Barnett, of
Four Leaf Construction, work on the windows of the main building at the
Ghost Ranch Lodge on Miracle Mile. The property is scheduled to open as
low-income housing by the end of the year.
(photos: Greg Bryan, lasertrimman)

Ghost Ranch coming back
Senior-citizen housing to fill old motor court

by Dale Quinn
Arizona Daily Star
April 24, 2010

The historic Ghost Ranch Lodge, which for years has sat crumbling, will soon reopen as low-income housing for seniors. The first phase of construction, to revitalize the 1940s-era motor court that once sat on the gateway to Tucson, is due to be completed by Aug. 1, said John Cichon of Atlantic Development. The first resident should be moving in on the same date, said Cichon, who is in charge of the development. Restoration of the lodge at 801 W. Miracle Mile - easily identifiable by its Georgia O'Keeffe cow-skull sign - languished as developers worked to secure funding and tax credits. The $12 million project was made possible through a blend of federal, state and local funds and tax credits targeted toward low-income housing and the preservation of historic properties. The developer will preserve the architecture of the buildings arranged around a courtyard designed by prominent Tucson architect Josias Joesler. Some changes were made to accommodate the living needs of seniors, Cichon said. "We have taken what was here, the same architectural styling, and made it work not for motel visitors but for permanent full-time residents," Cichon said. The first phase includes 60 units of low-income housing for seniors, a clubhouse and lounge with computer access, and a dog park.

Ken Scoville, a local advocate for the preservation of historic buildings, said the restoration of the property demonstrates that developers can work with existing buildings, maintaining their historic and cultural significance, instead of just razing them and putting up new structures. "The preservation of Ghost Ranch Lodge shows we can retain these motor courts," Scoville said. The motor courts along Miracle Mile provide a snapshot to a time when travelers moved across the country by car, and that route was the primary entry point to Tucson, Scoville said.

Atlantic Development is still waiting to find out if it will get tax credits to fund the second phase of the project, which includes buildings on the west side of the property and the cactus garden planted by community leader Arthur Pack in the late 1940s. Cichon said Atlantic expects to hear about those credits in coming months and, if funding is secured, it could be completed by March of next year. The second phase, an $8.6 million project, will include 52 additional units and a community center.

The restoration of Ghost Ranch also shows promise for the revitalization of Miracle Mile, which in recent decades has built a reputation as a crime haven, said Ward 3 Councilwoman Karin Uhlich. "This area has been neglected by the city for decades," Uhlich said. "It became an area of high crime and little investment." In recent years, community members have teamed up with city officials and the Tucson Police Department to improve the corridor along West Miracle Mile and North Oracle Road, Uhlich said. Another sign of improvement, she said, is the Police Department's West Division Headquarters at 1310 W. Miracle Mile, which went up a few years ago. Uhlich said she is hopeful tax credits and funding can be secured for the second phase of Ghost Ranch, as it's important to the city's revitalization of the Miracle Mile/Oracle corridor. "Affordable housing for seniors is a perfect fit" for the area, Uhlich said.

Historical tours today
The Ghost Ranch Lodge will be open from 9 a.m. to noon today for tours as part of the Historic Miracle Mile Tour and Festival.

DID YOU KNOW
For more than 60 years, the Ghost Ranch Lodge's red-tiled roofs, courtyard lawns and cow-skull sign - the latter designed by famed artist Georgia O'Keeffe - welcomed travelers to the once-thriving tourist strip known as Miracle Mile. Arthur Pack, owner of the Ghost Ranch in New Mexico - a favorite spot of O'Keeffe's -came to Tucson with his wife, Phoebe, in 1941 to build the lodge. In front of it, the Packs installed the skull logo, a wedding gift from O'Keeffe. Arthur Pack was also a co-founder of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum; Arthur Pack Golf Course here is named for him.

DID YOU ALSO KNOW
Swiss-born architect Josias Joesler, who designed the Ghost Ranch Lodge buildings in 1942, was one of Tucson's most prominent architects. He also designed the 1936 St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church, among other notable buildings here.

kaneui

Apr 25, 2010, 8:17 AM

Even though the funding to build and operate the modern streetcar is still $25M short according to federal estimates, local officials are confident the difference can be made up with additional federal monies, lower construction costs, eliminating one streetcar, or a combination of the three:

Streetcar project may need $20M+ more
Shortfall identified in US analysis; city seeking added funds

by Rob O'Dell
Arizona Daily Star
April 25, 2010

The fare for Tucson's modern streetcar just took a big jump, and we've barely started laying track. February's announcement that the city would get more than $60 million in federal stimulus for the rail line set off a month of celebration that the project was finally real and downtown revitalization could get back on track. But even though Transportation Director Jim Glock declared the project fully funded with $157 million in federal and local money, federal transportation officials estimate the cost is really $182.5 million. They want the city to identify where the rest will come from.

No one has determined what happens if the city doesn't come up with an extra $20 million to $25 million - and city officials say they still believe they can get the job done for $157 million. However, the city is asking for at least $19 million more in federal grant money. Officials hope the request can be approved in a round of grant funding this summer or in the fall, after the end of the federal government's fiscal year. Even if it gets the $19 million, the city would still be $6.5 million short of the federal estimate. And at the higher cost, the city and the Regional Transportation Authority will have have no money for operating the modern streetcar, which would connect the University of Arizona to downtown and the west side.

Track for the historic Old Pueblo Trolley already runs from the University of Arizona's Main Gate into downtown. It is separate from the planned modern streetcar, although both will share some tracks. The earlier $157 million estimate for the modern streetcar included some operating funds for the early years. As a result, city taxpayers could get the bill for up to $2 million a year in operating costs, depending on how much fares bring in. City and RTA officials said they are confident that either costs will come in at the lower amount or the extra money will come, so there are no plans to change the construction schedule for the streetcar line, to be complete in early 2012.

Federal estimate
Glock said the $182.5 million was the amount Jacobs Engineering, the federal oversight consultant, estimated the line would cost in August 2009. At the time, when the city was still lobbying for federal funds, Glock said the city signed off on the $182.5 million estimate, even though it disagreed with significant portions of it, like the assumption Tucson would need eight streetcars instead of seven, and the large contingency fund required by the feds.

Glock said Tucson hopes to convince the new federal government oversight consultant - PBS&J - that the eighth car and the bigger contingency are unnecessary. Eliminating those items, along with falling construction costs since the original estimate was done, should bring the cost in near its original estimate, which would leave money for operations. A new cost estimate is expected by June or July, he said. "The cost estimate is a moving target right now, and we expect it to be going down," Glock said. "We believe we're going to have a considerably lower cost estimate." If the city can't cut costs enough or secure the new $19 million grant, Glock said, it will solicit the money it needs from other federal appropriations, through Tucson's congressional delegation.

Leaders confident
The RTA is so confident the city will find a way to cover the costs that its board will soon consider changing spending policies so the RTA can advance the city a portion of the $88 million it will commit to the project, said RTA Executive Director Gary Hayes. Hayes said the Federal Transportation Administration is requiring the city to come up with a financing plan to cover $182.5 million, but said he felt the city could lower the costs or find the money. He said the more than $60 million awarded in February made the streetcar a real project. "We are feeling pretty confident," Hayes said. "Pretty much all the money is lined up."

Projected Costs
Federal officials estimate the streetcar will cost $182.5 million for construction and initial operations, which is about $25 million more than the city has.
• Committed: $157 million from Regional Transportation Authority and federal government
• Requested: $19 million in new federal grant application
• Additional needed: $6.5 million

andrewsaturn

Apr 26, 2010, 7:50 AM

BrandonJXN

Apr 26, 2010, 11:38 PM

^ Have you seen this?

8RG-MC420gE

kaneui

Apr 27, 2010, 7:16 AM

From the Downtown Links website, this rendering shows what the area around the 4th Ave. underpass should look like in a few years, with a completed 4-lane Barraza-Aviation Parkway and streetcar maintenance facility (lower right), the new MLK Apartments and future market-rate apartment building next door, as well as the proposed Intermodal Depot (Greyhound Bus depot and TDOT offices) to the upper right of the Historic Train Depot:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/eastend-downtown.png
(render: Poster Frost Associates)

http://www.downtownlinks.info/Documents/FinalUrbanDesignPlan-Revised8.18.09.pdf

BrandonJXN

Apr 28, 2010, 5:40 PM

kaneui

Apr 28, 2010, 6:53 PM

I really want to see the Warehouse area of downtown transformed into Tucson's 'Arts District.' That area has so much potential. As does the area around The Rialto. There is a HUGE lot on Broadway right across the street from The Rialto that is too prime to sit empty for too much longer. I want this to rise on it.

Not sure who owns that block, but it is certainly a prime candidate for some new downtown housing, especially since the streetcar line will pass right by it on Broadway and the Plaza Centro mixed-use project will be going up on adjacent parcels.

Regarding the Warehouse Arts District, a master plan was approved in 2004 and an organization (WAMO) is working on its implementation, including acquisition of some of the city- and ADOT-owned warehouses up for sale and completing the Barraza-Aviation Parkway that bisects the district:

http://wamotucson.org/index.html

Azstar

Apr 28, 2010, 11:29 PM

Sad to say that no housing will ever be built downtown because the extraordinarily incompetent City Council will demand the developer provide at least 30% "affordable" (meaning rent subsidized) housing. This requirement has caused about half a dozen proposed developments to be dropped already while the developers run away from the council screaming "get them away from me!!!!"

kaneui

Apr 28, 2010, 11:53 PM

With $2M already spent by Rio Nuevo for archaeological work and a perimeter wall, Friends of Tucson's Birthplace is planning to complete the Mission Gardens restoration using community volunteers and donations, with the final product serving as both a cultural attraction and educational tool showcasing various eras of sustainable agriculture from Tucson's past:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/MissionGardenssiteplan.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/MissionGardenswall-1.jpg
Site plan for the 4-acre Mission Gardens
(render: Tucson Weekly, photo: Friends of Tucson's Birthplace)

Putting Down Roots
As the focus of Rio Nuevo shifts, supporters of the Mission Gardens project seek donations and volunteers

by Dave Devine
Tucson Weekly
April 28, 2010

May is National Preservation Month, and according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the focus this year is: "Old is the new green." Supporters of the Mission Gardens on South Grande Avenue believe the proposed project is a perfect example of that theme. "What's more green than involving and educating the community on the history of agriculture in the Tucson basin?" asks Diana Hadley, a member of Friends of Tucson's Birthplace.

For centuries, different peoples irrigated fields near the base of Sentinel Peak (or what today is called "A" Mountain by many), utilizing water from the nearby Santa Cruz River. Archeological work shows that agriculture has been practiced there for almost 4,000 years. The Mission Gardens are intended to re-create that long agricultural history. Using different plots, the layout of the approximately 4-acre site would allow a visitor to experience how farming in the Tucson area evolved over time. "We'll start with desert plants (cultivated by) the region's earliest settlers as well as the Hohokam and O'odham peoples," comments Bill DuPont, head of the Friends of Tucson's Birthplace. According to materials prepared for the project, these plants would include an early variety of corn, along with squash, cotton, agave and tepary beans. Next to the Native American plots would be gardens containing the fruits and vegetables of the Mexican, territorial and statehood eras of Tucson. Plants ranging from Osage orange and barley to alfalfa, strawberries and Pima cotton would be grown. The remainder of the site would be devoted to Spanish Colonial crops, orchard plants and vines. These are of particular interest to Jesús García, of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, who is also involved with the Kino Heritage Fruit Trees Project. "A visitor would literally be able to feel, touch and taste the flavors of those times," García observes.

García is referring to the late 17th-century period when Father Eusebio Kino helped bring European plants to the Sonoran Desert. At the same time, he met 400 Native American farmers growing crops at the foot of "A" Mountain. Clones of some of the original plants brought by Kino and others, García says, have been identified. "It is humbling to note," he has written, "... that these plants that grow among us very likely are the living legacy of the Spanish missionaries." Quinces, pomegranates and black mission figs are three of the primary species of fruit slated to be grown at Mission Gardens, according to García. There would also be pears, apricots, peaches, grapes and a historic Mexican sweet lime that he says was located in the Menlo Park neighborhood just north of the garden site. The heritage-planting program García is involved with has been introduced at Tumacácori National Historical Park south of Tucson, and he hopes it will be implemented at the Mission Gardens as well.

Despite the area's rich agricultural heritage, the 20th century wasn't kind to the Mission Gardens site—it became a litter-strewn vacant dirt lot. From the perspective of archeologist Homer Thiel, returning the land to its historic usage would be appropriate. "It would pay back the Menlo Park neighborhood," Thiel suggests, "for all they've had to go through." That proposed transformation was part of one of the primary selling points of the Rio Nuevo downtown revitalization effort when voters approved it in 1999. But more than a decade later, and after the expenditure of $2 million, the Mission Gardens project remains unfinished. Required archeological work on the property has been completed, and as Peg Weber of Tucson's Parks and Recreation Department points out, that information was used in the proposed layout in order to prevent the disruption of subsurface material. In addition to archeology work, a brick wall has been constructed around the site, and some irrigation piping has been laid. Most recently, Lloyd Construction donated $12,000 in labor and resources to install mesquite wood gates. Extensive educational materials have also been prepared, and construction drawings have been completed. "This thing is ready to go," declares Hadley of the project.

But with the focus of Rio Nuevo shifting exclusively to a downtown convention-center hotel, and taxpayer money apparently not available to finish the project, Friends of Tucson's Birthplace is looking to raise donations—and is taking a different approach to completing the effort. An intergovernmental agreement between Pima County—which owns most of the land—and the city of Tucson needs to be approved; Weber hopes that process will be wrapped up this fall. At that point, work on the site can begin again. "First, we need to install power and water sources," DuPont observes. "I'd like to do that by the end of the year." After that, Hadley says of the gardens: "We want volunteer labor to plant and maintain them." Hadley calls the change in philosophy a whole new approach. "It's based on community involvement using (planning) work that's previously been done by professionals."

Once planting gets underway, both DuPont and Hadley agree that Mission Gardens should become an attraction for visitors including gardeners, tourists and school children. Hadley thinks there will be numerous lessons to be learned. "How to save water, and what kind of foods sustained people of this basin," she cites as two of those lessons. "How to live efficiently in a desert environment," she adds of another, "and how we respect our heritage." During National Preservation Month, those are lessons worth learning.

For more info.:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-Tucsons-Birthplace/342949029330#!/pages/Friends-of-Tucsons-Birthplace/342949029330?v=info

kaneui

Apr 29, 2010, 5:28 AM

A bit off topic--but with the current uproar over immigration, thought it might be interesting to compare Hispanic population in a few selected U.S. cities and states (granted, most of these cities' metro areas will reflect a lower percentage):

City/Hispanic percentage

El Paso - 80.0%
Miami - 69.4%
San Antonio - 61.2%
Los Angeles - 48.4%
Albuquerque - 44.0%
Dallas - 43.1%
Phoenix - 42.1%
Houston - 41.9%
Tucson - 39.5%
Austin - 35.0%
Las Vegas - 30.0%
San Diego - 27.3%

State/Hispanic percentage

New Mexico - 44.5%
California - 36.1%
Texas - 35.9%
Arizona - 29.6%
Nevada - 24.9%
Florida - 20.5%

Source: U.S. Census - 2006-2008 3-yr. estimates

http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ACSSAFFFacts?_event=&geo_id=01000US&_geoContext=01000US|04000US04&_street=&_county=&_cityTown=&_state=04000US04&_zip=&_lang=en&_sse=on&ActiveGeoDiv=geoSelect&_useEV=&pctxt=fph&pgsl=040&_submenuId=factsheet_1&ds_name=ACS_2008_3YR_SAFF&_ci_nbr=null&qr_name=null&reg=null%3Anull&_keyword=&_industry=

kaneui

May 1, 2010, 4:02 AM

A few short videos by Arizona Public Media on downtown revitalization progress, with excerpts from Councilman Kozachik and Michael Keith, the Downtown Tucson Partnership's new CEO. (Also looks like construction has resumed at Mercado San Agustin, with an opening scheduled for November.)

Downtown Tucson redevelopment:

http://ondemand.azpm.org/videoshorts/watch/2010/4/28/kuat-downtown-tucson-redevelopment/

TCC Hotel Update:

http://ondemand.azpm.org/videoshorts/watch/2010/4/29/kuat-downtown-hotel-update/

aznate27

May 3, 2010, 6:47 PM

kaneui

May 3, 2010, 7:01 PM

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/AMountainimprovements2.png
Rest areas along a wheelchair-accessible trail are part of the upgrades
planned to make “A” Mountain a more family-friendly place to visit.
(render: City of Tucson)

Changes aim to make Sentinel Peak more welcoming
by Teya Vitu
Downtown Tucsonan
May/June, 2010

A new loop trail up and around “A” Mountain should be ready for urban hikers May 7 in the city’s quest to transform Sentinel Peak Park into a safe destination to wander rather than just drive around. And, by August, a wheelchair accessible trail should also be in place. Seven youths from Project MORE High School and Teenage Alternative Parent Middle High School under the supervision of Southwest Conservation Corps started work March 29 on two trails. One trail above the roadway links the parking lot with the overlook at the base of the “A”. The second climbs to the top of the A and down to the parking lot. “The one going to the top of ‘A’ Mountain is an old, historic trail that was lost, overgrown,” said Howard Dutt, landscape architect at the Tucson Parks & Recreation Department. “When we had archaeological work done, they found it.”

Archaeology work delayed building the trails by a year. Dutt said several wildcat trails were pieced together and improved to create the summit route. The trails are part of a master plan to create designated paths for pedestrians, bicyclist and the disabled from the maze of wildcat trails on “A” Mountain, where there is no safe way to walk from the parking lot to the overlook. “‘A’ Mountain right now is a drive-by experience,” Dutt said. “What we’re trying to do is make ‘A’ Mountain a destination, a place where you park the car, hike the trails, go to the overlook, go to the top of the mountain. Part of our plan for ‘A’ Mountain is to make an organized trail system.”

This is the Southwest Conservation Corps’ first urban project. The group otherwise sends people age 16 to 25 to national forest and park lands for overnight conservation and trail crew work. Four boys and one girl from Project MORE and two teen fathers from TAP built the trails at such a fast pace that other trails may be added before the school year is out, Dutt said Community volunteers joined the youths April 17 and May 1 to help with trail building and buffelgrass removal. “The whole point (was) to get volunteers out there and working side-by-side with the youth,” said Jean Hickman, the Corps’ community outreach coordinator.

A third trail, not involving the Corps or students, will have stabilized decomposed granite and will meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements for wheelchairs. This 300-yard trail is planned for construction in June with intentions to open in early August. The 8-foot-wide ADA trail will run above the east slope road from the parking lot to the overlook just above the road and below the trail being built by the SCC youths. It will have two rest areas with benches and interpretive signs. The project also includes improvements to the overlook under the “A” designed to make it safer for pedestrians.

Trail work is funded with $130,000 from the sale of a portion of Juhan Park near Silverbell and Grant roads and a $30,000 Community Development Block Grant. Council member Regina Romero’s staff coordinated funding and design work. “Many times people are afraid to go from the parking lot to the overlook,” Romero said. “We are expanding the use for pedestrians, horses and bicycles. It’s really going to bring out the history and culture ‘A’ Mountain has to offer.”

kaneui

May 5, 2010, 4:13 AM

The actual public plaza of the Depot Plaza project will feature flowering trees and shrubs, benches and public art, with the adjacent Ronstadt Transit Center to be set apart from the development using decorative fencing and landscaping:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/DepotPlaza-render-1.png
A bird’s-eye view of the Depot Plaza area shows
the proposed third building that abuts the public plaza.
(render: Nelson Partners)

Plaza, Ronstadt updates mark ‘urban activity center’
by Teya Vitu
Downtown Tucsonan
May/June, 2010

Future residents of the new Martin Luther King Jr. Apartments will find a plaza on the building’s east side and a tree-and-fence partition to the west setting MLK off from the Ronstadt Transit Center. Depot Plaza work should start in May in conjunction with MLK construction, and safety and security improvements are underway at Ronstadt. These street-level projects on both sides of MLK should wrap up as low-income senior citizens and disabled residents start moving in at the end of the year.

The plaza and Ronstadt projects at Downtown’s east end come together with the anticipated streetcar, tenants for the Rialto Block, An Congress restaurant and a private-sector tower destined for due east of MLK. They will join the already thriving Hotel Congress and Maynards Market & Kitchen. “This is becoming the urban activity center of Downtown,” said architect Corky Poster from Poster Frost Mirto, which designed the Ronstadt improvements and the interiors in the MacArthur Building for Madden Media. “This is where you start getting the density that matters.”

Depot Plaza is the name of the entire public-private development project that includes MLK, One North Fifth Apartments and a third tower destined just east of MLK. The physical plaza with the same name will be a 50-by- 215-foot strip between MLK and the future tower. The plaza will run from Madden Media on the north to One North Fifth at the south. Depot Plaza will have benches and thornless cascalote trees at least 6.5 feet tall, night flowering hesperaloe, yellow flowered agave, bull grass, damianita, and blue elf aloe shrubs, said Vinnie Hunt, administrator of the architecture and engineering division at the city General Services Department. There are plans to install, near the MLK entrance, public art honoring Martin Luther King Jr. by local artist Joe O’Connell. He was drawn to King’s words. King phrases wrap around the interior and exterior of his 22-foot-high “unfinished” egg-shaped Bends Towards Justice artwork made with bent aluminum rods. “There will just be words everywhere,” O’Connell said. “You wouldn’t be reading things as much as be surrounded by a mesh of words that, at closer inspection, would reveal a lot of meaning.”

