Tucson Development Thread

[HooverDam]

I am just .... just enjoying this :yes:

So now you've more or less admitted to being a troll, cool.

Welp if you want to come to the adult table and have a real conversation about urban issues, let us all know. If you want to continue to promote horrific policies that will leave your City pock marked with empty lots and refuse to listen to the advice of people who know more than you, thats fine too.

I've asked multiple times in a nice, calm and respectful manner to have a conversation and you refuse- it's ridiculous.

[acatalanb]

Welp, welp

330 ft/23 floors - Unisource Energy Tower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Tucson)
400 ft/27 floors - Proposed/Cancelled TCC hotel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucson_Convention_Center)
27 floors - Proposed/Cancelled Century Tower (http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/deal-of-the-century-tower/Content?oid=1081035)

[HooverDam]

Welp, welp

330 ft/23 floors - Unisource Energy Tower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Tucson)
400 ft/27 floors - Proposed/Cancelled TCC hotel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucson_Convention_Center)
27 floors - Proposed/Cancelled Century Tower (http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/deal-of-the-century-tower/Content?oid=1081035)

So 66% of your examples are dream projects that were cancelled, you've really made your point.

No one is arguing developers with real projects that are likely to get built shouldn't be able to get variance's for over 300'. But thats an entirely different issue than raising the entire Downtown cores height limit above 300'. Do you understand that?

[acatalanb]

welp, it's 1890, Tucson will never get to raise the 5 story limit, it will never happen. I'm 100% sure!
heck, developers can't even afford to build that 3 story saloon downtown. I'm 100% sure!
I know. I understand. I'm smart. welp.

[Anqrew]

while i agree itd be nice to have 500' towers, it just wont ever happen anytime soon. in the meantime lets think about all the nice midrise construction tucson has going on/coming up.

6th St. UA Dorms. - 6, 5, 4 stories between multiple buildings
TEP Tower - 9 stories under construction.
Plaza Centro phase 1 - 7 stories under construction
Plaza Centro phase 2 - 11 stories planned
el presidio student housing - 7 stories planned
pima/tucson court complex - 9 stories planned
2nd depot plaza tower - 5 stories planned
The district student housing - 5 stories planned

something tall might look impressive but im fine with what tucson is getting, at least its something, so i hope i could calm down this little squabble :]

[Thirsty]

welp, it's 1890, Tucson will never get to raise the 5 story limit, it will never happen. I'm 100% sure!
heck, developers can't even afford to build that 3 story saloon downtown. I'm 100% sure!
I know. I understand. I'm smart. welp.

I don't want to stoke the fire... but in 1890, gravity and adobe were the height restrictions. ;)

[acatalanb]

I don't want to stoke the fire... but in 1890, gravity and adobe were the height restrictions. ;)

That's funny :haha:

[acatalanb]

while i agree itd be nice to have 500' towers, it just wont ever happen anytime soon. in the meantime lets think about all the nice midrise construction tucson has going on/coming up.

6th St. UA Dorms. - 6, 5, 4 stories between multiple buildings
TEP Tower - 9 stories under construction.
Plaza Centro phase 1 - 7 stories under construction
Plaza Centro phase 2 - 11 stories planned
el presidio student housing - 7 stories planned
pima/tucson court complex - 9 stories planned
2nd depot plaza tower - 5 stories planned
The district student housing - 5 stories planned

something tall might look impressive but im fine with what tucson is getting, at least its something, so i hope i could calm down this little squabble :]

I agree. It looks like Tucson would eventually build a 300+ Tower along the way, maybe not anytime soon ... It's only a matter of time. And thanks for your calm and respectful (no name calling) post.

[acatalanb]

Walmart may join Costco near Kino, I-10

Dale Quinn Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Friday, May 6, 2011 12:00 am

Construction of a new Walmart near South Kino Parkway and Interstate 10 could begin by the end of the year.

The discount retailer would join Costco Wholesale as an anchor tenant at the shopping center called Tucson Marketplace at the Bridges. The shopping center makes up the retail component of a mixed-use project that includes the University of Arizona's planned Bioscience Park.

Bruce Wright, the UA's associate vice president of research parks, told a group of real estate professionals at a forecast event Thursday that city officials are currently reviewing plans for the Walmart.

The retail center, developed by Retail West Properties LLC and Eastbourne Investments, is part of a larger project called The Bridges planned to include homes built by KB Home and Lennar, along with the UA bio park, Wright said.

Wright didn't mention any specific bioscience or technology companies that have expressed interest in locating at the park.

"We are in active conversations with a number of prospective tenants," he said. "Most of them wanted to see the infrastructure in place before they entered into serious negotiations with us."

Thursday's quarterly meeting of the Pima County Real Estate Research Council, held at the Tucson Association of Realtors, 2445 N. Tucson Blvd. also included updates on various market sectors:

[HooverDam]

welp, it's 1890, Tucson will never get to raise the 5 story limit, it will never happen. I'm 100% sure!
heck, developers can't even afford to build that 3 story saloon downtown. I'm 100% sure!
I know. I understand. I'm smart. welp.

You refuse to acknowledge the points being made and continue to think your policy which would destroy downtown Tucson is a good one. Again, if a developer had a real proposal for a taller building they could get a variance to go past 300'.

Do you understand the difference between getting a variance and raising the entire downtown height limit?

You continue to bring up straw men arguments and not address the real point. Its very frustrating, I'm trying to impart knowledge to you about a subject you're clearly not wholly informed on and you refuse to learn. You're promoting Urban Renewal policies that were popular in the 60s and 70s that destroyed many American downtowns.

P.S. I haven't called you a name once, I'm perfectly calm and would LOVE to have an adult conversation about this topic. However you continue to think you're being made fun of or called names when thats clearly not the case. If you go back and read my posts you'll see I haven't called you a name once.

E: VVVV good point. Its just frustrating, I feel like Im trying to explain something important to him and he just refuses to listen.

[somethingfast]

hahahahha.


Lets recap this situation:

Acatalanb: I think Tucsons height limit should be raised.

HooverDam: Thats silly, look north at Phoenix, its not such a good idea. Now that Ive explained that, do you see how its bad?

Acatalanb: Whoooaaaa chill out.

HooverDam: I'm chilled, I just want to make sure you understand, do you?

Acatalanb: Whooo firestorm!


I'm trying to have an adult conversation here but you keep stone walling it. I'll ask one more time: why would Tucson raising their height limit to 500' not result in land banking like it did in Phoenix? What businesses are looking to build 300' plus tall towers in Tucson? How does Tucson plan to grow or attract such firms?

HooverDamn...he's like seventeen probably...don't wear yourself out trying to kill a kid's dream ;)

[acatalanb]

You refuse to acknowledge the points being made and continue to think your policy which would destroy downtown Tucson is a good one. Again, if a developer had a real proposal for a taller building they could get a variance to go past 300'.

Do you understand the difference between getting a variance and raising the entire downtown height limit?

You continue to bring up straw men arguments and not address the real point. Its very frustrating, I'm trying to impart knowledge to you about a subject you're clearly not wholly informed on and you refuse to learn. You're promoting Urban Renewal policies that were popular in the 60s and 70s that destroyed many American downtowns.

P.S. I haven't called you a name once, I'm perfectly calm and would LOVE to have an adult conversation about this topic. However you continue to think you're being made fun of or called names when thats clearly not the case. If you go back and read my posts you'll see I haven't called you a name once.

E: VVVV good point. Its just frustrating, I feel like Im trying to explain something important to him and he just refuses to listen.

After 3,581 posts, someone finally has hurt your ego. Keep making things up.