Where Depot Plaza will provide serenity, Ronstadt Transit Center will become busier as “the heart of the entire Sun Tran system.” Despite private sector desire for the property in recent years, Ronstadt will remain the city’s primary bus hub with daily service expected to jump from 860 buses to 1,260 in 2012, said Tom Fisher, project manager at the Tucson Department of Transportation. Ronstadt improvements have a dual purpose: improve safety at Ronstadt itself and isolate the transit center from the neighboring MLK. Poster wants to install a median between MLK and Ronstadt dense with greenery and a meandering wrought-iron fence. “The center is completely porous now,” Poster said. “You can go in and out anywhere. There needs to be isolation between MLK and Ronstadt.” Ronstadt is enclosed with brick arcades linked with seat-level walls that encourage sitting and also allow people to easily step over them. Poster plans to install decorative fencing along the openings to create designated pedestrian entry points to the bus center and limit sitting at the center’s edges. “You won’t be able to go through the arcade any more,” Poster said. Fisher added: “The intention is to use it as a transit center, not a hangout place.” Most of the construction will go on in fall, but some landscaping and the bike lockers have already been removed. Bike lockers will be relocated.

kaneui

May 6, 2010, 12:22 AM

With $8.6M of infrastructure work already underway, the first phase of the proposed Arizona Bioscience Park may be graduate student housing:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/AZBioscienceParksiteplan.jpg

UA Bioscience Park ready to sign apartments agreement
Deal negotiated for graduate students, others

by Becky Pallack
Arizona Daily Star
May 2, 2010

The new Arizona Bioscience Park is close to signing a development deal for graduate student apartments. The park is negotiating the business terms with a developer, said Bruce Wright, who heads the University of Arizona's research parks. He declined to name the developer, citing a non-disclosure agreement. The company is designing an complex with 1- to 3-bedroom apartments and a total of 330 beds. The site is 2.5 miles south of the UA campus near South Kino Parkway and East 36th Street. The target residents would be graduate students, married students and junior faculty, Wright said. The plan could be ready for the Arizona Board of Regents' approval in August. The project could open in 2012.

The park consulted with UA's Residence Life department, which rents to grad students at an apartment complex on the west side of campus. However, the new project will be private and not leased through the UA, Wright said. On-site housing someday will be a great feature of the park for grad students who will work and learn there, said Jim Van Arsdel, residence life director. Many students who work on campus won't want to make the drive, he said. For the project to succeed, the price will have to be right for students, namely low or subsidized rent, said Art Wadlund, a partner with the Tucson office of Hendricks & Partners, an apartment sales firm.

Roadways and utilities are under construction at the Arizona Bioscience Park. The work is being done by Tucson-based SQP Construction under a $4.7 million federal-stimulus grant. Low construction costs mean the park could have about $1 million in grant money left. The UA is asking to use the money for more road work, landscaping and storm-water drainage. The master plan for the park includes a high school, labs, offices and a hotel.

kaneui

May 6, 2010, 7:26 PM

The ongoing sales of numerous properties in the eclectic Warehouse Arts District is signaling an inevitable uptick in tenant rents and raising concerns of gentrification:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/CitizensWarehouse.jpg
The Citizens Transfer and Storage warehouse on Sixth Street west of Stone Avenue.
(photo: Samantha Sais)

Funky or Gentrified?
Optimism reigns as Warehouse District properties change hands—but not everyone is happy

by Dave Devine
Tucson Weekly
May 6, 2010

Many politicians and property owners forecast a promising future for downtown's historic Warehouse Arts District. But not everyone shares that sentiment. "I'm not optimistic about the district," reflects painter Joe Hatton, who has leased studio space in the old Citizens Transfer and Storage warehouse, on Sixth Street west of Stone Avenue, since 2006. "I'd really like to see it be workspace for artists," Hatton continues, "but I'm 90 percent certain that even if the warehouses stay as artist space, they'll be more expensive than now and will probably be out of my price range in five years." That outcome wouldn't follow the philosophy established by the City Council when it adopted a plan for the area in 2004. It states: "This plan's goal is to develop the Tucson Historic Warehouse Arts District as a center for incubation, production and exhibition of the arts, with artists at its heart." Hatton presently pays 50 cents per square foot monthly for space with natural light, and he knows that's "very fair." But he's located in a building the city of Tucson has said is "in disrepair, with numerous signs of deferred maintenance, inadequate heating and cooling capabilities and inadequate restroom facilities."

Now controlled by the city, the building for the past few decades has been owned by the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) and leased out to artists at very affordable rates. City Hall, however, is in the process of identifying a nonprofit, arts-related master leaseholder to manage the building under a five-year agreement. Last week, proposals were due to the city to oversee the Citizens building. (For more information, see "Good Citizens.") In addition, purchase offers for the historic Steinfeld Warehouse on West Sixth Street and a structure at Toole and Sixth avenues long occupied by artist studios were also solicited. The proposals submitted by the April 29 deadline included a proposal on each property from the Warehouse Arts Management Organization (WAMO). A recommendation is expected to go to the City Council this month or next month. The city may require the chosen organization to make "numerous upgrades, structural improvements and ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) compliance" to the Citizens building. "They've told the artists (in the building) that the rent won't go up, or it will be just a minor increase," Hatton says about some of the nonprofit groups interested in managing the building. But because of several problems with his space, he notes: "If (rent) does go up, I'm seriously considering Steve Fenton's offer."

Fenton recently purchased three warehouses near Toole and Stone avenues from ADOT. He's shown space to Hatton, who calls the requested rent "pretty reasonable." Fenton says he's made some improvements to his buildings, and he's had lots of people look at 15-19 E. Toole. "They'll still have affordable rents," Fenton says about the buildings now under his ownership, "plus the buildings will be maintained in better condition." However, there are potential issues with the spaces, Fenton observes. "Parking is the No. 1 problem," he lists. The other, he says, is Pima County's long-delayed plans to build a consolidated courthouse just across Toole. "The development of the courthouse site is huge," Fenton comments. "Right now, it's an unsightly lot, but with a new building with new bodies (in it), it would bring activity to the area." Patricia Schwabe of Peach Properties has purchased two warehouses on Toole from ADOT. She agrees the proposed courthouse is important, especially because of the additional public parking it would provide. However, Schwabe says the decision to place the proposed new building's parking garage one block away from Toole hurts. According to Pima County's Reid Spaulding, that choice was made in order to allow the over-budget courthouse to be built in phases. Due to a lack of funding, it could be several years before any construction work begins on the courthouse.

Another change is also in the works for the Warehouse District. A tailor-made land-use overlay zone is being prepared for much of the area. A meeting was held last week to discuss the possibilities for property south of the railroad tracks that split the Warehouse District. Architect Corky Poster, who is coordinating the land-use effort, invited those in attendance: "Please write your own zoning ordinance." Not surprisingly, parking was one of the major issues discussed by the 30 or so people participating. The affordability of the rental space in the district, however, apparently wasn't mentioned by anyone.

Councilwoman Regina Romero participated in the gathering and says that she hopes the Warehouse District remains "funky" despite all of the change. That "funky" ambiance has been created over the years by the combination of old buildings in need of repairs, and artists seeking cheap rental rates who are willing to put up with inconveniences. "We have some really cool investors," Romero says about the new owners who have bought property in the district. Schwabe concurs. "It can remain funky," she says, "and doesn't have to transform into gentrification." However, Hatton disagrees with those optimistic projections. "I don't think the district will remain funky," Hatton says. "I see it changing already. Some artists have left, and its funkiness may be extinct in the future because of more rules and regulations."

kaneui

May 11, 2010, 4:31 AM

The pre-construction phase has begun downtown for the streetcar line, as the recent USDOT TIGER grant stipulates that the project must be completed by Feb., 2012:

Nighttime streetcar work will close some streets
Downtown Tucsonan
May 10, 2010

Construction alert from the Tucson Department of Transportation:

NIGHT WORK – Monday, May 10 through Friday, May 14

Potholing for underground utilities will take place nightly Monday through Friday along Broadway Boulevard in the downtown area. One through lane will be maintained at all times. All work will take place between 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. the following morning:

Monday, May 10
• The right lane of eastbound Broadway Blvd. will be closed between Stone and Church Ave.

Tuesday, May 11
• The right lane of eastbound Broadway Blvd. will be closed between Stone and Church Ave.

• Northbound Scott Ave. will be closed between Jackson and Broadway.

Wednesday, May 12
• The right lane of eastbound Broadway will be closed between Scott and 6th Ave.

Thursday, May 13
• The right lane of eastbound Broadway will be closed between 6th Ave. and Arizona Ave.

Friday, May 14
• The right lane of eastbound Broadway Blvd. between Arizona Ave. and 5th Ave.

This work is in preparation for the Tucson Modern Streetcar Project. Prior to placing rail and constructing streetcar stops, construction crews will be potholing for underground utilities. This is the first in a series of construction alerts that will be issued throughout the pre-construction phase of the Tucson Modern Streetcar Project. These alerts will announce detour and closure information as it affects traffic. Motorists are asked to obey all posted speed limit signs within the construction area and be alert for construction crews and personnel working in the area.

The Modern Streetcar will be a 3.9 mile, high-capacity line connecting The University of Arizona, Arizona Health Sciences Center, University Main Gate Business District, 4th Avenue Business District, Congress Shopping and Entertainment District, Downtown Tucson, and the Downtown redevelopment area west of I-10.

djtucson

May 11, 2010, 6:35 PM

There is currently a lot of confusion about the completion date required by the TIGER grant. February 2012 is not necessarily correct.

andrewsaturn

May 12, 2010, 2:04 AM

There is currently a lot of confusion about the completion date required by the TIGER grant. February 2012 is not necessarily correct.

When is the completion date? Is it longer than that?

kaneui

May 12, 2010, 5:35 AM

There is currently a lot of confusion about the completion date required by the TIGER grant. February 2012 is not necessarily correct.

That date is what has been reported in the local media, but if you have more accurate information and sources, please share them with us.

kaneui

May 12, 2010, 5:51 AM

As Providence Service Corp. moves its headquarters into the downtown this week, it has plans to occupy two adjacent buildings for 50 additional employees and also enliven Broadway with new retailers:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/ProvidenceServiceHQ.jpg
(photo: Downtown Tucsonan)

Providence already sets sights on expansion Downtown
by Teya Vitu
Downtown Tucsonan
May 11, 2010

Tucson-based Providence Service Corp. plans to open its new Downtown headquarters office the week of May 10, CEO Fletcher McCusker said, but may be expanding farther along Broadway in the future. The national provider of behavioral and education services is moving into a historic building at 64 E. Broadway into a 1909-19 structure rechristened The Scott. McCusker said the $1 billion company had outgrown its space at Craycroft Road and Fifth Street. McCusker said he also has an option to lease the neighboring 57 E. Broadway, also owned by Peach Properties, and he said he put in an offer to buy the former federal courthouse annex at 44 E. Broadway. That is the four-story building, owned by Bank of the West, with the entire front wall removed. Bank of the West spokesman John Stafford did not confirm or deny Providence’s offer. “We have received some offers and are entertaining bids,” Stafford said.

The company will bring about 50 of its 350 Tucson employees into The Scott building. The Scott last year underwent a façade renovation funded with $125,000 from the city’s Façade Improvement Program and matched by the building’s owners, Peach Properties. In part, the new façade attracted McCusker Downtown. “I think that’s some of the best money the city has spent,” McCusker said. Acquiring access 57 and 44 E. Broadway would allow Providence to move 50 more employees Downtown, McCusker said.

McCusker noted once UniSource Energy/Tucson Electric Power builds its new corporate headquarters building across Scott Avenue there will be two publicly traded companies across the street from each other. He said he plans to add retail on Broadway, as will TEP. “In the next couple years, Broadway should be a pedestrian corridor,” McCusker said. “There is unbelievable energy going on Downtown. The private sector is spending our own money.”

djtucson

May 12, 2010, 5:01 PM

On the TIGER Grant date for the streetcar construction: The Feds are still trying to figure it out!

kaneui

May 14, 2010, 6:09 PM

Rio Nuevo to wait 2-3 weeks on hotel call
New board evaluating feasibility

by Rob O'Dell
Arizona Daily Star
May 14, 2010

The new Rio Nuevo board will spend two to three more weeks evaluating feasibility projections for a $192 million hotel adjacent to Tucson Convention Center before deciding whether to go ahead and build it. The board spent six hours Thursday listening to reports on the hotel's potential occupancy and market, economic impact and financing.

Keri Silvyn, the board's lawyer, said Rio Nuevo can cancel its contract with developer Garfield Traub if the hotel isn't economically feasible or because of legal roadblocks, and have to pay the developer only for work that has already been done. However, if the board cancels the contract for no cause, it could owe Garfield Traub 60 percent of its remaining fee. The company is supposed to collect 3.5 percent of the total hotel contract if all the work is done. Board Chairman Jeff DiGregorio said he is comfortable with the projections in the three reports. Some board members, however, such as Alan Willenbrock, questioned many of the numbers and assumptions in the reports. Once the financial plan is approved, it will be difficult to pull the plug on the hotel without a large payout to Garfield Traub, because, Silvyn said, "there's some argument you made some acceptance."

Board member Jodi Bain said she wants more information about the legal clauses in the contract before moving ahead, while David Jones said that from his perspective the board wasn't ready to make any approval or acceptance of the financing plan. DiGregorio said one of the reasons he's comfortable with the numbers is that the city's $4.5 million contribution to the project would come from construction taxes for the project that the city otherwise wouldn't have. The capital plan also calls for Rio Nuevo to put up $1.5 million a year and possibly more, and the city would also have to guarantee the bonds with its credit, as well as pledge most of the new taxes generated by the project to make the hotel work. DiGregorio said, "$4.5 million from money you do not have anyway to get $37 million in economic impact, as a taxpayer to me that seems like a good investment." The $37 million is the estimated annual economic impact of the new hotel and an expansion of the TCC. But Willenbrock had a different take. "We're pledging money that doesn't exist yet."

kaneui

May 14, 2010, 6:15 PM

RTA to co-manage streetcar with city
Federal agency wanted 'unique' partnership

by Andrea Kelly
Arizona Daily Star
May 14, 2010

The Regional Transportation Authority plans to co-manage Tucson's modern streetcar project and be included in all major decisions on the $182 million project. The management agreement has yet to be formalized between the Transportation Authority and Tucson's City Council, but both parties say it is expected to be included in the contract being written this week. "We wanted to establish that the RTA is definitely a co-partner in this project," said Dan Sullivan, an RTA consultant. Sullivan is writing the contract with Richard Miranda, Tucson deputy city manager. The two said they expect to have most issues ironed out by the end of the week.

This management agreement hasn't been required of any other Regional Transportation Authority-funded projects, but the Federal Transit Administration asked the RTA to partner with the city, and the RTA is the primary investor in the project, said Gary Hayes, executive director of the RTA. "We're the primary investor in the project, and the general attitude of the board is that they want to make sure our investment is protected," Hayes said. "Until the TIGER grant was announced in February, there was a lot of concern about whether the project was going to move at all." (TIGER is a federal grant program called Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery.)

Construction was estimated to cost $157 million. The plan was to use federal funds and RTA sales-tax money for construction of the streetcar line from the University of Arizona to Tucson's west side. The revenue sources have included $75 million in RTA sales taxes and $63 million TIGER funding, which comes from federal stimulus money. The additional cost will come from $4.6 million in unspecified city grants, another $25 million in other federal funding, $11 million from utility companies, and $3.2 million from the The Gadsden Co., said Shellie Ginn, Tucson's streetcar project manager. Part of the budget is $14 million set aside for contingency required by the federal government on federally funded projects, Ginn said Thursday. "The FTA is very pleased we are an active partner. This is unique," Hayes said.

The city has to carefully word the contract to make sure it doesn't violate the city's charter for contracts, Miranda said. Tucson officials gave a progress report Thursday to the Regional Transportation Authority Governing Board in response to previous questions about the management, schedule and cost of the project. One concern was the amount of money being used for management of the project. At 18 percent, it seemed high, Hayes said. It's higher than an average road project, but "right on line" with similar transit projects, said Jim Glock, Tucson transportation director.

kaneui

May 18, 2010, 3:11 AM

There may soon be more copper mining in metro Tucson's future--in addition to the nearly $1B Rosemont mine proposed to begin next year in the Santa Ritas, Freeport McMoRan has bought 4,000 additional acres adjacent to the shuttered Twin Buttes mine it purchased in January:

Freeport mining company buys 4,000 acres near Sahuarita
By Tim Steller
Arizona Daily Star
May 17, 2010

The plan to add 15,000 homes in a 4,000-acre development west of Sahuarita has apparently died, now that mining company Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold has bought the land. Mission Peaks 4000 LLC sold the property May 6 for $24 million in cash to Freeport, which had opposed the housing development. Freeport spokesman Richard Peterson had not yet answered questions about the mining company's plans for the site as of mid-afternoon Monday, but Sahuarita Town Manager Jim Stahle said the meaning is clear. "Freeport has indicated no interest at all in having houses there," he said. He called American Nevada's development plans "moot."

In late 2008, the town approved a redesignation of the land in question to allow for residential development, over the objections of Freeport and of some area residents who wondered where the water and infrastructure would come from. In October that year, Lyn Harry White of Freeport, said homes will hamper future mining operations that include blasting and disposal of mine residue in the mounds and ponds of tailings. In January this year, Freeport bought the mothballed Twin Buttes mine, which neighbors the property that American Nevada wanted to develop.

atbg8654

May 18, 2010, 7:52 AM

Uggghh...Streetcar getting pushed to operate in August 2013 instead of early 2012 :irked:

Qwijib0

May 18, 2010, 5:54 PM

Uggghh...Streetcar getting pushed to operate in August 2013 instead of early 2012 :irked:

source?

kaneui

May 18, 2010, 6:36 PM

With the manufacture of the streetcars to take 27 months, plus six additional months for testing, the City Council's emergency meeting on Monday approved an agreement with the county's RTA to release funds needed to move ahead on a revised timetable, with a tentative opening now set for August, 2013:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/streetcarroute2.jpg

Another streetcar delay pushes start date to 2013
by Rob O'Dell
Arizona Daily Star
May 18, 2010

The first run of the planned $182 million modern streetcar will be delayed by another year and a half, and is now scheduled for August 2013 at the earliest. For years, the city said the first run on the street would occur on 11/11/2011. This year, the date was pushed back to early 2012. However, Tucson transportation officials said Monday the first of the streetcars won't be delivered until the end of 2012, and the last ones won't get into town until spring of 2013. Given that the streetcars need at least six months of testing before they can be used, the city now estimates the first public rides will happen in August 2013 at the earliest, said Transportation Director Jim Glock and Streetcar Project Manager Shellie Ginn.

The new timeline was disclosed at a hastily called special meeting Monday, at which the Tucson City Council unanimously approved an agreement with the Regional Transportation Authority that allows the RTA to co-manage the $182 million modern-streetcar project with the city. The council's approval of the intergovernmental agreement clears the way for the city to immediately receive $46 million from the RTA so the city can put in orders for the streetcars and rail lines as well as finish the design for the streetcar. The money can flow to the city once the RTA approves the agreement as well. Councilman Steve Kozachik questioned the new timeline, given that the city was told the project needed to be finished by early 2012 when it received $63 million in federal stimulus money for the streetcar. Glock said the stimulus funding gave credit if the project was to be completed by early 2012 - which Tucson said it would at the time both when it applied for the funding and when it and received it. "We've subsequently learned that's not a requirement," Glock said. "That's not a hard and fast date we have to meet."

The delay is the second major setback for the city since it was awarded $63 million in stimulus money in February. In April, the city announced it was applying for $19 million more in federal money. That's because the price tag jumped from $157 million to $182 million, leaving the city short $20 million to $25 million. The city said the actual cost will come in lower than the $182 million estimate by a federal oversight consultant. Even if it gets the $19 million, the city would still be $6.5 million short of the federal estimate. And at the higher cost, the city and the RTA will have have no money for operating the modern streetcar, which would connect the University of Arizona to downtown and the west side.

Mayor Bob Walkup pushed the rest of the council for the special meeting, which occurred just a day before the regularly scheduled meeting today. He said he thought the streetcar would be substantially completed in early 2012, around the state's centennial on Valentine's Day - despite the fact the city predicts it won't even have the streetcars in town by then. Walkup said the city needed to have the special meeting on Monday and not wait until today because the streetcar contract couldn't wait. "We've been waiting for months," Walkup said. "We're ready to go. Let's go." Councilman Paul Cunningham, who didn't speak at the meeting, said afterward he voted for the intergovernmental agreement to move the project forward because it didn't make sense to hold up the agreement and wait another month for the $46 million to come from the RTA. The city needs the RTA money because it won't get the federal stimulus money until 2011. RTA Executive Director Gary Hayes said the RTA board will hold a special meeting soon to approve the intergovernmental agreement. He said the RTA wants to move forward quickly so the city can order track and the streetcars, which have long lead times.

Kozachik said agreeing to co-management with the RTA, which the city and the RTA have not done on any other projects, was about "kick-starting the cash" for the streetcar. He asked City Attorney Mike Rankin if the RTA and the city were at loggerheads without this agreement, and Rankin said yes. Several council members including Kozachik, Regina Romero, Karin Uhlich, Shirley Scott, and Richard Fimbres questioned who would actually be in charge if there were co-managers of the project. Rankin said when push comes to shove, the city has final approval, but noted that the RTA has the cash. "The whole concept of co-management is unique to this project," Rankin said. "Fundamentally the RTA's authority in this is cutting the checks."

atbg8654

May 19, 2010, 8:14 AM

kaneui

May 19, 2010, 8:38 PM

Can someone tell me why they are talking about financial risk now when they knew that the Sheraton hotel would be considerably expensive years back? I mean didnt they see this whole dilemma back before all the design and pre-construction stuff happened.