[acatalanb]

HooverDamn...he's like seventeen probably...don't wear yourself out trying to kill a kid's dream ;)

It's not only amusing arguing about the "next" tower in Tucson but it's also a total waste of time! Hey, what does that say about my life then??? :(

Funny, I used to spend hours drawing fantasy skylines for Tucson when I was 15...23 years later...nothing has changed!!!

Get a life before it's too late I tells ya! :haha:

Sorry about your unhappy childhood. Looks like you've been spending your time drawing fantasy skylines for Tucson from your mom's basement or a mental institution ( Location: In A Van Down By The River ?) last 23 years.

Spend more time talking with your new buddy HooverDam , who claims to know everything. Take it easy, ok?

[plinko]

300 feet from some arbitrary height I'm guessing...UniSource Tower (or whatever it's called) is over 300' I believe. Like 306' I think? Emporis has it taller than that but I don't think it's more than 310'.

FYI, the Unisource Tower is 330ft. It was originally planned as a twin tower complex and designed by Fentress Bradburn. I've got a book somewhere with an elevation drawing with heights called out.

[HooverDam]

After 3,581 posts, someone finally has hurt your ego. Keep making things up.

I never said nor implied you or anyone hurt my ego.



Spend more time talking with your new buddy HooverDam , who claims to know everything. Take it easy, ok?

Where did I say or imply I know everything?

Again, I want Tucson to succeed and be a better city with a strong downtown. You I'm sure want that to but clearly have no idea how to accomplish that and are promoting policies that will destroy your city.

I ask one more time, can you please stop with the attacks and have an adult conversation? I haven't called you a name once, I haven't personally attacked you (though you've done it to me multiple times) and I haven't made up straw men arguments (which you have). If you'd like to have an adult conversation about this subject, lets do so, otherwise, stop replying and posting about it.

[acatalanb]

I never said nor implied you or anyone hurt my ego.



Where did I say or imply I know everything?

Again, I want Tucson to succeed and be a better city with a strong downtown. You I'm sure want that to but clearly have no idea how to accomplish that and are promoting policies that will destroy your city.

I ask one more time, can you please stop with the attacks and have an adult conversation? I haven't called you a name once, I haven't personally attacked you (though you've done it to me multiple times) and I haven't made up straw men arguments (which you have). If you'd like to have an adult conversation about this subject, lets do so, otherwise, stop replying and posting about it.

Bravo!! Clap! Clap! First a bully. Now pretending to be the victim.

[BrandonJXN]

Hilarioius

[somethingfast]

Bravo!! Clap! Clap! First a bully. Now pretending to be the victim.

Yeah, HD, stop pretending to be the victim, here. It's so Rodney King...haha.

Some folks you just can't reason with...

[Butta]

Gentlemen,

I think we all want Arizona to succeed. I think Tucson is finally on the right road to building a substainable downtown. As Anqrew mentioned above, all those mid-rise buildings are coming. If everything goes as planned, and we can build enough foot traffic, then a high-rise will be built and Acatalanb will be happy, and in the end, we will all be as we would have an awesome dowtown to play in.

Here's downtown Santa Cruz, CA, the city only has 60,000 people and a metro of no more than 250,000. It's downtown was devastated by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which razed a ton of buildings which became empty lots. After the earthquake no one would be caught dead downtown for almost 10 years.

http://0.tqn.com/d/gocalifornia/1/0/t/6/3/200709120027-a.jpg

They didn't build a high-rise hotel, a massive bridge or anything like that. What they build? The best cinema in the county which brought foot traffic again downtown. After that, buildings began sprucing up in the empty lots with the few remaining currently being developed.

I propose something similar for downtown Tucson, but better. I say Tucson needs to build an I-MAX Cinema, with an arcade, bowling alley and ice rink, all in the same 3 - 4 story bulding.

Throw on top of that the outlet mall proposed and the foot traffic will be 10-fold downtown.