I don't think there was ever any doubt that a new convention center hotel wouldn't require publicly-backed financing, as has been the case across the country for the past few decades. The difference now, however, is that there have been some significant shifts in the political and economic climate over the past few years that are demanding a closer analysis of that arrangement and its associated risks.

1. Political changes When the state decided to take control of the long-mismanaged Rio Nuevo TIF district last year, it shifted the whole direction and focus of the project, requiring a much higher level of transparency and accountability. Although a new board is now in place and preparing for an upcoming financial audit of prior expenditures, all decisions going forward are under a microscope, and they are undoubtedly feeling the pressure of high dissatisfaction with Rio Nuevo's past performance and the need to be conservative in committing the district's limited resources to the projects mandated by the state. (Currently, there are insufficient TIF revenues to cover any costs of the convention center expansion and new hotel.)

2. Economic changes With a robust economy and revenues projected to rise, municipalities have less concern about issuing publicly-financed bonds for civic projects such as convention centers and their hotels. However, as this deep recession has required unprecedented budget cuts and the prospects for any immediate recovery rather questionable, the timing for the city to be adding significant potential risk and liability could hardly be worse. Additionally, the financial projections of hospitality consultants HVS are being questioned, as many of their revenue estimates for projects in other cities have not panned out. (Listen to this informative four-part interview (http://tucsongrowup.com/?s=hotel&x=12&y=13) from a local radio station).

As with so many things, timing is crucial, and with the current storm clouds on the horizon, the city council may decide that financing the convention center expansion and new hotel may be too much to take on at the moment. Unfortunately, that decision will only keep the TCC as a small and outdated facility that cannot compete for future convention business--a mostly empty white elephant that continues to lose money.

kaneui

May 19, 2010, 9:30 PM

City agrees to negotiate sales of warehouses to WAMO
by Teya Vitu
Downtown Tucsonan
May 18, 2010

The city will negotiate to sell three Downtown warehouses to partnerships headed by the Warehouse Arts Management Organization. These include the Steinfeld Warehouse, 101 W. Sixth Ave., which artists occupied until the Arizona Department of Transportation evicted them in 2006; and the adjoining warehouses at 191 E. Toole Ave. (occupied by Skrappy’s) and 197 E. Toole (occupied by the Toole Shed Artists Cooperative). The City Council on May 18 also approved negotiating with WAMO to become the master leaseholder of the 1929 Citizen’s Warehouse, 44 W. Sixth St., where Bicycle Inter-Community Art and Salvage is the primary tenant. WAMO would lease Citizen’s for $5,000 per year. All these warehouse deals follow the goals of the 2004 Tucson Historic Warehouse Arts District master plan. It was that plan that created WAMO, which has goals to keep affordable arts spaces in the warehouse district even as other warehouses are sold to the private sector. “We want to make sure some of the buildings stay in with nonprofits so we continue to have affordable arts spaces,” WAMO President Marvin Shaver said.

WAMO offered $250,000 for the Steinfeld Warehouse. Shaver said prior Steinfeld tenants will be invited to return and eight residential units may be built into the 1907 warehouse. WAMO entered into a nonprofit joint venture with Toole Shed Artists Collaborative and Skrappy’s to form Toole Shed LLC, to purchase, develop and operate the blue warehouse at 197 E. Toole. Toole Shed LLC offered $160,000 for the 1947 structure. Next door at 191 E. Toole, Skrappy’s/Tucson Youth Collective offered $91,000 to buy the 1927 warehouse the youth center has occupied since 2008.

The partnerships of both warehouses will collaborate to create a viable entrance to the arts district. Shaver said there are plans to build a retail store at the front of the Skrappy’s building and an art gallery at the front of the Toole Shed. Peach Properties, which bought the warehouses at 1 E. Toole and 119 E. Toole, will manage the Citizen’s, Steinfeld and 197 E. Toole properties. Shaver said the Tucson Industrial Development Authority will lend money to purchase 197 E. Toole and will assist on Steinfeld. The International Sonoran Desert Alliance is an active player in all the properties for planning and securing financing.

kaneui

May 19, 2010, 9:51 PM

Town West's option has expired to buy a city-owned parcel for their El Mirador project proposed in 2007, undoubtedly due to a lack of financing for the high-end condo/hotel development:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/ElMiradorhotel-condorender.jpg
Rendering of the proposed El Mirador development
(render: Town West)

DOWNTOWN DELAYS
by Jim Nintzel and Dave Devine
Tucson Weekly
May 20, 2010

The City of Tucson and its Rio Nuevo project have been stung by plenty of criticism over giveaway development agreements for downtown projects that never materialized. Way back in 2007, when he was still running Rio Nuevo, Greg Shelko told the Tucson Citizen: "We will be more rigorous with our management to make sure they conform to the terms." A few months after Shelko made his vow, the City Council approved a development agreement for the El Mirador project on a city-owned lot at Stone Avenue and Franklin Street. The final plan called a high-rise complex that would include a hotel, condominiums and various commercial uses. The city was supposed to sell the land to Town West Design Development for $700,000 within 21 months, and both sides had performance obligations spelled out in the agreement.

Almost 30 months later, the city still owns the vacant parcel, and neither side appears to have lived up to its end of the bargain. Downtown watchdogs are now chattering about what happens next. City Attorney Mike Rankin says diplomatically: "The time frame for performance has expired, but technically, the agreement hasn't." Jim Horvath of Town West says the development agreement remains in place, and "we're working on different aspects of the project. ... We're working to make it more economically viable. Student housing is one possibility." Councilwoman Regina Romero said she wasn't impressed when that option was presented to her some time ago. Horvath says that selling any residential project on the site will be difficult as long as train whistles continue to ring out from nearby crossings. While the city has talked about a silent zone along the downtown tracks for some time, not much progress has been made.

kaneui

May 20, 2010, 6:25 PM

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A four-story hotel will be joining the current 40 tenants at the UA Science and Technology Park.
(photo: UA Tech Parks)

Tech Park hotel on way
Bonds authorized; construction could begin early in 2011

by Dale Quinn
Arizona Daily Star
May 20, 2010

A hotel at the UA Science and Technology Park on Tucson's southeast side could be under construction at the beginning of next year. The Tech Park, 9070 S. Rita Road, has been authorized to sell $23 million in bonds to pay for the project, though the actual construction cost could be lower, said Bruce Wright, associate vice president of University of Arizona Research Parks. Sales on the bonds could begin in October, subject to final approval from the Arizona Board or Regents, Wright said. Designs call for the hotel to have four stories, roughly 130 rooms and 8,000 square feet of conference space. Wright said Tech Park officials are in final negotiations with a major hotel brand, but he could not disclose the name because of confidentiality agreements. The brand would operate the hotel for the Tech Park but wouldn't own it. Securing a major brand name was an important step, Wright said: "It really enhances the economic feasibility of the hotel."

While the bond money was designated more than a year ago, Tech Park officials were waiting for the bond market to improve and hotel occupancy rates to increase. Low construction costs also provided incentive to move forward on the project, Wright said. Discussions are under way with a contractor to finalize the design phase and settle on a maximum price to determine how many bonds need to be sold. Wright said tenants at the Tech Park initially sparked interest in having a hotel there. "We've been here for 15 years working closely with our tenants and they have repeated that it would be advantageous to have a hotel on or near the Tech Park," he said.

The hotel will target business travelers and provide amenities for guests requiring an extended stay. Many of the companies at the Tech Park have international customers and management teams flying in from overseas, said Sandra Garcia, a spokeswoman for Dilas Diode Laser Inc. As a German-based company, Dilas often has managers visiting who need a place to stay and there aren't too many options on the southeast side, Garcia said. She said closer accommodations for those managers and any international clients will make it easier to conduct business. "If it really pans out the way it's planned, it should be great for the park," Garcia said.

kaneui

May 20, 2010, 8:11 PM

More details on the new Casino del Sol Hotel & Convention Center now under construction:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/PascuaYaquicasino.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/SolCasinosHotelConventionCenter.jpg
The new 10-story hotel tower and conference center at Casino Del Sol in Tucson.
(renders: Leo A Daly)

Here Comes the Sun
Pascua Yaqui Tribe Starts Work on Sol Casinos Expansion

By Alan M. Petrillo
Southwest Contractor
May 01, 2010

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe in Southern Arizona is expanding its Casino Del Sol in Tucson with a $98-million Sol Casinos Hotel and Convention Center. The Pascua Yaqui tribe chose Leo A Daly to design the new 10-story hotel tower and conference center at Casino Del Sol in Tucson. The tribe worked with both the architect and project general contractor McCarthy Building Cos. on the original phases of the casino complex. The Pascua Yaqui tribe chose Leo A Daly to design the new 10-story hotel tower and conference center at Casino Del Sol in Tucson. The tribe worked with both the architect and project general contractor McCarthy Building Cos. on the original phases of the casino complex.

The expansion will add 215 luxury hotel rooms and a conference center that will be able to accommodate 1,500 people in performance and theatrical configurations or up to 800 for dining upon opening in fall 2011. In addition, the facility will feature a fine-dining steakhouse with seating for up to 100 people; an international buffet with seating up to 250; lobby lounge and bar; exercise facility with full-service spa; outdoor pool and sundeck; and 1,120 car, multilevel protected parking structure. Construction started in March with McCarthy Building Cos. of Tempe as general contractor. Leo A Daly of Phoenix is the project architect.

Kurt Nyberg, McCarthy’s project manager, says the project consists of four major components — the 10-story, cast-in-place concrete, post-tensioned hotel tower; the cast-in-place parking garage, with approximately 90,000-sq-ft per floor and three floors above ground and one below; the single-story steel construction convention center with a 14,000-sq-ft ballroom; and a warehouse and laundry facility on a single level of approximately 15,000 sq ft. “The challenge to this project is the multiple phases, building the significant major components and working around the existing facility without interrupting any operations,” Nyberg says. “The expansion abuts the existing casino and makes a seamless transition between the two.”

Nyberg adds that one of the differences in working with a tribe is the existence of the Tribal Employment Rights Office. “It’s our obligation to benefit as many in the tribal community as possible, and the focus of our team is to involve as many qualified tribal members in construction jobs throughout the trades,” he says. Nyberg points out that McCarthy has worked on a number of tribal projects, including those for the Sandia Pueblo and Santa Anna Pueblo in New Mexico and the San Carlos Apaches in Arizona.

McCarthy also built the previous phase, the $70-million Casino Del Sol, in 2001. The project was notable for its simulated sky above the casino interior. Wendell Long, chief executive officer of Sol Casinos, says the tourism slowdown after Sept. 11 led the tribe to postpone building the expansion until now. “We’ve thought out every element of this project many times, and it’s nice to have both McCarthy and Leo A Daly working on it,” Long says. “They’re both familiar with the project, know us and have some of the same people still working for them who worked on the first project a decade ago.” An advantage to working with tribes, Long points out, “is that tribes have good cash flow because of the casinos, which builders like because they know they will get paid.” Amy Clark, vice president and director of operations for Leo A Daly, says tribal projects are interesting architecturally. “The gaming projects have casinos, restaurants, bars, public and private spaces,” she says. “In a way, they’re small cities, which makes them great projects to work on. It’s also fulfilling to work with the tribal members.”

Useful Sources:

Visit www.casinodelsol.com

Key Players:

Owner: Pascua Yaqui Tribe
Architect: Leo A Daly
General Contractor: McCarthy Building Cos.
Engineers: Landa & Associates; PK Associates; Taylor Rymar Corp.; Wood, Patel & Associates
Landscape Design: Sage Landscape

kaneui

May 22, 2010, 6:47 PM

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Costcosouthsidesite.jpg

'We need this': Southsiders cheer Costco land deal
Road work to start Monday; 3rd store may open by April

by Dale Quinn
Arizona Daily Star
May 22, 2010

Costco Wholesale Corp. bought land on Tucson's south side for $6.6 million Thursday, for a store that could start rising from the dirt in October. Construction on road improvements, infrastructure and utilities to support the retailer will start Monday, said Jim Portner, a consultant representing the project's developers. Work will begin on a four-lane divided roadway off South Kino Parkway near Interstate 10 that will be the primary access to the Costco, Portner said Friday. Water and sewer lines are also going in, he said. The developers - Retail West Properties LLC, Eastbourne Investments LLC and Genesis Tucson LLC - will likely turn the property over to Costco in October, said Eric Davis, president of Retail West. Davis predicted an opening date in the first quarter of 2011, or sooner depending on the pace of construction. Tucson Retail LLC, the organization of the three developers, sold the property to Costco. Costco representatives could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon.

Cindy Ayala, president of the nearby Pueblo Gardens Neighborhood Association, said she got a phone call from the developers Friday telling her to expect bulldozers on Monday. "October is when we're actually going to start seeing mortar and bricks," she said. Ayala said she's heard the Costco is supposed to open next April. Residents in her neighborhood have been overwhelmingly supportive of the discount retailer coming to the south side, she said. "It's definitely a good thing," Ayala said. "We need this."

The shopping center will generate more than $500,000 in sales taxes, and its first phase of construction will create several hundred construction jobs, according to Ward 5 City Councilman Richard Fimbres. Tucson has issued grading plans for Costco and the remainder of the shopping center, said Craig Gross, the city's deputy director of planning and development services. Costco's building permits are ready to go, Gross said. The 14-acre Costco will be part of a larger commercial project that will cover about 115 acres from I-10 and Kino west to South Park Avenue. The retail center is part of a larger 350-acre project called The Bridges, bounded roughly by I-10, East 36th Street, Park and Kino. The shopping center itself will be called "Tucson Marketplace at The Bridges," Davis said. Plans for the site also include 110 acres for upscale housing and the 65-acre Arizona Bioscience Park, which is being developed by the University of Arizona. So far, no other retailers have signed on to move into the retail center, Portner said. But that may change with a firm commitment from Costco, he said. "There's been only interest, but no signed deals," Portner said.

andrewsaturn

May 23, 2010, 5:52 PM

BrandonJXN

May 24, 2010, 11:21 PM

So there is some heavy equipment and the lot is fenced off on the Unisource site.

kaneui

May 25, 2010, 2:21 AM

Site excavation actually began last week, but UniSource's official groundbreaking ceremony was held today, less than a year after the demolition of the historic Santa Rita Hotel that formerly occupied the two-acre parcel:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/UniSourcehqtrs-lookingS.jpg
(render: UniSource Energy Corp.)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, May 24, 2010
Media Contact: Joe Salkowski, (520) 884-3625
Financial Analyst Contact: Jo Smith, (520) 884-3650

UniSource Energy Breaks Ground On New Downtown Headquarters Building

Tucson, Ariz. – Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup joined Paul Bonavia, Chairman, President and CEO of UniSource Energy Corporation (NYSE: UNS), and other officials in a groundbreaking ceremony this morning to formally kick off construction of the company's new headquarters building. Walkup and Bonavia joined members of the building's development and design team in turning ceremonial spades of dirt on the two-acre downtown lot where excavation crews have already begun preparing for construction of the UniSource Energy building. The nine-story building will provide 170,000 square feet of office space for more than 425 employees of Tucson Electric Power (TEP), the company's principal subsidiary. The building also will include nearly 11,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space as well as a conference center, meeting rooms and about 500 parking spaces. Construction is scheduled to be complete before the end of 2011. "We're proud to be laying a new foundation for our new headquarters in the heart of downtown Tucson, where TEP got its start more than a century ago," Bonavia said. "This new building will help us work together more efficiently and effectively while showcasing the benefits of sustainable, energy efficient design."

The building has been designed from the ground up to conserve energy. Its rectangular footprint will minimize exposure to direct sunlight from the east and west, and an integrated shade structure will shield its western face. The exterior will be clad with high-efficiency glass, while the interior will feature energy-saving lights, HVAC units and other mechanical systems. A rainwater harvesting system will help ensure that all landscaping needs are met with recycled water, while a photovoltaic array will help power the building, including electric vehicle charging stations for employees and visitors. "The energy saving features of this remarkable new building reflect the strong environmental values that TEP shares with this community," Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup said. "While some utilities just talk about sustainability and energy efficiency, TEP is clearly stepping up to lead by example." UniSource Energy plans to secure a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Certification for the new building from the U.S. Green Building Council to ensure that it meets high standards for energy-efficient construction and environmentally sensitive design. "At every step in the design process, UniSource Energy has challenged us to find cost-effective ways to increase energy efficiency," said Mike Davis, CEO and Director of Design for DAVIS, the principal design firm. "This building will send a strong message about this company's commitment to conservation."

Construction of the UniSource Energy building also will help revitalize downtown Tucson, said Philip Swaim, President of Tucson-based Swaim Associates, which is the local design partner for the project. "It's been said by critics that the city's efforts to improve downtown infrastructure before we've fully developed the projects like this amounts to putting the cart before the horse," Swaim said. "This building represents a really big horse." The City of Tucson's dedication to downtown development has been evident in its prompt, professional attention to this project, said Todd Holzer, vice president of Southwest operations for Ryan Companies, the building's developer. "We've been able to keep on schedule thanks in large part to the hard work of city staff," Holzer said. "I think we all appreciate the importance of this project. We're building a world-class, energy efficient headquarters for the largest publicly traded company that calls Tucson home. It's a very significant project for everyone involved."

UniSource Energy's primary subsidiaries include Tucson Electric Power, which serves more than 400,000 customers in southern Arizona, and UniSource Energy Services, provider of natural gas and electric service for about 235,000 customers in northern and southern Arizona. For more information, visit www.uns.com.

kaneui

May 25, 2010, 7:11 AM

As the $63M from the recent USDOT TIGER grant is unavailable until 2011, this new IGA between Pima County RTA and the City of Tucson will release $46M of RTA funds needed to finish final design work and place the order for the eight streetcars, which will take two years to manufacture:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/streetcarrender2.jpg
(render: City of Tucson)

###
MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CITY OF TUCSON

Contact: Michael Graham
Date: May 24, 2010
Transportation TDD: 791-2639
(520) 837-6686

MODERN STREETCAR PROJECT ENTERS NEXT PHASE
INTERGOVERNMENTAL AGREEMENT SIGNED BY RTA BOARD

With today’s adoption of an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the City of Tucson and the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA), the Modern Streetcar Project moves into a new phase of activity. The IGA establishes co-management of the project and provides for the release of $45.8 million in local funding to complete design, order rail and order streetcar vehicles from Oregon Iron Works/United Streetcar LLC. These local funds are a portion of $87.7 million in RTA funding for the modern streetcar, which is one project that is part of the $2.1 billion, 20-year RTA plan approved by voters in May 2006.

“The City of Tucson and the RTA are already collaborating to manage the streetcar project and to ensure its success,” said Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup. “This IGA triggers the funds so that in coming months construction contracts will be issued and utility relocation and upgrades will occur along the route.” The Mayor acknowledged the on-going support of the Modern Streetcar Project from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the U.S. Department of Transportation, and southern Arizona’s congressional delegation. The streetcar project has $69 million in federal funds to date, including a $63 million in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant funds and $6 million in appropriations.

“We believe that the modern streetcar is a critical element in creating an efficient and integrated transit system for our region,” said RTA Board Chair and Town of Sahuarita Mayor Lynne Skelton. The voter-approved RTA plan included a total of $533 million dedicated to transit improvements over the life of the 20-year plan. The Tucson Modern Streetcar will be a 3.9-mile fixed rail transit system, with a total project cost of $196.8 million. More than 100,000 people live and work within a half-mile of the route. The project will connect the Arizona Health Sciences Center, The University of Arizona, Main Gate Square, 4th Avenue Shopping District, Congress Shopping and Entertainment District, and the Mercado District on downtown’s west side. For more information on the Modern Streetcar, please visit www.TucsonStreetcar.info.

kaneui

May 26, 2010, 7:38 PM

The long-delayed Mercado San Agustín west of I-10 will debut this fall with a roster of local businesses, including an Argentinian restaurant and a small urban-style market:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/MercadoSanAgustinrender.jpg
(render: The Gadsden Co.)

Mercado owners looking at October opening
by Teya Vitu
Downtown Tucsonan
May 26, 2010

The West Side marketplace that planned to open nearly two years ago is finally looking to launch this October. If Mercado San Agustín, 844 W. Congress St., is a barometer for the economy, then things are on an upswing, especially for this market in the Menlo Park neighborhood. Tenant improvements started in March inside the shell building that has stood empty since financing dried up in late 2008. Executive director Kira Dixon-Weinstein expects to open Mercado San Agustín in mid-October. The mercado has space for 18 businesses with the headliners being Casa Marita Restaurante Argentino by Casa Vicente owners Vicente Sanchez and Marita Gomez; and a corner market and cocktail bar by Peter Wilke, who already put his stamp on the University Boulevard corridor with Time Market, Wilko and The B Line. “Peter Wilke was the first person I pursued,” Dixon-Weinstein said. “I love Time Market. We really wanted that urban market setting.”

Construction on the 14,000-square-foot, four-structure mercado started in early 2008 with the intent to open before the end of 2008, but “the economy major league got in the way” and construction stopped in October 2008. Dixon-Weinstein finally lined up financing in March tied to the new markets tax credit program. “This is something we’ve been planning for so long,” Dixon-Weinstein said. “To see it finally realized is exciting. The time has allowed us to refine the facilities, and we didn’t have to open in the worst economy ever.” The mercado could redefine Congress Street west of Interstate 10 not only for Menlo Park residents but also for destination shoppers, especially riders of the modern streetcar, whose western terminus would be at the mercado. Shops will sell snow cones, floral art, coffee and tacos, Mexican imports, food from El Salvador and specialty cakes. “There are so many people who live on the West Side who are underserved,” Dixon-Weinstein said. Dixon-Weinstein is part of the Dixon family behind the neighboring Mercado District of Menlo Park luxury housing development and the proposed mixed-use development just to the east on 14.3 acres of city-owned land.

For more info.: http://www.mercadosanagustin.com/

kaneui

May 28, 2010, 5:03 AM

KB Home and Lennar Homes, who are still expected to build 700 housing units at The Bridges, a 350-acre mixed-use infill development at Kino Pkwy. and I-10, are returning 11 acres back to UA due to their inability to complete $8.6M of infrastructure improvements for the project by December:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/AZBioscienceParkinfrastructure.jpg
Adrian Juarez helps put in drain piping at the future UA Bioscience Park. The UA
has renegotiated terms of a property exchange with two home builders, but full
details of the amended deal aren't yet available.
(photo: Benjie Sanders)

Land-swap deal sputters
Home builders unable to complete work at tech park

by Dale Quinn
Arizona Daily Star
May 27, 2010

A pair of home builders have run into cash-flow problems and haven't lived up to their obligations in a land swap with the University of Arizona. The UA has renegotiated terms of the property exchange with 5151 East LLC, a joint venture of KB Home and Lennar Homes, but full details of the amended deal aren't yet available because of a non-disclosure agreement, said Bruce Wright, UA associate vice president for university research parks. Wright did say that under the new arrangement, the UA will get an additional 11 acres near South Kino Parkway and East 36th Street for the Arizona Bioscience Park. The home builders also will contribute $1 million to planned improvements to the UA's Science and Technology Park. In the original exchange, the UA gave the home builders land in the tech park, at 9070 S. Rita Road, in exchange for property near 36th Street and Kino. The UA used the land it acquired - about 54 acres - for the Bioscience Park with an option to purchase the additional 11 acres.

The Bio Park, which is intended to house commercial bioscience facilities, is part of a larger, 350-acre master-planned development dubbed "The Bridges" that will include residential and retail components. As part of the deal, 5151 East LLC agreed to design and construct $6.8 million in improvements at the Science and Technology Park, including a road called Science Park Drive that would run from South Kolb Road to the Pantano Road alignment, according to documents prepared for the Arizona Board of Regents. The home builders also agreed to build other infrastructure including water, sewer, electricity and telecommunications lines. The improvements were supposed to be completed in December. But as the housing market crashed and residential developments around Tucson screeched to a halt, it became clear 5151 East wasn't going to complete the work by the deadline.

UA officials began meeting with 5151 East representatives to modify the terms of the land swap as it became clear the improvements wouldn't get done in time, Wright said. "We really started more than a year ago when it became apparent they would not be able to perform their obligations," Wright said. He said the discussions went amicably and negotiations had been productive. KB Home didn't reveal specific details about the financial challenges that kept 5151 East from installing the infrastructure, and attempts to reach a Lennar representative Wednesday were unsuccessful. "The dynamics of the market have changed since this deal was established," KB Home spokes-man Craig LeMessurier said in an e-mail. "However, we continue to work with the University of Arizona on this partnership."

The Board of Regents still has to approve the amended agreement. It's expected to vote on the issue in June, Wright said. The Regents' Capital Committee recommended approval of the new terms at a recent meeting. Wright said the Tech Park improvements need to get under way soon to spur further development, including a hotel that could be under construction early next year. There is additional time pressure to get the new deal approved quickly. The amended agreement must be in place by Aug. 1 so the UA can allocate about $2 million from a federal stimulus grant.

kaneui

May 28, 2010, 5:26 AM

With Walmart set to build another store on the site of the vacant Macy's, the further reconfigured El Con Mall continues as barely a shell of its former self. The upside is that the store is within Rio Nuevo's TIF district, which means more state sales tax revenue returning to Tucson:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/ElConMallsitemap.jpg

Walmart to open at El Con Mall
Arizona Daily Star
May 27, 2010

Walmart plans to open a store at El Con Mall by mid-2012, the retail giant and the mall said in a joint announcement today. The store, which will feature general merchandise as well as groceries and fresh produce, will replace the former Macy’s building at the west end of the mall in roughly the same footprint of the present structure, the companies said. Terms of the lease were not disclosed.

“It’s big news for Tucson,” Walmart spokeswoman Delia Garcia said. “We’ll be bringing jobs and sales tax revenue that the city sorely needs. A number of our customers are currently driving from mid-town to our stores outside the city limits.” Garcia said he said that she expects construction on the single-story store to begin in Summer 2011 with the store opening in mid-2012. “It’s a strong tenant addition for the mall and will complement our other retailers very well,” El Con Mall spokeswoamn Susan Allen said. “In addition, Walmart will be a major draw for new tenants who will continue to drive our successful redevelopment.”

kaneui

May 29, 2010, 4:48 AM

Knucklehead Alley--a new custom motorcycle shop and retail store--will be a unique neighbor for the numerous downtown restaurants and nightclubs along Congress St.:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/63ECongressSt.jpg
McLellan Building at Congress St. and Scott Ave.
(photo: Downtown Tucsonan)

Clothing, custom motorcycle shop set for McLellan building
by Teya Vitu
Downtown Tucsonan
May 11, 2010

A custom motorcycle/clothing shop will become the neighbor of Jimmy John’s Gourmet Sandwiches and On a Roll in the McLellan Building, 63 E. Congress St. Mike Skwiat (pronounced like Fiat) plans to open Knucklehead Alley on Aug. 1 at the corner of Congress and Scott Ave. The front half of the shop will have motorcycle apparel and urban clothing designed by Skwiat, and the rear half will have the workshop where Skwiat will design and build custom choppers. “It’s not new school choppers,” Skwiat said. “That’s not really my style. The ones I’m making are more the style of Fifties and Sixties, really stripped down and raw.” A glass wall will separate the workshop and retail areas to allow shoppers to watch the motorcycle work, Skwiat said.

Skwiat, 35, is a Salpointe High School graduate, played baseball for Pima Community College, and studied “a bit” at Northern Arizona University and the University of Arizona. “I’ve wanted to do a retail store for 15 years since I got out of college,” he said. “I’ve just always been attracted to Downtown. I see more things going on…. It’s a good opportunity to do Downtown before it’s too late.” Building owner John Wesley Miller is a Downtown enthusiast if ever there was one, but even Miller scratched his head when Skwiat approached him with the idea of opening a custom chopper shop. “He found us,” Miller said. “It’s going to be quite impressive. I would never have dreamt that sort of business would want to come here.” Knucklehead Alley’s arrival would fill the Congress street frontage of the McLellan Building, but plenty of space still remains on the Scott side of the former department store and in the basement. “Hopefully, in a month (June) I will have a big announcement of international significance with the Scott entrance,” Miller said.

kaneui

Jun 3, 2010, 12:25 AM

Although some Rincon Heights residents contend that the UA's demolishing of homes for temporary parking lots is not part of their earlier agreement, the university says many of the homes were too costly to repair:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/RinconHeightsdemo.jpg
Rincon Heights neighbors aren't happy the UA is purchasing
neighborhood homes to knock 'em down for parking.
(photo: Tom Palliser)

Distrust Thy Neighbor
After a period of peace, the UA and some Rincon Heights residents are squabbling again

by Dave Devine
Tucson Weekly
June 2, 2010

A wound that healed almost 15 years ago—thanks to the adoption of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the UA and residents of nearby neighborhoods—has been split wide open. "They're horrible neighbors," declares Rincon Heights resident Chris Wilke about the university administration. "There's no reason they have to be bullies." J.T. Fey, of the university's Planning, Design and Construction Department, says the university is not being a bully. "We're attempting to be good neighbors," Fey says, "but a lot of rhetoric is getting in the way."

The escalating disagreement focuses on the university's acquisition of residential properties south of Sixth Street offered for sale by their owners. The buildings have been demolished in order to use the land, at least temporarily, as parking lots. In the last few years, neighborhood residents claim, this process has involved 11 houses—with three more soon to go. Rincon Heights residents say the UA, under the MOU, has the right to develop designated projects, such as a proposed mix-used structure. But they point out that surface parking lots are not one of the uses indicated on the plan. UA President Robert Shelton, in an e-mail, notes that temporary property uses are an "important budgeting and planning tool for the university," and questions why parking lots weren't specifically prohibited from the MOU if they weren't to be allowed.

Fey, who participated in the preparation of the MOU when he worked for the city's planning department, says about the document: "It didn't address temporary uses in general. No one brought them up, but should have." Wilke says university administrators claim that the homes are uninhabitable and that it would be cost-prohibitive to repair them. But Rincon Heights residents, some of whom have rehabilitated their own homes, dispute that conclusion. "We try to adaptively reuse (the homes)," Fey responds, while admitting that there has been little reuse. "But many are in really bad shape, and it's not economically feasible." Pointing to yet another disagreement, Rincon Heights resident Mark Homan has photographs showing that some of the implemented parking lots aren't being utilized. "Two years ago, neighbors were beating us up over not enough parking on campus," counters Jaime Gutierrez, chief of the UA Office of Community Relations.

These back-and-forth spats were common in the early 1990s between Rincon Heights residents and university officials. That is when Homan and others proposed a process to settle the issues through the preparation of an MOU. UA representatives and residents of several neighborhoods around the campus worked on the document. To assist the process, planning consultant Paul Zucker was employed. The MOU was developed during often-contentious meetings in 1995 and 1996, but in the end, the MOU was formally ratified by all impacted participants. The agreement consists of three parts, and two exhibits supplement the main document: a list of planning policies, and a map of the area. One major accomplishment of the process was the reduction of campus expansion into the neighborhood. The MOU planning policies state that university development in the Rincon Heights area "shall reflect the land uses" shown on an attached map. The MOU main document also recognizes "the legitimacy of university development within (its campus) boundary."

As a result of the disputes over home demolitions and parking-lot development, Homan says the UA has lost the neighbors' trust. "They do whatever they want. They're a difficult institution to trust." Fey responds: "We're land-banking, but when there will be a need and funding (for a construction project), we don't know." University officials contend that their use of the acquired properties for parking lots keeps with the "spirit" of the MOU. However, Zucker disagrees. Although he says his files on the process are in storage, he writes in an e-mail: "My guess is that tearing down houses for parking may be inconsistent with the intent of our plan. We wanted to stabilize the residential area and increase home occupancy."

Despite disagreeing with UA officials, Homan insists that he doesn't want to fight them. Instead, in keeping with the numerous improvements made to the residential area in the last several years, he and his neighbors have developed a proposal that he believes will "de-escalate the situation immensely." Homan identifies an idea to build a low wall along the southern boundary of the campus, from Campbell Avenue to Park Avenue. Landscaping would be installed on the street side of the wall. The first phase of the project, Homan proposes, should be just a few blocks long. "It will define the area," he believes, "and say, 'That's yours.'"

Shelton wonders who would pay for such a wall, and notes the proposal "should require a great deal of thought and discussion." UA community relations head Gutierrez says, "The wall concept is interesting, but it's not what we should be looking at." Instead, he suggests the possibility of implementing a provision in the MOU that calls for mediation in cases that can't be resolved. "That may make sense right now," Gutierrez says. Concerned about how that process would be paid for, Homan indicates: "If they don't agree to the wall, then the neighborhood will request mediation through its midtown City Council representative (Steve Kozachik)."

While representing then-midtown City Councilwoman Molly McKasson, Dave Devine was chair of the committee that drafted the MOU 15 years ago.

andrewsaturn

Jun 4, 2010, 10:34 PM

We all know that the owners of Janos and JBar are setting up a restaurant downtown due to open in the near future and some news about the place is its official name which is simply Downtown Kitchen+Cocktails. Here is a link to their blog where you can find out more info about the latest news :)

http://www.janos.com/blog/. ;)

kaneui

Jun 5, 2010, 7:39 AM

Whether or not this new 140-ft. hotel approved for Main Gate Square will be part of the adjacent Marriott University Park, it could be one of the first TOD projects for the streetcar, which will be less than a block away:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/MainGateSquarehotelsite.jpg

Plans afoot for hotel, cinema just west of UA
$35M Main Gate Square project could include retail, office space

by Dale Quinn
Arizona Daily Star
June 5, 2010

A $35 million hotel project that would add a movie theater and retail space to the University of Arizona's Main Gate Square is in the works. The Marshall Foundation, which is developing the project with J.L. Investments, has received approval for a 140-foot-tall building just west of the university. It is working with the city to obtain the required rezoning to move forward, said Jane McCollum, the foundation's general manager. The building could open in 2012, McCollum said. "We really have, in our mind, looked at this project as a way to stabilize a seasonal area," McCollum said. While Main Gate Square is a popular commercial center, 50,000 people leave the area each summer, McCollum said. A movie theater - which would attract people through summer and holiday blockbusters - could relieve some of that seasonal pressure, she said.

Plans call for the building to have a footprint of 32,000 square feet, with retail space on the first level, a movie theater with six to eight screens on the second level, and office space above that. The top floors would have 130 to 150 hotel rooms, McCollum said. The hotel would be built on a parking lot just east of the Tucson Marriott University Park, 880 E. Second St. The Marshall Foundation has been in discussions with the Marriott to run the hotel, but has no concrete arrangement. The Marriott has said it needs additional rooms, McCollum said. The existing Marriott has 233 rooms and 17 suites, with about 12,000 square feet of meeting space. "It gets a lot of use because of its location next to the university," she said. The university attracts business travelers and conventions that would use the new hotel and would enjoy the restaurants and shops on East University Boulevard, she said.

Neighbors say they support the idea of having a movie theater, additional retail space and extra hotel accommodations. Because the property isn't right next to any houses, nearby residents see it as an appropriate use of the land, said Chris Gans, president of the West University Neighborhood Association. "It offers something to our residents - movie theaters and an extended-stay hotel," Gans said. "It'll be nice to be able to walk to the movies." The Marshall Foundation has kept residents up to speed on what's going on in the development, Gans said. McCollum said there have been discussions with movie-theater operators, but she could not disclose which ones. Two of the screens would be available for use by students in the UA's media arts department, she said. While it's too early to say who will occupy the retail space on the first floor, Tom Warne, of J.L. Investments, said there has been substantial interest in the project.

kaneui

Jun 5, 2010, 7:50 PM

While the mayor works behind the scenes to line up enough votes to greenlight the new convention center hotel, the council will reconsider an earlier proposal to rehab the Hotel Arizona as the TCC's headquarters hotel:

Meeting on TCC hotel is suddenly nixed
By Joe Pangburn
Inside Tucson Business
June 05, 2010

A planned June 15 joint meeting has been called off between the Tucson City Council and the board overseeing Rio Nuevo. It was anticipated the two bodies would have voted at the meeting on a proposal to build a $192 million, 525-room convention center hotel. The cancellation came at an agenda-planning meeting attended by Mayor Bob Walkup, City Manager Mike Letcher and representatives of council members and caught members of the Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District off guard. Speculation is that Walkup, who some say wants the hotel to be his legacy, has enough votes on the city council to get it pushed through. But members of the Rio Nuevo board have raised enough questions about the viability of the project that it could put Walkup’s support from council members on tenuous ground. City Councilman Steve Kozachik, who had supported the joint meeting, said the reason given for canceling it was vague and that it was at the request of Rio Nuevo was untrue.

“It took most of us by surprise,” said Jodi Bain, who on June 2 was elected as the new chair of the Rio Nuevo board. “The reason we were looking to have this meeting was to get everyone on the same page and to listen to the concerns of both bodies.” Alan Willenbrock, who is the new treasurer of the Rio Nuevo board, said he doesn’t disagree with the idea that Walkup was behind the meeting cancellation. “The city council could vote as soon as June 15 to approve the capital plan and move forward,” he said. “In my opinion, the Rio Nuevo board isn’t at a point right now to make that decision.” Meanwhile, at Councilwoman Shirley Scott’s request, the city council will hear a presentation at its study session Tuesday (June 8) on a proposal to renovate the Hotel Arizona, 181 W. Broadway, and develop it into a convention hotel over several phases.

kaneui

Jun 5, 2010, 8:29 PM

A temporary project suspension to review all "soft costs" could delay major RTA transportation initiatives such as completion of the Barraza-Aviation Parkway:

RTA projects on hold for review
Non-construction spending at issue in suspensions

by Andrea Kelly
Arizona Daily Star
June 3, 2010

The Regional Transportation Authority is temporarily suspending all road projects in the second five years of the 20-year plan, based on concerns about costs in the first five years. Though it's not being called an audit, the authority is reviewing spending on all non-construction costs for the 11 road projects planned for first five years after voters approved the half-cent sales tax to pay for them in 2006. That has some transportation officials worried about longer-term project delays. A "fairly exhaustive study" of the projects already under construction or scheduled to break ground in the next year will give the RTA time to ward off any problems before the end of the first quarter, said Gary Hayes, RTA executive director. There are real concerns about non-construction spending on "soft costs," or money going toward planning, design, environmental permits and public relations. "Our concern is that soft costs will be too high to fully construct the projects," Hayes said.

The results of the review will determine what the RTA board needs to do next. "There's some concern; we'll know whether it's valid concern when we get the results," said Ramón Valadez, RTA board member and Pima County supervisor. Local government officials are worried the suspension of projects in the planning stages now will delay construction later. "That's an immediate impact on us," said Priscilla Cornelio, Pima County's transportation director. She has four projects in the planning phase now, and the decision could delay construction of North La Cholla Boulevard widening from Magee to Overton, she said, and the selection of a consultant to do pre-construction work on East Valencia Road widening from Wilmot to Kolb.

City officials, too, worry about the impact on long-planned projects important to the community. The Downtown Links project to connect Barraza-Aviation Parkway drivers north of downtown and onto Interstate 10 could start later than promised, as could the plan to widen Grant Road and Houghton Road, said George Caria, deputy director of the Tucson Department of Transportation. Caria said he was surprised by the sudden suspension of projects this week. Cornelio said the county meets national average for 35 percent to 40 percent of the total project cost going toward pre-construction work, and Caria said he thinks the city is competitive in its costs.

Hayes said the suspension should last only a few months, since he plans to report the findings of the review to the RTA board in September, he said. Contractors employed by governments are concerned they may lose work because of the suspension, said Fred Ronstadt, executive director of the Tucson Utility Contractors Association. "It means jobs for us, and not only contractors but the engineers, the guys who design these projects. Jobs are few and far between at the moment and a lot of our companies, engineering and contracting companies, they're just trying to hold on," Ronstadt said. While Hayes said the review is essential to keep promises to voters and to keep the plan on track, Ronstadt said it could do the opposite. "There's an issue of integrity. The voters are promised a certain slate of projects with a specific time line and this is going to throw that time line way off," he said.

azliam

Jun 5, 2010, 10:46 PM

kaneui

Jun 8, 2010, 1:41 AM

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Streetcarrender3.jpg
(render: city of Tucson)

MANUFACTURING OF TUCSON'S STREETCARS TO BEGIN
http://cms3.tucsonaz.gov/

The City of Tucson and Oregon Iron Works, Inc. have signed a contract to begin manufacturing seven modern streetcar vehicles. Part of the Modern Streetcar line slated to be operational in Tucson in 2013, the streetcars have been identified as the longest lead item for the project. The signing of this contract ensures that the project is moving forward in a timely manner. The voter-approved Modern Streetcar project will be a 3.9-mile fixed rail transit system connecting the Arizona Health Sciences Center, The University of Arizona, Main Gate Square, 4th Avenue Shopping District, Congress Shopping and Entertainment District, and the Mercado District on downtown’s west side.

For more information on Tucson’s Modern Streetcar Project, click here: www.TucsonStreetcar.info

For more information on Oregon Iron Works, Inc. streetcar manufacturing, click here: www.oregoniron.com/streetcar.htm

kaneui

Jun 9, 2010, 7:33 PM

The City Council decides not to annex a 290-acre west side parcel, but considers relaxing certain land-use code requirements for five years to encourage additional development:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/PaintedHillsparcel.jpg
Saguaro cacti fill the landscape in the Painted Hills area west of Greasewood Road
looking northeast from Anklam Road.
(photo: Greg Bryan)

Council reverses Painted Hills vote
Rethinks annexation, but new deal looks like a non-starter

by Rob O'Dell
Arizona Daily Star
June 9, 2010

The City Council unanimously reversed its previous decision to annex and give water to develop the pristine Painted Hills area on the west side on Tuesday, giving the City Attorney Mike Rankin a month to try to settle a $46 million lawsuit against the city by the land's owner. The crowd of more than 200 that packed the council chambers cheered the move, hoping the city was moving toward savings the area from development. Any deal looks like a long shot, however, because a key plank of the council's plan calls for Pima County to swap a similar amount of developable land so the 290 acres at Painted Hills can be preserved.

But in an interview after the vote, Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry dismissed any possibility that could happen. He said all of the county's land was bought for open-space preservation and therefore can't be swapped as land to be developed. "That's not going to happen," Huckelberry said. "We don't have a sizable piece of property to trade. . . . There's just nothing to swap." Huckelberry said swapping land previously bought for open space would violate the will of the voters who approved it, pushing the problems of conserving Painted Hills onto another piece of land that already has been bought for conservation. "We'd be trading one headache for another," Huckelberry said. "We're not going to do that." Part of the council's motion also sought to have the county buy the land with open-space money. Voters approved the preservation of the site in two county bond votes in 1997 and 2004. Huckelberry said the only way that could happen is if the landowner agreed to sell it to the county at its current market price, which he said is substantially below what the owner, the Dallas firefighters pension fund, paid for it. Rankin said he will update the council in 30 days.