[Ritarancher]

I agree. Tucson has a growing population. And how much more cactus are we gonna destroy? Might as well build up instead. If an investor thinks that there is a market to build a high rise above 300 ft then allow him to build it. If the investor 'overbuilds' and didn't get enough clients in his over 300 ft building, that's the investors problem. :tup:

Over the years, I've read so many proposals about building high rises in Tucson and later never came to fruition. Obviously, there is a demand for those high rises otherwise the investors/developers won't be proposing it. Would love to know the real reason why each of those proposals where cancelled.

i didnt know we had a height limit.

[Ritarancher]

Welp, welp

330 ft/23 floors - Unisource Energy Tower (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tallest_buildings_in_Tucson)
400 ft/27 floors - Proposed/Cancelled TCC hotel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tucson_Convention_Center)
27 floors - Proposed/Cancelled Century Tower (http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/deal-of-the-century-tower/Content?oid=1081035)

i believe the hotel crap was only about 250-280 feet

[acatalanb]

Yeah, HD, stop pretending to be the victim, here. It's so Rodney King...haha.

Some folks you just can't reason with...

I'll take it easy on you ....

[acatalanb]

Gentlemen,

I think we all want Arizona to succeed. I think Tucson is finally on the right road to building a substainable downtown. As Anqrew mentioned above, all those mid-rise buildings are coming. If everything goes as planned, and we can build enough foot traffic, then a high-rise will be built and Acatalanb will be happy, and in the end, we will all be as we would have an awesome dowtown to play in.

Here's downtown Santa Cruz, CA, the city only has 60,000 people and a metro of no more than 250,000. It's downtown was devastated by the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, which razed a ton of buildings which became empty lots. After the earthquake no one would be caught dead downtown for almost 10 years.

http://0.tqn.com/d/gocalifornia/1/0/t/6/3/200709120027-a.jpg

They didn't build a high-rise hotel, a massive bridge or anything like that. What they build? The best cinema in the county which brought foot traffic again downtown. After that, buildings began sprucing up in the empty lots with the few remaining currently being developed.

I propose something similar for downtown Tucson, but better. I say Tucson needs to build an I-MAX Cinema, with an arcade, bowling alley and ice rink, all in the same 3 - 4 story bulding.

Throw on top of that the outlet mall proposed and the foot traffic will be 10-fold downtown.

Butta, that's what I'm getting at. Thank you. :tup:

It's just unfortunate some people freak out with the very mention of building a structure greater than a 300 ft height limit (in skyscraper page). As I mentioned before, if a structure greater than 300 ft gets built by someone (not me) in the future (near or far), wonderful.

[acatalanb]

i believe the hotel crap was only about 250-280 feet

according to that link, that hotel crap is 400 ft/27 story. i remember it being advertised as the tallest building in Tucson, if built.

[somethingfast]

^ nope, it was revised to no more than 280 feet. classic tucson move. floor to floor heights on hotels are almost always considerably less than for office space, by about two feet or more. century tower would have been the tallest building downtown. woulda coulda shoulda of course.

[acatalanb]

^ nope, it was revised to no more than 280 feet. classic tucson move. floor to floor heights on hotels are almost always considerably less than for office space, by about two feet or more. century tower would have been the tallest building downtown. woulda coulda shoulda of course.

thank you, my friend .... for this correction.

[somethingfast]

no problem!

[Anqrew]

some renderings of The District student housing on 6th st and 5th ave. theyre not very big images though.

http://www.tucsonweekly.com/imager/the-district-along-fifth-street-and-fifth-avenue/b/original/2744166/09bc/curr3-1.jpg

http://www.tucsonweekly.com/imager/the-district-along-herbert-street/b/original/2744167/5bcf/curr3-2.jpg

[acatalanb]

some renderings of The District student housing on 6th st and 5th ave. theyre not very big images though.

http://www.tucsonweekly.com/imager/the-district-along-fifth-street-and-fifth-avenue/b/original/2744166/09bc/curr3-1.jpg

http://www.tucsonweekly.com/imager/the-district-along-herbert-street/b/original/2744167/5bcf/curr3-2.jpg

Nice rendering! Just so excited with all these new construction projects! :tup:

[acatalanb]

Mercado San Agustin’s Market Hall opens May 13

May 06, 2011 (10:32 am)

By Teya Vitu

Shopping starts May 13 in the Market Hall at Mercado San Agustin, 100 S. Avenida del Convento at West Congress Street.

The Market Hall celebrates its opening weekend May 13-15, five years after the Mercado was first envisioned and some three years after most of the merchants committed to the West Side project.

The Mercado has put on a host of events in the past two-some years while the structure was in various phases of rising from the desert floor, most notably the annual Mercado Holiday Bazaar the past three years.

And Taqueria El Pueblito right at the Mercado gateway got a tiny headstart when it opened in February, to the immediate delight of employees at El Rio Community Health Center.

“It’s the best,” said Eleanor Diaz, a registered nurse at El Rio. “It’s across the street from where we work. We’ve been dying for something for years.”

But now, finally, the Mercado comes to life for real on a daily basis behind the arcade of white French doors at the Mercado’s southwest side.

“We really believe Tucson deserves a public market,” said Kira Dixon-Weinstein, the Mercado’s executive director. “They’ve been such a wonderful resource in other cities.”

She predicts the Mercado will be a catalyst for a whole market district on the West Side. That’s already proving itself as the Santa Cruz River Farmer’s Market is moving its Thursday market to the Mercado, starting June 16, Dixon-Weinstein said.

She also collaborates with the Microbusiness Advancement Center, which has assisted several of the Market Hall merchants, many of whom are launching their first businesses.

“The Mercado is truly becoming a public market, evident by the partnerships being formed,” Dixon-Weinstein said.

The Market Hall area will feature the everpopular La Estrella Bakery, which is expanding from its South Side flagship and will have a small shop selling its pastries that will be made at the Mercado’s community kitchen.

Indeed, many of the merchants will be crafting their edibles in the on-site community kitchen.

San Agustin Trading Co. owner Jess Aguilar makes moccasins and also sells Native American jewelry.

Holly’s Little Farm features honey crafted by Anthony Tubiolo.

Taxco Silveria has jewelry imported from Mexico by Maria Medina.

Sonora Sno Cones has Maria Robles serving up that hedonistic Mexican pleasure, the raspado.

Dolce Pastello has Samantha Tehran and Aide Almazon producing homemade Mexican style cakes.

Willie Mae’s Bakery will feature Southern style pies, and Margy’s Jams, well, offers up jams.

Alf Taylor will set up a temporary Moroccan rug story until a permanent tenant is found for the Market Hall store space at the north end.

Market Hall hours are 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day but every individual business sets its own hours.

The Mercado San Agustin is a work in progress, as is evidenced by the notable change of plans for the Congress Street frontage.

Casa Marita Argentino and a Peter Wilke’s corner market are no longer slated as the Mercado’s largest tenants. Dixon-Weinstein said in the coming weeks she will announce a single operator for the restaurant-bar-market space.

“It made more financial sense for us to go with one operator,” she said.

[acatalanb]

Two 2500-foot solar towers to be built in Arizona
by Jonathan DuHamel on May. 11, 2011, under energy

I first wrote about solar towers in August, 2009. Now, Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) says they have agreed to buy power from two 2,500-foot towers to be built between the towns of Parker and Quartzsite in La Paz County, Arizona, with construction to start in 2012.

Each tower will be surrounded by a mile-wide greenhouse designed to heat air, which will then rise through the tower after passing through turbines. The rated peak capacity will be 200 megawatts for each tower.