The pension fund bought the property in 2006 for $27 million. Pima County valued the land at $12 million in 2008; the pension fund petitioned for it to be lowered in 2010, and the state did cut the valuation to $8 million. For next year, the developer has petitioned for it to be valued at only $2,500, the lowest it can be. In front of a packed chamber of more than 200 environmentalists and neighbors who opposed the annexation, the council unanimously reconsidered a 4-3 vote that it took two weeks ago to annex and provide water to the Painted Hills area. The crowd cheered boisterously when the council voted to reconsider the vote, as well as when the council announced that it would give Rankin 30 days to find a solution to the lawsuit. The council went into closed session for part of its discussions.

------------------------------------------------

Tucson might let developers put land-use rules on hold
by Rob O'Dell
Arizona Daily Star
June 9, 2010

The City Council is considering letting developers defer compliance with most provisions of the land-use code for five years if they can work out a deal with their area council member and the development services director. The proposal, aimed at making Tucson more business-friendly, could postpone compliance with all provisions of the building code that don't relate to health and safety. The deferrals would be approved on a case-by-case basis, and developers would have finish their projects and bring them into compliance with the code by the end of the five years. However, it was not clear what the penalties or remedies would be if a developer didn't comply or finish its project within five years. The proposal says that a developer seeking delayed compliance would work with the council member in the ward where it is building and with Ernie Duarte, the Planning and Development Services Department director, to develop the specific deferrals or modifications to its project. The council gave preliminary approval to the idea Tuesday, referring it to the Planning and Development Services Stakeholders Group. The proposal also included:

• The creation of an ombudsman to help advocate or champion big projects through the city bureaucracy and get projects approved faster. City officials said they believe the ombudsman position could be performed with current staff members, without hiring new employees.

• Extending the life of development plans from one to five years, and coordinating all the various approval processes so the permits and approvals all expire and have to be renewed at the same time.

"They are very doable - they really are," Duarte said of the changes. The new rules were proposed by Councilwoman Shirley Scott, who said she believes they would help spur development in tough economic times. Her memo outlining the plan says the deferral of building-code requirements could delay enough upfront costs that it will spur building now. "The code is considered a barrier to economic progress," Scott said. "It will attract new projects and create new jobs. . . . These are additional tools in the toolbox." Scott brought nearly a dozen people to the council meeting to speak in support of the new rules. Many of them were developers. The more-than-40-person committee that Scott created to draw up the new rules also included labor and neighborhood representatives. George Larsen, of Larsen Baker Commercial Realty, said extending and coordinating the building approvals would help. He said the city has to speed up the development process, which he said can take two years. Councilwoman Regina Romero said the changes show the city is business-friendly. "I take exception to the fact we're not business-friendly," Romero said. "I would beg to differ."

kaneui

Jun 11, 2010, 5:28 AM

Does anyone know where the new Five Guys Restaurant will be located specifically? I know in the news article it said the first one will be in the University area but I wonder where exactly...I hope it will be on university blvd or maybe somewhere on speedway and park. I think those would be great locations...

Five Guys Burgers names first Tucson location
By Dan Sorenson
Arizona Daily Star
June 10, 2010

Tucson’s first Five Guys Burgers and Fries restaurant may open by early fall in a former Hollywood Video store in Campbell Plaza, on North Campbell Avenue near East Glenn Street. So says the managing partner of the group holding Southern Arizona franchise rights for the Washington, D.C.-based burger chain. Doug Vaughan, of D&J Holdings, said he is also in lease negotiations for a second Tucson location in the first quarter of 2011 in the East Broadway corridor between El Con Mall and Park Place.

Locofresh55

Jun 11, 2010, 1:10 PM

Five Guys Burgers names first Tucson location
By Dan Sorenson
Arizona Daily Star
June 10, 2010

Tucson’s first Five Guys Burgers and Fries restaurant may open by early fall in a former Hollywood Video store in Campbell Plaza, on North Campbell Avenue near East Glenn Street. So says the managing partner of the group holding Southern Arizona franchise rights for the Washington, D.C.-based burger chain. Doug Vaughan, of D&J Holdings, said he is also in lease negotiations for a second Tucson location in the first quarter of 2011 in the East Broadway corridor between El Con Mall and Park Place.

I think they should put the Five Guys Burgers in that dirt area between Wings Over Broadway and Jerry Bob's on Broadway. The only time that area is used is when they have the Christmas Trees and such on sale. Has anyone had Five Guys Burgers before???? Thoughts?

kaneui

Jun 11, 2010, 8:38 PM

With his long history of improving downtown properties, interim Downtown Tucson Partnership CEO Michael Keith is encouraged by the city's efforts to facilitate greater density along the new streetcar route, and has a suggestion for the facade restoration program:

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DTP Interim CEO Michael Keith
(photo: Ariel Campbell)

Q & A with Michael Keith
By Carli Brosseau
Zocalo Tucson Magazine
June 1, 2010

Local developer Michael Keith began work as the Downtown Tucson Partnership’s interim CEO on May 10. Zocalo spoke with Keith about his roots and his vision.

What prompted the move from board member to staff member?
(Former CEO Glenn) Lyon’s resignation obviously triggered it. Some board members began to advocate for me to replace Glenn because I had a lot of contacts that could be beneficial to the organization and 26 years in the development of downtown. It’s an interim position, so it’s up September 7, and then the board has the ability to extend the long-term contract or do a search for somebody else. I would hope that this would be a long-term position and a mutually beneficial relationship.

How has your background prepared you for leading the partnership?
Since the mid-1980s I’ve been doing housing projects downtown. I would purchase abandoned, out-of-service adobes and convert them into housing through the rental rehab program for low-income residents. From there, I segued into my own development projects; I did general contracting work at the same time. So I have a pretty extensive knowledge of the downtown residential market, and I have been associated with downtown in one form or another for virtually my entire life.

What are your priorities for the organization?
The priority in the interim period is to maintain the momentum that Glenn Lyons built up. We are going to be intensely involved in the streetcar project probably on every level. We’ll continue publishing the Downtown Tucsonan, and we will continue to do our core function, which is the Business Improvement District – the Purple People, street maintenance and security.

How do you envision the development along the streetcar tracks?
I think we’re going to see an increased density in the next five years along the entire line. There’s quite a bit of effort right now looking at overlay zones that might make that transition easier. I applaud the city’s efforts to be proactive and to create a situation where as these investors come in – everything from the little mom and pop shops to the big developments – that the process that they are going to have to go through is going to be simplified and easier to understand. A lot of this outdated suburban zoning might go away. Which, frankly, you might not have seen 10 years ago from the city. Right now, the city’s taking the lead on this. If the streetcar develops well, Tucson will be well-positioned for the next 20 years to really grow.

Do you anticipate any changes in the governing or financial structure?
We’re getting squeezed along with everybody else. We’re trying to do more with less and, unfortunately, that’s just the times. We are looking at expanding the boundaries of the BID, particularly with the city-owned lands along the freeway and other lands that the city manager wants to sell. We want to make sure that the provisions for the BID are part of that sale.

What changes do you expect in the relationship with the city?
The contract with the city is going to transfer over real well. A lot of that is economic development and construction-related development, which luckily I have a good, solid background in. Glenn’s work over the last two years on the economic development side established credibility that, hopefully, I’ll be able to take forward and expand. There’s a collaborative mindset that didn’t exist even five years ago. We’re seeing city staff really sit down and discuss issues. The private sector isn’t finger pointing at the city with superficial knee-jerk reactions. There’s a core group of people now downtown that have all been through the last 10 years. They’ve had to get creative and collaborative to survive, and I think it’s that collaboration that’s going to go forward and that’s basically what the partnership is. I think everybody really needs everybody right now.

Is there interest in continuing the facade improvement program?
The Rio Nuevo board is interested. It was their money and their vision, as well. One idea I have is to do a two-tiered facade program. And one would be for paint and awnings, with a lower dollar value and possibly easier review process. The second level would be the full-blown facade improvement like we did with The Screening Room and the Rialto block. We’re just beginning to explore that.

What are you most looking forward to?
I’m looking to the point in the future when the first thought in any Tucsonan’s mind when visitors are coming is to take them downtown. People really do want community. We keep thinking we’re getting away from that, with technology. I still love to sit at an outdoor café and watch people come and go. It’s one of the great pleasures.

kaneui

Jun 12, 2010, 4:20 AM

Even after his Diamond Rock Plaza project went nowhere and his convention center headquarters hotel proposal was rejected, Hotel Arizona owner Bert Lopez now says the TCC needs even more hotel rooms than the proposed Sheraton, and wants the city to provide bond money so he can upgrade his hotel and build another one next door:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/BertLopezd-thotelplan.jpg
Render showing the Hotel Arizona renovated as a Doubletree Hotel, and
a new Embassy Suites Hotel to the west.
(render: Pueblo Center Partners)

Now comes a plan to add 500 more hotel rooms downtown
By Joe Pangburn
Inside Tucson Business
June 11, 2010

The city’s proposed 525-room Sheraton convention center hotel isn’t enough to attract big, national conventions to Tucson. That’s the pitch from developer Humberto Lopez, citing a study that says a convention center the size of Tucson’s needs at least 1,000 rooms, plus retail, restaurants and other amenities. And, in a June 8 presentation to the Tucson City Council, Lopez said the hotel his company, Pueblo Center Partners, owns, the 307-room Hotel Arizona, 181 W. Broadway, is just the component the city needs to make that happen.

It would happen in three phases:

• The Hotel Arizona would be renovated into a 274-room Doubletree Hotel.

• A 428-space parking garage would be built on city-owned property that’s now a surface parking lot west of the Tucson Convention Center’s Music Hall. The lot could be built and operated by either the city or Pueblo Center Partners.

• Within three years of the new parking garage being finished, Pueblo Center Partners would tear down the Hotel Arizona’s parking garage and build a 226-room Embassy Suites Hotel on the southeast corner of Broadway and Granada Avenue.

To accomplish this, Lopez is asking for $13.4 million in bond money, which would be supplemented with $3.7 million his company would raise. Pueblo Center Partners would then do a 99-year ground lease on his property with the city or the downtown redevelopment Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District, which would then collect the revenues from the hotel operations.

The council took no action on the presentation. As for the proposal for the new Sheraton hotel, the city pushed forward a timeline so that a decision can be made by mid-July as to whether to go ahead with the $192 million project. That frustrated City Councilman Steve Kozachik, who said the Rio Nuevo board should be setting the timetable. “They are pissed we are taking the lead on this,” Kozachik said at the June 8 council meeting. “That’s an opinion, and one I don’t think is necessarily shared by the board or this council,” responded Mayor Bob Walkup. Nevetheless, the council approved the timeline 5-2, with Paul Cunningham joining Kozachik in voting against it. “A timeline is important, but this timeline looks too compressed for what we have to get done ahead,” said Rio Nuevo chairwoman Jodi Bain. The board formed a committee to try to work with the city on a different timeline.

kaneui

Jun 12, 2010, 4:41 AM

Tucson is awash in plans for new hotels, but obtaining the necessary financing may be another story, as local occupancy rates slipped to 53% in 2009:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/PlannedHotelsgraphic.jpg
(graphic: Gary Smathers)

13 new hotels within city limits planned to open in next three years
2,300 rooms

By Roger Yohem
Inside Tucson Business
June 11, 2010

While plans for a downtown convention hotel are stuck in a political quagmire, developers and hoteliers are already well on their way on at least 12 other projects within the Tucson city limits. All totaled, more than 2,300 new hotel rooms are planned to come online over the next three years. Three of the properties intend to market themselves to guests attending downtown-area conferences and events.

By far, the City of Tucson’s crusade for a downtown convention hotel has the highest profile of any pending project. The push is for a 525-room, $192 million Sheraton hotel to open in 2012. Technically, the client is the Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District but with its financial resources already stretched, the City of Tucson will likely have to guarantee the bonds to build the project. The next largest project in terms of rooms is the expansion of the Marriott University Park Hotel, 880 E. Second St. The $35 million project, which has been designed, would add about 130 suites. Although there is no set timetable for construction, the owners are ready to go.

Jerry Hawkins, vice president at CB Richard Ellis who specializes in hotel properties, said the “extreme challenge” for all projects is to secure financing. “The money is starting to spin a little but the problem is, lenders want to know how you are figuring room rates and occupancy. Right now, it’s easy to take almost any good Tucson project and prove the numbers wrong,” he said. From 2008 to 2009, local hotel occupancy rates fell from about 61 percent to 53 percent, according to Smith Travel Research. The average room rate fell from about $101 to $90 a night. “For financing, hotels with giant room numbers are going to have problems,” said Hawkins. “A very relevant question will be why not fewer rooms? The convention guys can brag about all the business they’re going to bring in. But if you’re coming to Tucson for a convention and have the option of staying in a foothills resort or downtown, I think many people would be hard-pressed to pick downtown.”

Elsewhere around the city, two projects are being planned at Kino Parkway and Interstate 10. The University of Arizona’s BioScience Park, at Kino Parkway and 36th Street, is preparing for a full-service hotel with 300 to 500 rooms. And a 121-suite Value Place Hotel, 1980 E. Ajo Way, is ready to go as soon as financing is approved, hopefully this summer. Bruce Wright, associate vice president for University Research Parks, said he sees the BioPark hotel not only serving the tenants and people using the nearby University Physicians Hospital, but “We also expect to compete for conferences coming to town.” The Value Place Hotel is part of a franchise, based in Wichita, Kan., offering affordable, extended-stay rooms. The group also holds land at 1421 W. Grant Road for an identical project. Each hotel will cost about $7 million to develop, said Larry Dalton, a hotel development consultant who put both projects together. “This Grant Road site is well-located, very close to downtown. We will go after visitors who will go downtown for events but don’t want to stay there,” said Dalton, president of Heavenly Hospitality. “Having a new product gives us many advantages over the older hotels downtown.”

On the far southeast side, a four-hotel cluster totalling 500 rooms is being planned to serve the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park, 9070 S. Rita Road. The UA and Diamond Ventures have plans for two hotels each. Wright said construction for the UA’s first hotel could begin next spring. It will be a $23 million, 123-suite project. The second UA hotel of about 200 rooms is targeted for 2012 or later. At Diamond Ventures, Chief Financial Officer Bill Kelley said the “game plan” is to have a 100-room hotel open by December 2011 and a second hotel, also about 100 rooms, could open in late 2013. Both sites “are shovel-ready.” Kelley said the plan is to sell the land and let the buyers pick their hotel partners.

Tucson has three annual mega-events when visitors seek lodging across the entire community. Known as “city wides” to hoteliers, the events are the annual gem and minerals shows in February, El Tour de Tucson in November, and the Jehovah’s Witness conventions in the summer. That number will not grow “until we improve the convention center. Tucson is not up to speed to compete with other cities,” said Mark Van Buren, general manager at the Marriot University Park. “This business is highly transient, you have to think multi-use for your property. I don’t think anyone planning a hotel today can rely solely on convention business.”

kaneui

Jun 15, 2010, 1:13 AM

Forget Tucson's abysmal record of supporting pro sports teams-- one of the owners of the city's new Indoor Football League franchise says they'll be a success selling as few as 2,000 tickets per game at the TCC Arena:

Indoor football coming to Tucson in '11
by Ryan Finley
Arizona Daily Star
June 14, 2010

Take heart, Tucson sports fans. We're actually getting - and not losing - a sports franchise. Tucson has been awarded an expansion franchise in the Indoor Football League, with the first game scheduled for March. The yet-to-be named team (see box) will hold a news conference this afternoon at Westin La Paloma. Owner and president Dart Clark believes Tucson is large - and passionate - enough to support a professional team. However, the city's recent track record is disastrous: The Triple-A Tucson Sidewinders left town following the 2008 season, while the Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks all have abandoned the Old Pueblo for new spring training digs near Phoenix. "With Tucson losing baseball, we thought it definitely needed something," Clark said. "Tucson's a sports town. We feel like Tucson is definitely large enough to house a professional football team."

Here's what you need to know about Tucson's team to be named later:

The league: Tucson's team will play in the 25-team Indoor Football League, a smaller rival of the Arena Football League, now in its second season. Tucson will be the linchpin of a new Southwest Division, one that could include teams from Prescott; Fresno, Calif.; Bakersfield, Calif.; Albuquerque; or El Paso. All five cities have been offered expansion franchises. "We'd really only need three or four teams in the division to make it work," Clark said. "Ultimately, we'd like to see seven or eight teams in the Southwest Division. That would make it more of a 'bus league', which would cut our travel costs significantly."

The season: The Indoor Football League's season runs from March until July. Teams play on either Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Playoffs are a 16-team, single-elimination tournament culminating in the United Bowl. The Billings (Mont.) Outlaws defeated the River City (Mo.) Rage 71-62 to win last year's championship. The roster: Team officials will mine the CFL, AFL, European Football League and - of course - the UA to fill out its roster. A handful of former Wildcats, including record-setting quarterback Willie Tuitama, could still be available next spring. "There are a lot of players from the U of A," Clark said. "We're going to bring in some very good talent." Tucson's franchise should have a coach in place in the next two months, Clark said.

The arena: Tucson's new team will play its home games at Tucson Convention Center, home of the Arizona Icecats hockey team. "There's a 6,300 seating capacity at TCC. If we have 2,000 people a game, we're going to be successful based on the business plan we have now," Clark said.

The vibe: Though arena football typically brings out a lusty crowd looking for quick scoring and big hits, Clark said Tucson's franchise will focus on families. That means cheap tickets and food and kid-friendly promotions. The West Texas Roughnecks offer single-game tickets ranging from $5 to $35. Season tickets start at $136. Tickets for the Corpus Christi Hammerheads range from $7 to $37. Tucson's tickets should be in the same price range. "It'll be very family-based," Clark said. "But at the same time, it'll be very competitive. … This will be a great place in the off-season for people to get out and watch football."

kaneui

Jun 15, 2010, 1:54 AM

Along with Henry Trost and Roy Place, Josias Joesler is one of Tucson's most noted architects, best known for his residential designs that still command a premium price:

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Josias Joesler designed Broadway Village in 1939 with mismatched walls, a look
meant to create the impression of a plaza that grew over years. The center at
East Broadway and Country Club was considered Tucson's first suburban shopping center.
(photo: UofA)

He invented SW vibe that enriches Tucson
Exhibit shows how architect changed our look

by Tom Beal
Arizona Daily Star
June 13, 2010

One of Tucson's best known architects was hired by developers John and Helen Murphey in 1928 to create nostalgia for a Southwestern high style that never existed in Tucson. The marketing plan worked so well that even today a home designed by Josias Joesler brings a premium price, and some real estate agents even advertise "Joesleresque" homes. What that means is anybody's guess. Josias Joesler was "an architectural linguist" conversant in many styles, said architectural historian R. Brooks Jeffery, who spoke about the topic at the opening of an exhibition of Joesler drawings at the University of Arizona Library Special Collections. Joesler worked in a dozen different styles of architecture and specialized in "revival" of styles that never existed here and weren't necessarily adapted to the climate. Still, said Jeffery, he is one of the most important influences on Tucson architecture. He may not have created an original form but he and the Murpheys painstakingly added unique detail to borrowed form. They were a partnership, Jeffery said, and they transformed land development here in the first part of the last century.

Joesler was prolific, with more than 400 Tucson buildings bearing his architectural stamp. His first commissions from the Murpheys were not all that distinguished, said Jeffery. "In 1928, he had 56 projects," said Jeffery. "He was really cranking them out, building four-squares, a room in every corner." Most of those homes were built around the University of Arizona in what are now Sam Hughes, Blenman-Elm, Jefferson Park and Rincon Heights neighborhoods. Many were razed as the University Medical Center developed. Jeffery said Joesler and the Murpheys are best known for moving Tucson's growth into the Foothills, dotting the hilltops at the base of the Santa Catalina Mountains with exclusive homes and building St. Philip's in the Hills Episcopal Church and plaza at East River Road and North Campbell Avenue. The Murpheys had bought 7,000 acres, for their development of what became Catalina Foothills Estates. The church and plaza provided a staging area for the Murpheys' development, with a sales office, Joesler's own offices and a tea room. Behind the church altar was a huge window with a view of those Foothills for sale. "I'm convinced that Murphey was selling his development, even on Sunday morning," said Jeffery.

Joesler was born in Switzerland and educated in Germany and France. He plied his trade in Europe, Cuba and Mexico before moving to California and later Tucson. That host of influences produced his polyglot portfolio. He built small-scale versions of Tudor mansions, Swiss chalets and Italianate villas. Art deco, Moderne and Modern - you name it, he built it. His revival work focused on Spanish Colonial, Pueblo and California Mission styles. Many of Joesler's buildings were designed to look immediately old. Broadway Village, often called Tucson's first suburban shopping center, has mismatched walls, meant to convey the notion of a plaza built over decades, Jeffery said.

In the Foothills, Joesler and the Murpheys added touches of antiquity to the homes they built on ridge tops, situated for views. On their many travels, the Murpheys collected decorative tiles and wrought-iron work. They became part of a Joesler-Murphey building kit that included ceiling beams, wall niches, stained concrete floors, tin accents, hand-carved wooden doors, iron weather vanes and white-washed burnt-adobe walls. "He transported many architectural styles to Tucson," said Jeffery, "and popularized them particularly to an elite class that was looking for a connection to a romanticized view of the Southwest." "Beyond the superficial decoration, he also had a great understanding of creating spaces that had a great sense of scale and proportion," Jeffery said. His Foothills homes have enclosed patios and porches and preserve as much natural terrain as possible.