According to SCPPA, “The Solar Tower facility is anticipated to generate more than 1,000,000 MWhs of renewable energy per year.” The towers were developed and will be built by an Australian company, EnviroMission. I could not find figures on the exact cost, but an October, 2010, estimate by Phoenix Business Journal puts the figure at somewhere between $700 million and $1 Billion. In December, 2010, the Arizona Republic put the cost at $750 million for one tower. That capital cost works out to about $3,750 per Kwh capacity. To put that in perspective, coal plants cost abut $3,167 per Kwh, natural gas plants cost about $1,003 per Kwh, and solar voltaic plants cost about $4,755 per Kwh according to the Energy Information Administration. So far there are no data on how much of the peak capacity will actually be available. Availability is generally near 90% for fossil fuel plants and less than 25% for solar voltaic plants.

If built, the towers will be the tallest structures in the U.S. and second only to the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai.

Original Article (http://tucsoncitizen.com/wryheat/2011/05/11/two-2500-foot-solar-towers-to-be-built-in-arizona/)

[somethingfast]

Cool news!

[Thirsty]

If built, the towers will be the tallest structures in the U.S. and second only to the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai.

When can we expect skyscraperpage to update its header? ;)

[Anqrew]

Downtown Tucson’s redevelopment dilemma: to raze or not to raze?


When it comes to derelict buildings downtown, talk of razing them in the name of redevelopment divides the preservationists and the progressives.
Preservationists fight to keep all buildings standing, as is, at all costs. They cling to nostalgia and don't like change. They argue the structures are historic, have unique architectural value, and showcase the city's culture. To them, revitalization is akin to recycling. Just have the landlord bring in a new tenant, paint the walls, power-wash the puke from the sidewalk and stick an open for business sign in the window.

That's a bit like putting lip gloss on a javelina.

On the other side, progressive businesspeople tend to be innovative, big thinkers. When they see a dilapidated property, their imaginations go wild. They envision an exciting new use for the site that would generate profit for themselves and the city.

And since they don't like anything to stand in the way of progress, they want to raze everything in the name of redevelopment.
For some 20 years, I've been a razing advocate. Especially in downtown Tucson. I worked there a long time and witnessed vibrancy give way to vacancies. For the city core to make a comeback, I've long believed most of the old buildings should be flattened, starting with the 90-year-old Chicago Music Store.

Much of my razing rant is based on research I did years ago at Tucson Electric Power. As TEP's economic development department was being formed, I was responsible for researching and developing a strategic plan. I interviewed commerce experts at other utilities and states. I traveled to cities that had redevelopment initiatives. Among the more impressive stops were Baltimore, Toronto, Dallas-Fort Worth, Kansas City, and Phoenix.

Those cities were memorable because most had some sort of master plan, not a whatever-happens-happens strategy. Their state and local officials stood strong in the face of controversy. They made tough decisions to demolish decayed neighborhoods and business districts and drive out the dope dealers, homeless and hookers . . . all in the name of progress. For 20 years, much like those druggies, I wanted a quick fix for our downtown. I wanted instant gratification: raze and rebuild ASAP.

This month, I changed my mind.

In commercial real estate circles, brokers talk about the huge risks of "original" business owners. They are the first ones to launch a new venture, like a restaurant, in an old building. Easily, they can spend over $100,000 to bring the property up to code and for building permits, architects, furnishings and fixtures, and other start-up costs.

And if the building has been vacant for years, unforeseen expenses can skyrocket out of control. As a result, the first one in is struggling financially before the doors even open. Within a year or so, the buzz wears off and customers quit coming.

Here's the irony: when "originals" fail, it's profit time.
Second, third or fourth generation entrepreneurs will grab the property at a discount and turn it into a success. Basically, the original owners paid for most of their start-up costs. Seeing is believing.

Recently, I toured the streets downtown with the Tucson Chamber of Commerce and Providence Corporation CEO Fletcher McCusker. I liked what I saw. But to be sure, I wasn't caught up in the hype and I went back on my own for another look. To the joy of preservationists, the trend is to not to raze the old buildings. The private sector is working to preserve the original exteriors while gutting the shabby interiors. From top to bottom and wall to wall, decades of nostalgia are stripped away.