That sense of design and careful siting still attracts buyers, said Heidi Baldwin, a Realtor who lives in a Joesler home and specializes in Foothills properties. Her house, she said, is "real dysfunctional, like all great families." Joesler homes don't meet contemporary standards. The kitchens and closets are small. The roofs and walls lack insulation. That didn't matter to the Joesler-Murphey clientele, who left their winter homes when summer came. Baldwin said she isn't certain that the architect's name alone adds to the value of the homes, but there is always interest in them and Joeslers do seem to sell for a premium price. She attributes much of that to location in the old Foothills, and to the way in which Joesler and the Murpheys sited the homes for maximum desert, mountain and city views. She, too, is puzzled when other agents market homes as "Joesleresque." "I've seen that, but I don't understand it," she said.

The collaboration between the UA Library and the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture that established the Joesler digital collection was done partly from self-defense. Jeffery, director of the college's Drachman Institute, is also its de facto archivist and historian. Showing the papers of the Joesler-Murphey archive, housed off campus, had become a burden. It was far and away the most popular archive, with demand coming mostly from owners of Joesler homes or the real estate agents selling them, he said. There is a mystique around Joesler that probably exceeds his importance as an architect, Jeffery said. It reached its peak in 1979 when several of Joesler's homes were razed to make room for the widening of North Campbell Avenue. One home became a cause célèbre. It was spared the wrecking ball and loaded on a trailer for a painstaking, week-long move to the Foothills. It collapsed 50 yards from its destination near East River Road and North Alvernon Way.

IF YOU GO
The exhibit, featuring photographs of Josias Joesler's buildings, architectural drawings and concept plans, is open until Aug. 21 in the gallery at Special Collections, 1510 E. University Blvd. For hours and more info, go online to: http://speccoll.library.arizona.edu/

kaneui

Jun 16, 2010, 5:29 PM

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/PascuaYaquimultipurposecomplex.jpg
(render: The Durrant Group)

Work on new Yaqui center starts
Arizona Daily Star
June 16, 2010

The Pascua Yaqui Tribe broke ground Tuesday for a $20 million multipurpose complex at 4631 W. Calle Torim, south of Valencia Road and west of Camino de Oeste. The 75,000-square-foot building will house the tribe's Public Safety Department and will include the Police Department, detention centers, animal control, victim services, evidence and records, administrative support, courts and social services.

"It's huge because we can finally put a lot of the departments under one roof that can help members that are struggling in life become better," said tribal Chairman Peter Yucupicio in a news release. "What this does is make things more centralized whereas before we were using little houses all over the reservation. It's a great day for the tribe that this is happening." Funding comes from a U.S. Justice Department grant under the American Reinvestment Recovery Act.

DID YOU KNOW
The Pascua Yaqui Tribe is a federally recognized tribe with more than 17,000 enrolled members. Its reservation is in southwest metropolitan Tucson.

kaneui

Jun 17, 2010, 10:00 PM

A rather complex and costly agreement to settle a development lawsuit may spur the construction of market-rate apartments at Depot Plaza, as well as a few more projects downtown:

City gives up $1.5M, benefits to settle Rialto block dispute
by Rob O'Dell
Arizona Daily Star
June 17, 2010

The city has settled its long-running dispute with Rialto block developer Scott Stiteler, giving the developer $1.5 million in cash and other benefits. In the deal signed this week, Stiteler and his partner, Don Martin, will receive a subsidy equal to about $660,000 for 100 city parking spaces. The 100 below-market-rate spaces are more than a third of the spaces in the city's new $16 million downtown parking garage. The settlement is more than the $950,000 in damages the city would have had to pay Stiteler because the two sides couldn't make a deal.

Stiteler and a group of other developers - which then included Jim Campbell and Portland, Ore., developers Williams and Dame - signed a pre-development agreement with the city in December 2008. It said the city would approve a formal development agreement for the Rialto block downtown in six months or it would owe Stiteler $950,000. Campbell and Williams and Dame later dropped out. After the city delayed action on the development agreement in mid-2009 that would have given Stiteler and Martin $4 million worth of downtown land for $1.7 million in developer contributions, Stiteler and Martin withdrew from negotiations and later filed a claim. The two later got into a lawsuit with the Rialto Theatre over rent. Stiteler disputed the $1.5 million figure, saying he is paying close to the market rate for covered parking spaces. He said the settlement "should be a case study on the good things that can happen when the public and the private sector work together."

The main points of the deal are:

• The city gives $750,000 to the Stiteler and Martin in cash, which much be matched on a 3-to-1 basis by the developers on spending to improve their properties in east downtown. The payments would be spread over two years to help the city's dire fiscal position.

• The city could theoretically have taken back $350,000 of the $750,000 if Stiteler didn't get a tenant for the Rialto block property by June 1. However, the city has agreed to waive this provision because of the exhibit "Bodies . . . The Exhibition" that is in the space with a six-month lease.

• The city agrees to waive $125,000 in permit fees for the remaining construction and development of Stiteler's properties in the area.

• Stiteler would pay the city $300,000 for the right to develop another lot north of Stiteler's One North Fifth project on North Fifth Avenue. The city agrees to take the $300,000 and use it to upgrade the property.

• Both sides will pay their own legal fees.

• The developers would pay $50,000 to Skrappy's youth club if the organization gets a long-term lease for a building on East Toole Avenue.

• The developers get the right to rent 100 spaces of the 283 spaces in the city's new $16 million Depot Plaza parking garage from the city at below-market rates. The rate would be $25 a month per space for five years and then $35 per space a month for five years after that. The parking rates are not to exceed $100 a space thereafter.

Parkwise head Chris Leighton said the going rate for parking in a covered garage downtown is $85 a month, which is the cost at the Pennington Street Garage and the garage under City Hall. He said spaces in the Wells Fargo garage can cost as much as $140 a month. Using the $85-a-month figure, the subsidy to Stiteler would be $360,000 for the first five years and $300,000 for the next five years, and that's if parking rates don't go up. Stiteler said he "challenged that math" and said his spaces are close to market rate because he's renting the space in bulk. He referenced a deal that Madden Media made with the city to rent spaces in the Pennington Street Garage for $35 a month. "It's not as simple as the going rate," Stiteler said.

Stiteler said he is a trailblazer of downtown redevelopment and has put in much of his own money to refurbish the former Martin Luther King Jr. housing project, build retail space along Congress Street, bring in the "Bodies" exhibit and bring restaurateur Kwang C. An to downtown. His much-publicized plans to bring restaurateur Janos Wilder into one of his spaces downtown fell through because of the public nature of his negotiations with the city over the development agreement, Stiteler said.

City Attorney Mike Rankin said the developers get a lot of value out of the deal, but the city gets some things as well. He said the city's liability was $950,000 in potential damages plus the attorney's fees if the city lost in court, which it saved by settling. In addition, he said the developers will now pay $300,000 for the new lot on North Fifth Avenue, which the developers could have previously had for only $1. Rankin also said he expects the permit fee waivers to be closer to $30,000 than the $125,000 maximum. The city also gets to pay over time, which helps its fiscal situation, Rankin said. If it lost the lawsuit, it would have had to make a lump-sum payment, he said.

City Councilman Steve Kozachik, who was elected to office in part because of his criticism of the development deal with Stiteler, said the city did the best it could with a bad deal signed by the previous council. Kozachik called it a good deal because it washes away some of the city's legal liability and gives the city some development downtown for its money. "He had the city over a barrel," Kozachik said of Stiteler. "We made lemonade out of lemons."

kaneui

Jun 19, 2010, 2:03 AM

The Dept. of Defense's $250M construction program at Davis-Monthan over the next five years will include a new dormitory, a medical-dental complex, and expanded aerospace maintenance and cargo facilities:

Quarter-billion dollar building boom set to take off at Davis-Monthan AFB
By Roger Yohem
Inside Tucson Business
June 18, 2010

There’s a huge squadron of new construction jobs landing soon at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Over the next five years, construction companies and their workers will benefit from a massive $250 million Department of Defense construction program at the base. The planned project list includes a new 144-bed dormitory, a new flight simulator, and an extensive upgrade to the jet fuel handling and distribution system infrastructure. It will be an “unusually large scope of work,” said Michael Toriello, deputy civil engineer on the base. “These projects are very important to the base and our economy. It will rely heavily on local specialty subcontractors like structural steel, carpenters, plumbers, electricians and HVAC crews,” Toriello said. “They will buy materials locally, like concrete and lumber, and a good portion of the jobs will come from the local labor force.” He could not estimate how many local workers will be needed during the five-year building spree, other than to say it will obviously be in the hundreds.

Coming in 2010 under the Defense Department’s Military Construction Program is a $23 million package to build a new simulator and related infrastructure and utility operations facilities. The new $15 million dormitory will replace an old structure that will be razed. RQ Construction, Carlsbad, Calif., will begin work on the housing project within 30 days, Toriello said. Next year, $53 million in work is planned for a new C-130J military transport aircraft program. Construction will include expanded and/or new aerospace maintenance facility, cargo facility, and parts building.

Two extensive projects are set for 2012, valued at $97 million. A medical-dental complex will be built to serve base personnel and a new aircraft fuel distribution system installed. Additionally, four miscellaneous operations projects totaling $59 million are being designed. “Many of the new facilities are in support of military operations. Beyond 2012, projects have been defined but they are not as set as conditions can change,” Toriello said. Toriello emphasized each construction project at the base is “extremely competitively bid” by the federal government. Pending work is publicly advertised at the Federal Business Opportunities website at www.fedbizopps.gov. “It takes some homework to find out about the contracts, but it’s all public information,” said Toriello. “As a civilian, I understand how important it is to put people back to work.”

Azstar

Jun 19, 2010, 4:13 PM

Rio Nuevo board steaming after city settlement

By Joe Pangburn, Inside Tucson Business
Published on Friday, June 18th, 2010
Tucson city officials, unbeknownst to the new board overseeing Rio Nuevo, last week decided to use a shared asset — parking spaces in a downtown garage — to help settle a lawsuit against the city.

The move widened a developing rift between the city and the board of the downtown redevelopment Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District, which voted 7-0, with four absent, to send a message to the city that it didn’t have the authority to unilaterally make the settlement involving a Rio Nuevo asset.

On June 14, developers Scott Stiteler and Don Martin, through their Downtown Tucson Development Company, filed a lawsuit seeking $950,000 owed them for reimbursement of costs incurred while working on a development agreement with the city to develop much of the east end of downtown. The development deal fell apart a year ago when the city kept seeking to postpone a decision on the plan past an agreed-upon deadline.

The same day the lawsuit was filed, city officials came to an agreement with Stiteler and Martin giving them the right to lease 100 spaces at discount rates in the 283-space Depot Plaza garage, which is to be built at the east end of downtown behind Stiteler’s One North Fifth project next to the MLK building.

The rate in the settlement is $25 per month per space for the first five years, which is 70 percent below downtown market rates of $85 per space and 60 percent below what the city’s parking officials say is their cost of $62 per space.

The Rio Nuevo district put up 95 percent of the $16 million its going to cost to build the garage and its board members believe they should have been consulted before the city came to the settlement.

“Part of the frustration of this is we are pushed and pushed by the city that we need to negotiate in good faith and then something like this happens,” said Jodi Bain, chair of the Rio Nuevo board. “How can you sit there and tell us we need to negotiate in good faith and then do this to us? We are not a one-and-done board. We are not just here for a yes or no on a hotel. We will be here for the future. We’re doing this because Tucson is important to us, not because we like to sit around for eight hours at a time.”

Even more troubling for Rio Nuevo board members is that Bain and Mark Irvin, vice chair of the Rio Nuevo board, were in a meeting at City Hall with the city’s attorney and finance director negotiating a new intergovernmental agreement the very day the settlement was signed. Yet they didn’t learn about it until the next day from the news media.

“Since April, we have been in discussions with the city attorney trying to come to some clear understanding as to who owns this asset (the parking garage) and to try and protect the district’s investment,” said Bob Gugino, one of the Rio Nuevo district’s attorneys. “They knew this was an issue for us, but they did it anyway.”

Part of the settlement is that the city will enter into a final parking agreement with the Downtown Tucson Development Company within 60 days.

“Our position is they don’t have the authority to do either without our input and agreement according to the (inter-governmental agreement) and the development agreement in place on that property,” said Gugino.

Further, he said Rio Nuevo was counting on the revenue stream from the parking garage to help repay its investment.

One board member called it another example of city officials’ attitude of pushing through their agenda and likened it to what’s happening with the proposal to build at 525-room $192 million convention center hotel.

“The more and more this happens, it just shows me that this is the way the city operates and that they are going to take this approach to the hotel,” said Rio Nuevo board member Alberto Moore. “It shows me that the city cannot stand behind their agreements and that worries me that we are walking into a problem with this hotel.”

In an exchange with Assistant City Manager Richard Miranda, who is also interim executive director of Rio Nuevo, Bain asked, “What isn’t getting through to them (city officials)? We have said repeatedly when district assets are involved we want a seat at the table. We make ourselves available. What aren’t they hearing?”

Miranda said that while he knew about the lawsuit he wasn’t included in the negotiations.

kaneui

Jun 19, 2010, 6:58 PM

kaneui

Jun 23, 2010, 7:16 PM

An aerospace company in Marana is doubling the size of its operations, but not without some hefty incentives from the city:

Defense firm to expand in Marana
Sargent will double operations; number of new jobs not known

by Tim Steller
Arizona Daily Star
June 23, 2010

A Marana defense contractor is planning to double the size of its local operations in the next year, adding high-paid aerospace jobs over the long run. Sargent Aerospace and Defense announced Tuesday it plans to build a new, 70,000-square-foot building next to its existing, 60,000-square-foot facility along Interstate 10 in Marana. The new building will allow the company, formerly known as Sargent Controls, to add work on programs such as the new Boeing 787, the Airbus A350, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the Virginia class submarine, the company said in an announcement. The company did not announce how many jobs it plans to add. That's because Sargent is still in the process of realigning its operations, and some activities could be moved out of Marana at the same time others are being moved in. The availability of aerospace and defense workers in the Tucson area was among the reasons Sargent chose to expand here rather than at the other sites it considered - Torrance, Calif.; Miami; Franklin, Ind.; and Montreal. "Tucson certainly brings that to the table, with skilled labor in those key areas," said Lisa Short, Sargent's director of strategic planning. Sargent is part of the multi-faceted Dover Corp., based in Downers Grove, Ill. Sargent employs about 250 people in the Tucson area.

The opportunity to snare an expansion in the Tucson area came to the attention of the local economic development agency, Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities, about a year ago, said its president and CEO, Joe Snell. TREO, as the agency is known, and the town of Marana went to work making proposals for Sargent to expand near its existing site. Eventually, factors such as the costs of expanding in the Tucson area and the convenience of the location, along with the available work force, persuaded Sargent to expand here, Short said. Sargent has a maquiladora in Guaymas, Sonora, and relationships with California suppliers, making this a strategic location. Marana made a proposal to Sargent as part of the wooing process. It plans to make Sargent the first user of an incentive program. It uses the sales taxes paid as part of the construction process to refund certain types of employers for employee relocation costs, the cost of beautifying the I-10 corridor and providing training to high school and college students who live in Marana. Marana also plans to help the company accelerate its construction project by dedicating an inspector to it full time and by setting up a "roundtable" development review process where the contractors get together with Sargent's contractors to review and adjust plans as needed, said Josh Wright, assistant to Marana's town manager. Marana "put together an aggressive proposal," TREO's Snell said. "It's going to be important that Marana lives up to the commitment it makes."

Under the terms of the Marana incentive program, recipients must create at least 25 new jobs that pay at least $40,000 per year, as well as put at least $2 million into a construction project. Although Sargent isn't specifying the number of jobs it expects to create, Wright said it will undoubtedly surpass the 25-job threshold. "I have no doubt - and Sargent has no doubt - that they'll be creating a significant number of jobs over the life of this project," Wright said. Another component of the successful landing of the project was the commitment to provide job-training assistance if needed, said Jim Mize, the employer outreach manager for Pima County One Stop. The company may receive Workforce Investment Act funding for training it performs. In any case, Mize said, the Tucson area has the workers Sargent is likely to need. Some local aerospace workers have been laid off during the recession, and while many of the jobs that Sargent plans to create require engineering or other degrees, others require relatively short-term training that could be earned at Pima Community College, Mize said. In a news release, the company said the new jobs would likely be in aerospace design, manufacturing, test engineering and other fields.

Aerospace and defense is a sector that TREO has targeted for expansion because of its relatively high pay and growth potential. A TREO report by consultant Elliott D. Pollack & Co. put the average annual wages for four types of aerospace manufacturing jobs at between $58,000 and $67,000. The decision was especially rewarding because it also was possible that Sargent could have chosen to leave Tucson. "We took a clean slate in looking at the opportunities," said Short, the Sargent planning executive. "That led us to the decision to expand here in Tucson."

retrorv

Jun 25, 2010, 10:22 PM

I've hesitated to post many of these sad stories about local politics, but why the city would do anything to aggravate the new Rio Nuevo board at this point is a headscratcher. If the board is feeling snubbed or manipulated, they could easily recommend against any further work on the TCC expansion and hotel, and effectively derail the whole project. Go figure...

Under the new law the RNMFD exists ONLY to build a hotel. If they don't build one they have no other function-other than to pay their TWO attorneys a pile of money. Further, they need to the City to guarantee their bonds so they need the City alot more than the City needs them. They're picking a fight that is, quite frankly, quite pointless.

kaneui

Jun 25, 2010, 11:36 PM

Under the new law the RNMFD exists ONLY to build a hotel. If they don't build one they have no other function-other than to pay their TWO attorneys a pile of money. Further, they need to the City to guarantee their bonds so they need the City alot more than the City needs them. They're picking a fight that is, quite frankly, quite pointless.

That may be true, but since the Rio Nuevo district is now the owner of the convention center, I think the mayor and council would be hard-pressed to move forward without the board's concurrence. And with each passing week and month that goes by, the possible financial implications to taxpayers of borrowing the needed $200M+ become more apparent, and the chances of this project moving forward continue to dim.

Additionally, new councilman Kozachik now wants to revisit a lot of basic assumptions about the need and desirability of the TCC expansion and hotel (see the following article)--questions that the majority of his fellow council members probably answered for themselves long ago. But I'm guessing he will be in the minority, since over $18M has already been spent on architectural and planning fees and the new east entrance, and the mayor and council are feeling the heat to demonstrate that Rio Nuevo is producing something tangible, regardless if it makes any more sense than what has gone before.

These questions need to be answered before we OK a convention hotel
By Steve Kozachik
special for Inside Tucson Business
June 25, 2010

The Tucson Convention Center renovation and expansion, a headquarters hotel and associated parking garage, collectively comprise what may be the largest public works project the City of Tucson undertakes in our lifetimes. Because the downtown redevelopment Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District is unable to financially carry the project, city taxpayers will be asked (through city-backed bonds) to backstop over $230 million in debt. I do not take this decision lightly, and neither does the council, city staff or the community.

Over the last several months, the council has been receiving information from many sources about building a convention center hotel. We have spent very little time discussing funding for the convention center expansion or the costs of the associated parking garage. The city Finance Department has correctly declared this package is “all or nothing.” One piece cannot stand on its own and be a success. With that larger picture in mind, I have been asking hard questions surrounding this project. Other council members also have asked important questions that still need answered. I believe, as representatives of all city residents, we must carefully and critically consider all relevant questions, data and solutions before making a decision that implies this project is the best and most cost-effective way to achieve a vibrant and thriving downtown.

Before the council engages in the “critical path” decision-making process that irreversibly leads to a decision with far-reaching consequences, it should consider some basic questions about this project. Some of these questions are philosophical and some are simply data-driven. Before we cross the line at which we are committed to moving forward with any of the proposals now on the table, we need to consider and discuss questions from other council members and these:

• City vs. private ownership
1. Is building a convention hotel the best way to create a vibrant downtown at this time?

2. Does Tucson need a new hotel downtown? If so, who should build and own it?

3. What are the costs and benefits for city ownership of a hotel? Will committing to backstop the $230 million mean the City of Tucson is unable to proceed with any other downtown projects?

4. In recent years, the city has received several proposals for building a new hotel. Would any of those developers be interested in building a hotel today? If so, what financial package would they propose? Is that a better alternative? If not, why not?

5. Should the Mayor and Council approve a project that places the city in direct competition with privately owned and operated hotels in Tucson?

6. Would the city prevent construction of a major, privately owned hotel in order to prevent competition with the proposed city-owned hotel?

7. Is there another project scenario that would better create a vibrant downtown?

• What are the possible negatives?
1. If the economy were to face another downturn, what are the potential consequences? Would the city subsidize room rates in order to boost hotel occupancy? (The Phoenix Sheraton is offering to fly in potential customers, offering up to 45 percent off on prices, 15 percent off on information technology and communication services, 33 percent off convention center group rates and 10 percent off room blocks — all to try to drive traffic into their hotel.)

2. If the hotel failed to generate enough revenue to cover operating expenses, how much money is the city prepared to earmark for payment of debt service on hotel bonds?

3. Given the level of competition for conventions, will Tucson be caught in a never-ending cycle of building bigger and better to stay competitive? On the flip side, with the impact of technology and the economy, will convention bookings reach a saturation point that makes convention center-sized hotels reach a state of having been overbuilt? Does such a facility even reflect the ethos of what Tucson is and wants to be? Specifically, is a 28-story tower compatible or out-of-scale with Tucson’s historic barrio located just across the street?