False ceilings are ripped down and floor coverings pulled up, often to the original foundation. If structurally sound, support pillars are left in place. And part of the new ambiance includes exposing the old, original brickwork. Just like a home remodeling, redevelopment is getting back to basics, starting with just a building's shell. I am now a "reformed" progressive. I no longer want to see everything ripped down.

However, that being said, there are still parcels that need to be "raised." Across from the new UniSource Energy headquarters, Pima County owns a sizable piece of land that is now a 100-spot parking lot. That property will become too valuable not to be developed for other uses. Perhaps Mr. Huckelberry is banking on that.

http://www.insidetucsonbusiness.com/opinion/columnists/roger_yohem/downtown-tucson-s-redevelopment-dilemma-to-raze-or-not-to/article_8001d42a-7cb7-11e0-a237-001cc4c002e0.html

[Anqrew]

UA Bio Park is now development-ready; construction set to ‘go vertical’ this summer

http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/insidetucsonbusiness.com/content/tncms/assets/editorial/0/33/989/033989fc-7cd4-11e0-8d5c-001cc4c03286-revisions/4dcc3eed355e6.image.jpg

With Phase I complete, the University of Arizona's 65-acre Bio Park is "development-ready." That milestone has prompted private developers and investors to move forward on their business plans at the massive science and tech venture.

Since breaking ground in December 2009, the focus has been on building the core infrastructure. When Phase II starts in July, the park will "go vertical."
"We're in a challenging economic market. To attract commercial development, we had to make the site development-ready," said Bruce Wright, Associate Vice President for University Research Parks. "Businesses wanted to see the infrastructure in place before they would do any serious negotiations. We are now in active conversations with a number of perspective tenants."

Phase I focused on the construction of roads, water and sewer, electric and telecom utilities, and supporting services. The costs were funded by $4.7 million in federal grants.

In Phase II, the storm drainage facilities and a road on the western perimeter will be completed.

"By December, we will have the site fully developed and ready to go vertical," said Wright. The Bio Park is part of The Bridges, a 350-acre master planned community at 36th Street and Kino Parkway. The mixed-use project includes research, retail, residential and recreational components.
With the infrastructure in place, private sector partners such as Eastbourne Properties, Lincoln Property Company, and KB Home have stepped up their marketing "so we can attract tenants at all levels."

"We are in active discussions with a major student housing developer and have been approached by three different hotel developers, including Hyatt and Hilton, to do the hotel conference center," Wright said.
Statewide, there is a lack of commercial space to accommodate bio-tech companies when they relocate and subsequently, require additional space. At the Bio Park, "we're trying to address that need for bio-space and create an environment to support that growth."

[Anqrew]

Construction has started on the new Arizona Stadium Display Board

[Teacher_AZ_84]

Construction has started on the new Arizona Stadium Display Board

Its been a pain in my ass because I can't turn left on National Championship Dr. off of 6th to get to Cherry garage.

[Anqrew]

:previous: Yeah between the new Student Rec Center, the Dorms and the intersection repaving and now the Display Board. 6th St has had a lot of construction the last two years. Theres also the new apartments on 6th and Campbell

[Teacher_AZ_84]

:previous: Yeah between the new Student Rec Center, the Dorms and the intersection repaving and now the Display Board. 6th St has had a lot of construction the last two years. Theres also the new apartments on 6th and Campbell

While it is annoying, I think it is all great progress. I am happy that the corner there is finally being built. It will make the area much nicer.