4. What additional financial resources are needed to market the property and remain competitive over time? With limited funds available, how can we commit to these additional general fund expenditures for the future?

• Is the information reliable?
1. As the competition among cities for convention business grows more intense, and new convention center space is being built around the country, how likely is it the hotel will fail to attract significant new business to the convention center?

2. Given that the HVS Feasibility Study does not quantify the assumptions on which their study relies, how do we as a council weigh their conclusions, which are based on assumptions, many of which will never occur? Has HVS been wrong in the past and if so, what were the consequences for the cities that relied on their analysis?

3. If the HVS study conclusions are in question, how does that affect all of the other studies that use them as a base?

4. Has anyone asked convention bookers if the condition of Tucson’s downtown will affect their decision to book conventions here? Are the amenities that Tucson currently lacks important to their decisions?

• Who pays to play?
1. If Tucson taxpayers are going to be at risk, should all players have “skin in the game?”

2. What is the financial role Rio Nuevo should play in contributing to debt service and what does that do to the district’s ability to fund other projects going forward?

3. Should the city demand that all players, including Garfield Traub and Starwood Hotels, share equally in the risk?

4. Should the city place a cap on the amount of money from the general fund that can be put at risk for this project?

We should not make this decision in a vacuum, hearing only the voices of proponents of the hotel. I’d like to hear from Heywood Sanders, author of a Brookings Institution study on convention center hotels, and HVS’ Thomas Hazinski at the same Council meeting. We should invite operators of existing hotels in the city to discuss the impact of a publicly funded convention hotel on their operations. We should meet jointly with the board of the Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District and then have an open dialogue among members of both the council and the board. We should do all of this prior to authorizing the city manager to move forward spending staff time and taxpayer dollars in support of the arbitrary timeline that has been established.

To reiterate, we as a city council are faced with decisions about what may be the largest public works project the City of Tucson will undertake for decades. We share that responsibility with the board of the Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District. I have asked for a joint meeting with our partners on that board. That request was denied. I continue to believe such a meeting would be not only beneficial, but is essential for us to share our mutual hopes and concerns, and to jointly develop a critical path for decision-making.

kaneui

Jun 28, 2010, 6:57 PM

Rammed Earth Development's newest project at the Mercado District is El Paseo, an arch-covered walking street:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/MercadoDistrict-walkstreet.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/RammedEarthhomesrender-MercadoDistr.jpg
(renders: Tom Wuelpern)

From the city's website:

Officials broke ground on a new Walking Street at the Mercado District Saturday night. Once built, planners of Walking Street in the Mercado say there will be 2 Mexican Colonial buildings full of residential and commercial space connected by a 30 foot arch leading to the street. The Mercado will also be a starting and ending point for Tucson's modern street car once it is up and running.

http://dot.tucsonaz.gov/projects/project.cfm?cip=FC85E636-EE70-4286-004DCEE39FB3DE8C

http://www.rammedearth.com/home.html

kaneui

Jul 2, 2010, 6:32 AM

A local columnist contends that if Rio Nuevo and the city don't build the convention center hotel, "they will consign Tucson to being a cultural and economic backwater forever:"

Tucson, Rio Nuevo need to build the TCC hotel
by Mark B. Evans
www.tucsoncitizen.com
June 25, 2010

To borrow a phrase from Sen. John McCain, “Just build the danged hotel.” If delay and indecision were money, Tucson would be rich beyond its wildest dreams. It’s been more than two years since the city decided to abandon all other Rio Nuevo projects and just focus on expanding the downtown convention center and building an adjacent hotel, and a year since the state Legislature stripped control of Rio Nuevo from the city and packed the Rio Nuevo board with state appointees whose primary directive is the same. Yet here we are years later and the city and board are bickering over the hotel’s feasibility and city financial backing. City Councilman Steve Kozachik is doing everything he can to pour sand into the project’s gears by trying to study the issue to death. One has to wonder if he’s earnest about his concerns about the hotel’s feasibility or if his latest list of rhetorical “questions” and requests for joint city-Rio Nuevo board meetings is just a ruse to kill the current plan to the benefit of a competing hotel owner with close ties to his staff.

Meanwhile, Rio Nuevo opponents and community CAVEs (Citizens Against Virtually Everything) are trying to frighten everyone into paralysis by overblowing instances of other Western U.S. cities that have backed convention center hotel projects that are now struggling while ignoring instances where new municipally backed convention hotels have succeeded. Moreover, they’re using terms like “city left holding the bag” to further fan the flames of fear so that it appears the city will go broke if the hotel struggles. That’s hogwash. This project can’t be done without public investment, which is what it is, investment. This is not corporate welfare, socialism or tax and spend liberal politics. This is a metropolitan city needing to invest in its economic future before it gets left further in the dust by other growing Sunbelt cities with more foresight, fortitude and community cooperation.

It seems inconceivable that a metropolitan community with a more than $200 billion economy can’t agree to stand behind a $200 million loan for a project that will create, and support, thousands of jobs and annually inject hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy. But to be clear, this is not a “build it and they will come” situation, either. If this convention center/hotel project is to succeed it needs a unified, spirited effort from the city, Rio Nuevo, the business community and the public. Successful convention centers are in communities that have rich cultures that boast numerous amenities and activities to make them so-called “destination” cities. We’re on the cusp of creating that – Rio Nuevo, for all its missteps and misspending, is finally about to pay off.

We’re at the open door of success but fear, or worse, fear mongering, has us stuck at the threshold. The council and Rio Nuevo board need to turn the “what if it fails” rhetoric on its head and view this from a “what if it succeeds” perspective. The benefits far outweigh the costs. If the city and Rio Nuevo can’t get this done, they will consign Tucson to being a cultural and economic backwater forever.

atbg8654

Jul 2, 2010, 7:29 PM

I totally agree with that article. The hotel is an investment and investments are gambles. We can do all the studies we want that tell us its good or bad but nobody knows how its actually going to do unless its built. TEP looked like a great idea on paper, and look at it now...

kaneui

Jul 3, 2010, 7:13 PM

Reid Park Zoo will be expanding by seven acres with Expedition Tanzania, including a three-acre elephant exhibit:

Rhino barrier goes up at Tucson zoo for expansion
Arizona Daily Star
July 3, 2010

The Reid Park Zoo in Tucson has nailed the first of many nails it'll take for the largest expansion in the zoo's history. Crews are building a new cable wall in the rhino exhibit to prepare for construction fencing and vehicles for the expansion. The barrier will hold back two rhinoceros, each weighing more than 4,000 pounds. Construction on the actual expansion should begin late this summer or early fall and will take about a year to finish.

For more info.: http://www.tucsonzoo.org/donate/expedition-tanzania/

kaneui

Jul 3, 2010, 9:03 PM

From the city's Rio Nuevo webpage, some new renderings for the TCC Sheraton:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/TCC-hotellobby.jpg
lobby

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/TCChotellobbybar.jpg
lobby bar

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/TCChotelpooldeck.jpg
pool deck

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/TCCSheratonroomprototype.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/TCCSheratonroom2.jpg
room prototype

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/TCCSheratonroomprototypebath.jpg
guest bath
(renders, photos: Kay Lang + Associates)

For more info.: http://cms3.tucsonaz.gov/sites/default/files/rionuevo/HotelModArchPres.pdf

kaneui

Jul 6, 2010, 8:50 PM

Situated on the recently refurbished Scott Ave., downtown's historic 1915 Scottish Rite Cathedral is encouraging local community groups to book its public rooms, with the largest able to hold up to 500 people:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/ScottishRiteCathedral-1.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/SRC-rooms-1-2.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/SRC-rooms-1-1.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/SRC-rooms.jpg
The 1915-era Scottish Rite Cathedral façade hides a maze of rooms that are available for use by the public.
They have hosted fraternity initiations, plays and even weddings.
(photos: Downtown Tucsonan)

Scottish Rite’s grand Downtown temple a mystery no more
by Teya Vitu
Downtown Tucsonan
July 06, 2010

Inside, you find the Red Room, with a 40-foot-high ceiling, rounded corners flanking the stage, and the namesake rich, red carpet underfoot for the 500 people who can fit in the room. Its towering Beaux Arts Classical façade is so close to the street that you can walk or drive by without ever noticing the ornate pediment atop the columns. The cathedral, with its warren of large rooms seems endlessly bigger from the inside than from outside. Because it’s a masonic temple, the Scottish Rite Cathedral is a mystery, if not entirely unknown to the public in general. The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry don’t want their architectural showpiece to be a secret.

For the past year or two, the masons have sought community groups to bring people into the cathedral, whether for ceremonies, weddings, funerals, business meetings, concerts (Arizona Opera has rehearsed there), plays, banquets, art exhibits (Tucson Museum of Art once had a season there), gem shows (the last large-scale event at the cathedral from 1990-1995) or movie shoots (“Geronimo” and “Revenge of the Nerds”). Scottish Rite personal representative J. Michael Atchley was already thinking of making a push for outside use of the cathedral when the Downtown Tucson Partnership approached him to use it as a venue for the inaugural First Night celebration on Dec. 31, 2008. That brought in 1,800 people, nearly all of them newcomers to the building. “We’re here,” Atchley said. “We want to be part of the community and draw away the shade over the masons.”

The Scottish Rite only use the cathedral twice a year for reunions and once a month for meetings. Other masonic lodges make some use of it as do a handful of outside organizations, but Atchley estimates only 15 percent of possible calendar dates are booked for all the rooms. “I would like to see it go to at least 50 percent,” Atchley said. “Outside of once a month, the Red Room is never used.” The Red Room is the cathedral’s showcase room, evoking the Beaux Arts Classical, straight through the Prairie School-design lobby. It fits 500 people in its 67-by-54-foot expanse, made even larger with a 40-foot-high ceiling.

“When I went into the Red Room… Holy Cow, what a room,” said Glen Coffman, one of five founding members of the new Winding Road Theater Ensemble A few months back, Winding Road was getting desperate to find a venue for its second play, when Coffman remembered attending a First Night concert a year earlier at the Scottish Right Cathedral. Winding Road staged “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune” in February, putting the actors, sets and audience all on the stage in the Red Room. “I don’t know how many people I talked to who said ‘I’ve lived here 20, 30, 40 years and I’ve never heard of this building,’” Coffman said. “We’d love to try and use the big room just as it is as a setting for a court room drama.”

The Scottish Rite have a full make-up and wardrobe setup with “probably the most extensive period costumes in Arizona,” Atchley said. Turns down a couple of hallways deliver you to the Purple Room, not much smaller at 52-by-43 feet and able to hold 320 people. In all, the Scottish Rite Cathedral has nine rooms available for public use. “This was the main community center until the 1950s,” said Benjamin Pronneke, a 33° mason, the highest level, and past venerable master. “It had one of the largest seating areas in Tucson.” “To me, it’s always been the uniqueness off this building,” said Jim Sebastian, also a 33° mason and past venerable master. “This is the oldest building in Downtown that was always used exactly what it was designed for. Ben and I virtually grew up in this building.”

The Blue Room is set up for conferring the first three degrees of the Scottish Rite. A stained glass G (God and Geometry) is set high in the wall, leather-backed chairs line the walls with three high-backed chairs at one end and one high-backed chair at the center of the three remaining walls. This is the only room, along with the lobby, with the original Grecian milk glass hanging lights. “Now that’s a lodge room,” Pronneke said. Despite the most steeped masonic décor, the Blue Room is available for public use and seats about 230. Where the Red, Purple and Blue Rooms all evoke 1915, the much smaller Phillips Room has a 1950s feel with linoleum floor and chairs matching the era for 40 people.

The Scottish Rite has the largest masonic library in Arizona, Sebastian said, and is also available for small meetings of up to about 20 people. The basement has a full-service kitchen, an auxiliary kitchen, a large dining room fancifully called the Hall of Columns with 1950s-era linoleum floor and historic Fallout Shelter sign, a pair of adjoining overflow dining rooms, and a third dining room currently storing the organ for the Fox Theatre. “We have complete settings for long tables or round tables,” Sebastian said. “We easily had 200 for dinner in here.” The Scottish Rite Cathedral has literally become much more visible in recent months with demolition of the Santa Rita Hotel across the street. UniSource Energy/Tucson Electric Power plans to build its corporate headquarters on that site in the coming year. “We would love to host TEP stockholders meetings,” Sebastian said. Groups that wish to use the Scottish Rite Cathedral may call J. Michael Atchley at 622-8364.

At a glance
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry
• Established: 1887
• Scottish Rite Cathedral: Built 1915, expanded 1951
• Architect: Henry Trost, who also designed the Carnegie Library Building (Tucson Children’s Museum), the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad Depot (Congress Street just east of Interstate 10), several Tucson homes, and much of historic downtown El Paso.
• Is it a cathedral or a masonic temple? The terms are interchangeable. The Scottish Rite is a men’s fraternal organization that teaches lessons of morality with three principle tenets: brotherly love, relief and truth. “We’re a fraternity with a few secrets but we’re not a secret society,” said Benjamin Pronneke.

It is a fraternity, as in men only, though there are associated women’s groups. The Southern Jurisdiction includes all of Arizona, except Maricopa County. There are 2,000 members and 44 current members have reached the highest level, the 33rd° mason.

azliam

Jul 7, 2010, 4:19 AM

kaneui

Jul 7, 2010, 8:02 AM

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/FBIhqtrs.jpg
(render: U.S. General Services Administration/Ellerbe Becket)

Work to start soon on new FBI headquarters here
Arizona Daily Star
July 7, 2010

The FBI plans to move into a new building just west of downtown Tucson within the next two years. Site preparations for the structure, at 275 N. Commerce Park Loop, are scheduled to begin on July 22. The 84,353-square-foot building, as seen in the architectural sketch above, will allow the bureau to expand and consolidate its operations in Southern Arizona, said Gene Gibson, a spokeswoman for the U.S. General Services Administration, which is handling the lease of the building.

Construction of the building should be completed by January 2012. The FBI would not comment on the number of employees who would be working at the location, referring all questions to the General Services Administration. The FBI currently is housed in three leased facilities in Tucson that don't have enough space for growth and can't provide certain functions needed by the bureau, the GSA said.

kaneui

Jul 7, 2010, 6:42 PM

Although still in the midst of site excavation, the ambitious construction schedule for downtown's new UniSource headquarters building has employees occupying the nine-story building by 11/11/11:

Holidays to mark progress of building new UniSource/TEP HQ
by Teya Vitu
Downtown Tucsonan
July 07, 2010

Holidays will mark milestone dates for the first private sector Downtown high-rise to go up since 1986. The new, nine-story corporate headquarters for UniSource Energy/Tucson Electric Power hasn’t come above ground yet, but construction should be up to the third floor by Thanksgiving, said Scott Rathbun, UniSource’s director of corporate facilities and security. Rathbun charted the tower’s prescribed progress in terms of holidays. Work should reach the sixth floor by Christmas, and the concrete for all nine floors should be in place by Valentine’s Day. Plans call for concrete to be poured for the tower’s three-story parking garage by St. Patrick’s Day, and Rathbun wants to have TEP employees in the building by Veteran’s Day, Nov. 11, 2011.

UniSource/TEP will expand its Downtown presence from 85 to 425 employees. The building will use several sources of passive and active solar power, and solar heating will produce all the hot water, UniSource Chief Executive Paul Bonavia said. “We’re going to set a standard for efficient building,” Bonavia said. “We’re bringing our company into the 21st century. It creates an environment for 21st century utility employees, who are much more part of the green economy than we have been.” UniSource’s commitment to street-level retail has evolved since the company unveiled its building plans in March with 8,700 square feet of retail along Broadway. That was increased to 12,700 square feet and extended down Sixth Avenue, across from Etherton Gallery and Janos Wilder’s anticipated Downtown Kitchen + Cocktails. “Janos Wilder, we talked to him,” Bonavia said. “We changed the way we are doing retail on the ground floor. We hope that stimulates more retail.”

somethingfast

Jul 8, 2010, 12:30 AM

Locofresh55

Jul 8, 2010, 8:40 PM

even by tucson's standards, i wouldn't call a 9-story building a "tower". but glad to see something happen in tucson. i still remember the unisource (originally united bank) tower go up in '85. i certainly thought tucson's skyline would look radically different by 2010 back in the day.

What we're going for is new.....New buildings in Downtown.....not to mention the facade restoration that is giving life to downtown. To see the new MLK towers, the sixth street dorms at the U of A and the Unisource building under construction is a good thing. New buildings and such to look at, new restaurants to go to, a restored Rialto Block to enjoy cadavers in motion. Tucson was beyond dead a couple of years ago, now it's less decayed.

somethingfast

Jul 9, 2010, 2:44 AM

its definitely good to see stuff is going on in tucson. havent been there in a few years and it seemed pretty dead last time...like entropy really picking up speed. its just kinda depressing when you realize tucson has 1M+ people metro and its STILL only got one building taller than 20 stories.

kaneui

Jul 9, 2010, 8:39 PM

It looks like Hotel Arizona owner Bert Lopez has commissioned a study that supports his proposal for the city to help him finance 500 more convention hotel rooms in addition to the proposed 525-room Sheraton. (I haven't seen the referenced study by Hunter International; however, it appears they are a recruitment firm for the hospitality industry. Plus, the viability of this project's proposed financing is another issue altogether.)

Adding Doubletree, Embassy Suites downtown is a win-win
By Humberto S. Lopez
Guest Opinion for Inside Tucson Business
July 09, 2010

Contrary to published reports you might have read elsewhere, my proposal to convert the Hotel Arizona to a Doubletree convention-quality hotel is not an alternative or a substitute for the proposed Sheraton Convention Center Hotel. If Tucson is going to be in the convention center business, we need a convention center hotel. However, a Hunter International study says the Tucson Convention Center (TCC) needs at least 1,000 convention-quality hotel rooms to attract larger regional and national conventions. The proposed $190 million Sheraton convention center hotel contains 525 rooms. There are four resorts that can host mid-size conventions that would compete with the proposed hotel. That means if we only construct the Sheraton hotel, we will not be attracting new, larger conventions that currently do not come to Tucson.

My proposal is to add 500 additional convention-quality hotel rooms to serve the TCC as follows:

1. I would convert the Hotel Arizona to a 274-room Doubletree for a fixed price and take any construction risk.

2. The conversion would be financed by approximately $13.42 million in bonds and by New Market Tax Credits, which should reduce bonding costs by approximately 18 percent. The bonds would be backstopped by the same revenue sources proposed for the Sheraton project.

3. An entity would be formed to lease the improved property for $1.6 million per year for 99 years, with an option to purchase. Cash flow from the project should be more than sufficient to pay the lease payments and debt service on the bonds. Excess cash flow, estimated at $1.4 million annually, could be shared by the City of Tucson and the Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District.

4. A parking garage with a minimum of 428 spaces would be constructed on the TCC Music Hall parking lot. Contrary to an assertion by an editorial in the Arizona Daily Star, I have offered to build and pay for the construction of the new garage if the city or the Rio Nuevo District do not want to build it.

5. I would agree to commence construction of a privately funded 226-room Embassy Suites Hotel within three years of the completion of the new parking garage on the site of the Hotel Arizona’s existing parking garage. If I fail to commence construction in a timely fashion, I will deed fee simple title of the existing garage site, with a value of over $2 million, to the City of Tucson or the Rio Nuevo District.

My proposal is a true public-private partnership that would add 500 convention- quality hotel rooms to service the TCC, make larger conventions possible, provide price point alternatives for conventioneers, help Tucson retain and expand the annual gem and mineral shows, and immediately create desperately needed jobs and sales tax revenue. By leasing instead of purchasing the new Doubletree Hotel, the amount of the bonds and the risk to the public is dramatically reduced. This proposal is a true win-win. The fact that the proposal might benefit a local business should be viewed as a positive rather than a negative. The Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce gets this. The Arizona Daily Star’s editorial board apparently does not.

Contact Humberto S. Lopez, president of HSL Properties and principal owner of the Hotel Arizona, at HSLopez@hslproperties.com.

kaneui

Jul 10, 2010, 5:52 AM

Although the $63M awarded in February for the modern streetcar was the fifth-largest TIGER grant in the country, Tucson was unsuccessful in its bid for an additional $19M as part of the FTA's Urban Circulator Grant Program. Announced on Thursday, only six of the 65 cities requesting over $1B in grants received funding that totaled $130M: Ft. Worth, Chicago, St. Louis, Charlotte, NC, and Cincinnati each receiving $25M, and Dallas with $5M.

However, an additional $163M in grants were awarded to 47 other municipalities from the FTA's Bus and Bus Livability Program. The only Arizona city funded under this program was Phoenix--$2.4M for its 11th St. Pedestrian Improvement Project, serving the Garfield neighborhoods.

For more information and a list of recipients by state: http://www.fta.dot.gov/news/news_events_11823.html

omarainza

Jul 12, 2010, 10:53 AM

I agree that UA's presence would make an impact. I would love to see the proposed Sheraton get built. We all know that's not going to happen.

As a native Tucsonan myself, I don't see why the city really even cares about the ugly dilapidated buildings that Tucson has in these so called "historic" districts. Who cares? When was the last time you heard someone say "hey, lets go visit *historic tucson are* today". I think they should all be destroyed and replaced with new urban movements like low and high rise apts. and businesses to make the city more modern and thrive. Why pay attention to these old Tucsonan residents who dont realize that this will be for their own good in the long run. Like so many have said here, the city's runners have no common sense and dont see the good they can do by just going along with plans and not holding back progress. Plus, if they want the city to prosper, they should restrict expansion and think "up". If more residential buildings went up throughout the city, instead of large suburban KB Home neighborhoods, the city would be more integrated and more money could possibly be made from the companies' taxes that would be making such buildings. I don't know. Maybe I'm just talking too much but this is just my opinion.

kaneui

Jul 13, 2010, 1:10 AM

Along with the streetcar manufacturing in Oregon, these nighttime street closures mark the beginning of over two additional years of local construction on the modern streetcar line, expected to open in August, 2013:

Nighttime road closures for streetcar work
Downtown Tucsonan
July 12, 2010

Construction work for underground utilities will force some nighttime road closures Downtown this week. The work will be done between 7 pm and 5 am Monday through Thursday. One through lane will be maintained at all times along Broadway and Congress. Please see below for nightly work locations.

Monday 7/12/10
* The left lane of westbound Congress Street between 5th Avenue and Scott Avenue will be closed.
* Left turn movements from Congress Street onto southbound Scott Ave will not be permitted.
* Southbound traffic on Scott Avenue at Congress Street will be restricted to right turn movements only. No southbound thru traffic.
* The right shoulder of Broadway Boulevard will be closed between Stone Avenue and Scott Avenue.

Tuesday 7/13/10
* The left lane of westbound Congress Street, between Scott Avenue and Stone Avenue will be closed.
* The right shoulder of Broadway Boulevard will be closed between Stone Avenue and Scott Avenue.

Wednesday 7/14/10
* The left lane of westbound Congress Street, between Scott Avenue and Stone Avenue will be closed.
* The left lane of southbound Stone Avenue at the Congress intersection will be closed.
* The right shoulder of Broadway Boulevard will be closed between Stone Avenue and Scott Avenue.

Thursday 7/15/10
* The right lane of northbound 6th Street between Broadway Boulevard and Congress Street will be closed.
* The right lane of eastbound Broadway Boulevard will be closed just east of 5th Avenue.

This work is in preparation for the Tucson Modern Streetcar Project. Prior to placing rail and constructing streetcar stops, construction crews will be potholing for underground utilities.

kaneui

Jul 13, 2010, 1:52 AM

A little history on the clock in downtown's Veinte de Agosto Park:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/DanielsJewelersclock.jpg
The Daniel's Jewelers clock served the public
well in the pre-BlackBerry era.
(photo: Tucson Citizen)

Tucson Oddity: Post-mounted clock is from another time
by Brian J. Pedersen
Arizona Daily Star
July 12, 2010

Anyone wandering around downtown Tucson in desperate need of the time of day need only look along the west side of Church Avenue between Congress Street and Broadway. Not only will pedestrians find a clock atop a 16-foot-high pedestal, but they'll also find a bit of Tucson history. The timepiece, often referred to as the Daniel's Jewelers clock because of the name emblazoned underneath the clock's hands, has been at its current site since the late 1980s, according to Arizona Daily Star archives. It was moved there after a grass-roots effort by city employees who fought the Tucson City Council's attempts to get the clock taken down because it violated the city's new sign codes, according to the archives.

More than $18,000 was spent at the time by Gordon's Jewelers to have the clock refurbished and planted in concrete on the eastern edge of Veinte de Agosto Park. Gordon's had owned the clock since 1962, when original owner Elmer Present - who opened Daniel's Jewelers downtown in 1926 - sold his store to Gordon's, according to the archives.

kaneui

Jul 15, 2010, 7:30 PM

In this Arizona Illustrated interview, Mayor Walkup says a final decision on the convention center hotel isn't expected until November, after a guaranteed maximum price (GMP) for the project is finalized in September and a financing plan is prepared:

http://ondemand.azpm.org/videoshorts/watch/2010/7/14/1528-decision-nears-on-proposed-tucson-convention-center-hotel/

**UPDATE EDIT**: The guaranteed maximum price (GMP) presented to the Rio Nuevo board and the City Council on June 30 was $33M higher than prior estimates--rather unexpected due to the depressed economy:

City puts on brakes after hotel price jumps by 17%
Inside Tucson Business
July 9th, 2010

Surprised by a 17 percent jump in the price tag for construction of the downtown convention center hotel and upgrades to the convention center itself, city officials put the brakes on their effort to get it approved this month while they double check the numbers. Turner/Sundt, the partnership that is building the projects, delivered a guaranteed maximum price of $225 million, up from previous estimates of $192 million. City officials say more than $17 million has already been spent in pre-development costs so the amount that will have to be financed is about $208 million but that’s still more than what was expected.

With no meetings scheduled until Aug. 4, it appears the city will be pressing the Aug. 31 expiration of subcontractors’ bids used to develop the guaranteed maximum price. If the city can’t approve the project in time, it could ask for an extension but there would be nothing holding the subcontractors to agreeing to it and Turner/Sundt might have to rebid the project.

atbg8654

Jul 15, 2010, 9:01 PM

azliam

Jul 15, 2010, 9:44 PM

somethingfast

Jul 15, 2010, 10:22 PM

that's how tucson rolls...

kaneui

Jul 17, 2010, 11:51 PM

Although promised that a new hotel/cinema complex would be built by now, some Main Gate retailers may not survive the wait as the Marshall Foundation seeks financing for the project slated to go up next to the Marriott University Park Hotel:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/MarriottUniversityParktower.jpg http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/MainGateSquarehotelsite2.jpg
rendering, parking lot site for new Main Gate Square hotel and cinema
(render: J. L. Investments; photo: Alison Weare)

Retailers still waiting for promised hotel near UA
Lack of funding

By Alison Weare
Inside Tucson Business
July 17, 2010

A 14-story building on what is now a parking lot squeezed between the University of Arizona’s Marshall Building and the Tucson Marriott University Park Hotel at Tyndall Avenue and Second Street, has been in the works for 10 years. And while it appears the project is closer to fruition, exactly when the immense building will sprout from the barren soil of the vacant lot remains a mystery. The building is to include a movie theater with six to eight screens, retail space and 150 more hotel rooms as part of the Marriott. “We were told before we opened there was going to be a theater,” said Ehssan Kushkaki who, along side his parents, runs Afghani restaurant Sultan Palace, 943 E. University Blvd. “We were told they were going to do construction within two years. It’s been three summers. No noise, no nothing.”

The Marshall Foundation has been planning to construct this building for 10 years but, due to the economy, construction on the $35 million project has not yet begun. “Two years ago was the biggest recession of our lives and no one could get financing,” said Jane McCollum, general manager of the Marshall Foundation. “You cannot build something if you cannot get financing.” The Marshall Foundation gives away 5 percent of its money each year, and half of it goes to the university, mostly in the form of scholarships. “I can’t run my business like a normal developer, who can run a business in the red, because we give 5 percent of our money away,” McCollum explained. “You can’t build it and hope they will come. We have to plan it, put people in it.”

Eddie Lynn, general manager of Paradise Bakery and Café in the Marshall Building, 845 N. Park Ave., sits at one of the restaurant’s many vacant tables. His voice echoes loudly as it bounces off the exposed metal vents and shafts that weave across the high ceiling, overpowering the clanking plates and hum of the various appliances hidden behind the employees cutting up vegetables in the serving line as they wait for customers to trickle in for lunch. Lynn said Paradise Bakery opened in January 2008 because of the theater, which was expected to double foot traffic. “It was pitched as our big revenue string,” Lynn said as he gestured toward the windows overlooking the parking lot. “It’s not here yet and we’re three years into our lease.” Lynn said the Marshall Foundation told Paradise Bakery construction would begin almost immediately after they opened, but the last “semi-official” thing the restaurant heard from them was that they were planning to break ground this past January.

McCollum said the Marshall Foundation told the businesses on University Boulevard a theater is supposed to be built in the future but “couldn’t guarantee when construction would start.” Some of these businesses can’t afford to wait for the Marshall Foundation to begin construction. Over the summer months, when most university students go home, Sultan Palace loses 50 percent of its business and Paradise Bakery loses 70 to 80 percent, according to Lynn and Kushkaki. “My family is thinking about selling,” Kushkaki said as he surveyed the desolate restaurant. “If someone comes in with a good offer my parents will sell it, which is sad because I love working here.” Floor-level booths enshrouded in sheer gold drapes line Sultan Palace’s walls. However, the booths are unoccupied. Kushkaki and his family members sit among the empty booths at the silent restaurant, hoping that business will come. “Business is about traffic and people movement,” Kushkaki said. “We thought, ‘For one or two years this is going to be a struggle but then after the theater is built we’ll have more traffic.’”

McCollum believes the theater will increase business during the months when university students are gone. “A movie theater means more nighttime activity and activity in the summer and winter because that’s when most films are released,” said McCollum. “I think it would stabilize our merchants in a positive way and bring a lot of outside business that might not be coming here now because we don’t have that entertainment component.” Kushkaki agrees the theater will help “one hundred percent” because people like to eat out when they go to movies and Sultan Palace is the only full dine-in restaurant located on the fringe of the parking lot. “The theater brings more than just students out. Everyone will benefit from it,” he explained. “The only thing good for us now is the hotel. People look out their windows and see our restaurant and think, ‘Hey, let’s eat there.’”

However, the dusty parking lot remains, Paradise Bakery and Sultan Palace are still empty and the Marshall Foundation has not yet submitted their zoning application for the theater. “We have to determine all of the various uses that will go into the building because that will dictate the litigation that will take place with the zoning,” McCollum explained. Regardless of what factors are causing the delay, Kushkaki and Lynn are both unhappy with the status of the theater’s construction. When the Marshall Foundation will harvest the parking lot and the theater will emerge is a mystery. “We can’t stand the Marshall Foundation,” Kushkaki said. “They used the theater to get people to sign contracts to be part of their business.” “We are planning our futures on promises that aren’t coming into fruition,” Lynn said.

kaneui

Jul 18, 2010, 7:23 PM

Over $600M of county transportation projects approved by voters in 2006 could be in jeopardy due to underfunding, current and projected cost overruns, and declining state and local tax revenues:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/SunTranbus.jpg
A passenger boards a Sun Tran bus at West Ina and North Oracle roads. RTA
officials have been contemplating taking over transit systems for more than 18
months, but financial questions have now surfaced.
(photo: Dean Knuth)

RTA crisis may wipe out 25% of projects
By Rob O’Dell and Andrea Kelly
Arizona Daily Star
July 18, 2010

The 4-year-old Regional Transportation Authority is facing a long-term funding crisis that could wipe out more than 25 percent of the road and transit projects voters were promised. More than $600 million in road projects are in jeopardy because of current and projected cost overruns, missing local match money, bond interest and because most of the road projects were not fully funded when they were pitched to voters in 2006, an Arizona Daily Star analysis found. A proposal to have the RTA take over the Sun Tran bus system — which was never presented to voters — could cost the RTA millions more. As a result, residents could lose as much as a quarter of all projects promised to voters in the 20-year, $2 billion plan funded by a countywide half-cent sales tax. That $2 billion was to be matched with another $400 million from local jurisdictions, meaning a total $2.4 billion was needed to complete the plan.

But the RTA is poised to fall far short of the $2.4 billion promised to voters because:

• The 2006 ballot underfunded the 35 road projects by a total of $250 million, meaning projects faced a shortfall before they ever got started. A cost estimate done by an RTA consultant before the election showed the projects would actually cost $250 million more than what voters were told in the campaign to get them to approve the plan in May 2006.

• New estimates done by the local governments show projects starting in the first and second phases of the plan are expected to cost an additional $125 million more than even the original higher estimates that voters never saw.

• About $115 million in local match money is not available, leaving projects on such major streets as Houghton Road and East Broadway critically short on funding. The vast majority of the local match shortfall is from Pima County, which was counting on using bonds it hasn’t been able to sell due to budget problems and a decline in impact fees because of slowed building.

• Because of a short-term funding shortage, the RTA needs to bond against its future sales tax collections to bring in $100 million quickly to pay for promised road projects and the four-mile modern streetcar to connect downtown and the University of Arizona. Interest on those unanticipated bonds will cost the RTA an additional $57 million that wasn’t planned for.

• The RTA could saddle itself with an additional $72 million by taking over Sun Tran and Sun Van from Tucson. Although jurisdictions would pay the RTA for running a regional system, there’s still a $4.5 million annual funding gap that needs to be made up. The RTA says it can do this with federal grants and by operating more efficiently.

The estimated $600 million funding hole in the plan assumes to RTA will make good on its aggressive sales tax collection targets that call for it to take in twice as much in sales tax in 2026 as it does today. The RTA has already begun to fill these holes with approximately $44 million in state and federal transportation money designated for the region. This isn’t new money, however. It is money that was already coming here, which is now diverted from other promised non-RTA projects. For example, Tucson is taking $15 million earmarked to pave roads to instead pay to build the Cushing Street Bridge over the Santa Cruz River for the modern streetcar.

RTA Executive Director Gary Hayes and Transportation Director Jim DeGrood acknowledge the potential funding shortfalls and say they’re very concerned about it. And they said they have plans to fix it, although those plans have no specifics. “All these problems you guys are very accurately pointing out, it’s our responsibility to analyze,” Hayes said of the Star’s analysis. Hayes said the RTA will creatively work with jurisdictions to solve problems and lower costs, will split projects into multiple phases to spread out payments and seek other funding sources to help out. While affirming the funding shortage, the pair reject the notion the RTA could actually run short of money. “We’re not ready to capitulate,” Hayes said.

The RTA’s main battle plan is to attack what it believes are unjustified overruns in soft costs, like planning, by the jurisdictions — which is why they said they put the projects on hold for review in June. Hayes and DeGrood said they don’t accept the jurisdictions’ cost estimates or that the ballot was underfunded. “We don’t accept the premise,” Hayes said. “We don’t buy that.” Here’s a deeper look at each of the issues facing the RTA:

UNDERFUNDED FROM START

The RTA hired a contractor to estimate project costs for all of the proposed transportation projects in October 2005, while creating the plan that was later put to voters. Those estimates were $250 million more than they showed on the May 2006 ballot. Hayes said the local governments agreed at the time they should — and could — deliver projects at less than those estimates, so the numbers that appeared on the ballot were reduced based on their word. In reality, many projects have cost more, not less. RTA officials insist projects were not underfunded on the ballot, saying they should not cost as much as the 2005 study indicated, even as projects are coming in at that higher cost. RTA opponent John Kromko said he knew the ballot measure was underfunded but didn’t realize it was by $250 million. He said government officials keep making promises they can’t keep because there’s no downside — they’re never held accountable for it. “I can’t believe people keep voting for these things,” Kromko said. “It’s not polite to say ‘I told you so.’ But I’m tempted.”

OVERBUDGET NOW

Cost concerns are surfacing as projects in the first four years of the plan experience unexpected cost inflation even in the midst of falling construction costs. Updated cost estimates show another $125 million is necessary to get the projects done, and estimates are not available for projects more than five years out. The cost overruns the RTA is trying to contain come almost exclusively from the planning and design, or “soft” phases of the projects, even while construction bids are coming in below budget, DeGrood said. Some have had amenities added that were not included in the RTA plan. “We are not willing to accept these cost estimates at this time, and we have already identified projects we intend to challenge the cost estimates on,” DeGrood said.

The pre-construction work usually requires about 15 percent of the total project budget, but lately has been eating 25 to 40 percent, and in one case as much as 70 percent of the initial budget, DeGrood said. “We have allowed the jurisdictions to use their own policies and, quite frankly, we think that’s what’s gotten us to here,” Hayes said. The RTA will consider changing its policies to limit or control the spending, DeGrood said, without giving specifics. He singled out Tucson and Pima County as chief offenders of high soft costs and said the RTA can’t allow them to “blithely” move forward without any attempt to rein in costs. “We have to change the paradigm and build to the budget,” DeGrood said.

SHOULDERING TRANSIT

RTA officials have been contemplating taking over the transit systems for more than 18 months. An analysis of the operating cost of each system and the scheduled payments each local government would make to the RTA leaves a hole of $4.5 million each year. Over the rest of the 20-year plan, another $72 million would be necessary to fully fund the services, and that’s only if there’s no increase in the cost of running the system over 16 years. The RTA says it will fill that gap by making the systems operate more efficiently under one management, and getting federal grants.

If that doesn’t work, the RTA could turn to the $533 million designated for transit funding in the RTA plan, which leads some to question whether it would be honoring the spirit of what voters approved. Hayes said the RTA has the legal authority to do it and it wouldn’t violate the voter-approved project list, which he called the RTA’s “bible.” “They weren’t asked,” Hayes said of voters approving the transfer. “In my mind it’s a different part of the equation,” Hayes said. Kromko disagreed strongly, contending, “That’s not what we voted on. If they had put that on there, a lot less people would have voted yes. There is no doubt about that,” he said.

LOCAL FUNDS SHORT

Much of the local funding shortfalls can be traced to the local economy. Pima County is relying on impact fees generated by new construction to fund several road projects. As construction slowed, so did impact fees, a critical way to fund the gap for projects. Simultaneously, state budget woes have reduced the amount of state transportation taxes coming to the county, which will prevent the sale of bonds county voters have already approved, and delay funding. The RTA says it will not give projects more money or let governments to move forward with projects they can’t fund, but DeGrood said he thinks the local money will come through in the end. “We have to document the local match or it doesn’t go” to construction, Hayes said. To make up for the increased budgets and lack of funding, many governments may have to shift funds from their budgets, raid regional sources, or put political pressure on the RTA to give them more money.

SHORT ON MONEY

The hole in the RTA’s budget is forcing local governments to dip into their state and federal funding for the metro area to boost the RTA projects, instead of other road work outside the voter-approved plan. Marana Mayor Ed Honea cautioned against moving money from other sources to make up for the shortfalls, because it is scheduled for use on something else and because it could jeopardize future state and federal money. “You have to be pretty careful there because you’re supposed to use the money for what you get it for. If you start putting money for other projects you could really end up in a jam. You could end up losing federal funding,” he said. Governments will either have to choose between not doing their RTA projects until they have money or taking money from another project, “and I just don’t think we should do that,” Honea said.

Pima County Supervisor Ramón Valadez said he was concerned about the cost overruns, and said at its current pace the RTA will not finish all the projects promised to voters. He said the RTA needs to limit the new projects it brings on that aren’t in the voter-approved plan, and try to get hold of soft costs. “We need to bring to bear all the resources we have at the RTA in order to keep our promise,” Valadez said. Mike Hayes, a vocal opponent of the plan during the 2006 campaign, said the only remarkable aspect of the RTA’s financial problems is how quickly they hit. “None of this surprises me. We always thought that this was a house of cards,” he said. “I guess I expected that we would be much further into it before it would be as apparent as it has become.”

PROBLEM NUMBERS

RTA shortfalls

Underfunded on the 2006 ballot $250 million

Additional estimated budget overruns $125 million

Missing local match money $115 million

Cost of transfer of Sun Tran $72 million

Interest to pay back bond issue $57 million

Total shortfall $619 million

Total RTA plan: $2.4 billion

Percentage shortfall: 26 percent

djtucson

Jul 22, 2010, 4:33 PM

Excerpted from a memo to the RTA Board:

Sunday’s article followed a fairly lengthy set of interviews conducted by the Star Reporters last week. Unfortunately, there are a number of inaccurate statements/conclusions made in the article as well as critical omissions of facts. The most important issue is that the RTA is not in crisis mode. The reporters are using dated or incorrect information to reach their conclusions.

Roadways: As background information, URS Consultants was engaged in 2005 to prepare estimates for roadway projects in the RTA Plan. These estimates were presented to the Technical Management Committee (11 public, 11 private sector representatives) who reduced the estimate because of excessive soft costs. These latter estimates were subsequently approved by the RTA Citizens’ Committee and RTA Board and presented to the voters. Eleven of the most recent roadway projects have come in dramatically (17-55%) less than the jurisdictional engineers’ estimates yet this information, although given to the Star, was never reported.

Although we disagree with the basic assertion of the article, i.e. there will be a significant shortage of funding, it does verify and validate our desire to get a hold of project soft costs. Last month we launched a very deliberate review on a project by project basis to address this concern. We are in the process of framing specific policy recommendations that will enable the RTA to deal with the changed economic conditions we find ourselves in as well as limit the size of soft costs. In terms of RTA revenue, the U of A’s Marshall Vest did the original estimates of $2.1 Billion over twenty years; recently revised estimates are only slightly under that. Bonding has always been a part of the financial plan, and is not a last minute addition. The real challenge is the jurisdictions’ ability to provide required matching funds, particularly as we go into the heavy construction phase of 2011-2016, but one must also remember that this is a 20 year plan and there will be several more economic cycles both up and down.

Transit: Should the Transition of Sun Tran to the RTA occur we have prepared draft 5-year budgets which do not result in a funding gap. In fact, through a variety of means (grant opportunities, management efficiencies, etc.) we anticipate operating with a surplus. This information was shared with the Star Reporters but apparently was misinterpreted, or deliberately withheld. They did not share their “analysis” with us.

Although the transfer initiative is not specifically in the RTA Plan, certainly regionalizing transit is. The 2004 RTA legislation strongly suggests that we pursue management of transit with or without ultimate RTA Plan approval. Under ARS 48-5301 we are to “determine the exclusive public transportation system to be acquired and construct the means to finance the system and whether to operate the systems”.

Finally, the Star article was completely incorrect in stating that the RTA could use part of the $533 million in transit funds designated for expanded transit projects. No RTA Plan funds would be used if the transfer were to occur. No transit projects outlined in the voter approved plan would be jeopardized by the transfer.

Dave Joseph
RTA