[Anqrew]

New Scoreboard construction webcam. not much has changed yet.

http://www.pdc.arizona.edu/webcam/Scoreboard.aspx

[acatalanb]

The Food Truck Diaries, Volume 15: The Rolling Chef
POSTED BY ADAM BOROWITZ ON TUE, MAY 24, 2011 AT 8:00 AM

The Rolling Chef is a flame-emblazoned food truck run by the former executive chef of fine-dining establishment Anthony’s in the Catalinas. It can be found on the corner of Stone Avenue and Pennington Street between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., weekdays; and outside of the Music Box Lounge at 6951 E. 22nd St. until the wee hours on weekends.

Chef Carlos Aponte said he was let go from Anthony’s in the Catalinas when the recession hit and sales plummeted. It was a bit of a blow—he’d worked at El Parador, opened City Grill for Sam Fox and worked at fine New York restaurants, earning accolades and an impeccable reputation along the way—but there was precious little time to mope around.

“Basically, I had to make my own economy,” says Aponte. “It came down to what would be the most profitable, what would take the least to get started, and what is trendy.”

The result: The Rolling Chef, which has been wowing downtowners with gourmet, street-style tacos, cheese steaks and roast-beef sandwiches. For the moment, it’s about the closest thing Tucson has to the now-famous Los Angeles food truck Kogi BBQ, and Aponte is forever adding to the menu.

Aponte’s tacos are stuffed with shredded Angus beef, pit-roasted pork and other things he carefully roasts over special wood until it all collapses into tender shreds. It is then stuffed in a tortilla from the Anita Street Market and topped with coleslaw and caramelized onions, or cabbage salsa and lime, and handed over to you for the paltry sum of $1.

There's also talk of a teriyaki chicken taco topped with Asian salad and pineapple, but that's still in the development stages.

The Rolling Chef is down this week—it's getting a new engine—but should be back next week.

You can follow the truck on Twitter here (http://twitter.com/#!/TheRollingChef).

Original Article (http://www.tucsonweekly.com/TheRange/archives/2011/05/24/the-food-truck-diaries-volume-15-the-rolling-chef)

[acatalanb]

From this site (http://tucsoncitizen.com/tucson-progressive/2011/05/24/contemplating-tucson-kozochik-releases-citys-strategic-work-plan/) ,

1. City/County Courthouse – build a new courthouse to house both City and County operations
....
11. Create downtown entertainment district – meant to designate an Entertainment District primarily to ease restrictions on sale of alcohol
....
12. Ronstadt Transit Center redesign – consider adding retail/mixed use to the southern border of the RTC
....
14. Westside projects / Mission Garden – seek out funding and continue in conceptual design on the properties.
....

:previous: indication what's on the table at city hall next few months. Wonder what #1 meant ... does it include everything besides the legal wing of the city/county. I guess we'll wait and see.

[acatalanb]

Stone-Toole dirt lot triangle may get Joint Courts after all
May 25, 2011 (10:11 am)

By Teya Vitu

The long-delayed Joint Courts Complex may start coming out of the ground in bits and pieces by the end of the year.

Planning on this city-county court house stopped in early 2008 - before any construction started - because projected costs for the 410,000-square-foot complex had ballooned to $140 million, double the funding available from a $74 million 2004 county bond.

Since then, the vision was reimagined and downscaled to at least get the basic bones of a building up while construction costs are way down.

“We know we don’t have enough money to built it all now,” said Reid Spaulding, Pima County Faciities manager. “We really need to capture that opportunity of $5 million to $7 million savings if we could let loose soon.”

The Joint Courts Complex is slated for the 4.3-acre vacant triangle behind Hispanics por la Causa bounded by Stone and Toole avenues.

The project looked promising enough in 2005 as sections of Council Street and Grossetta Avenue within the triangle were abandoned and removed, and nearly 1,400 graves from a forgotten 19th century cemetery were discreetly removed from November 2006 to August 2008.

While the archaeology, remediation, utility removal and land acquisition rang up for $17 million, it became clear the county had nowhere near the money need to fund a design based on demographics, caseload growth and judge growth in what was the fastest growing state in the country.

“We got to that point where we had a building we couldn’t afford,” Spaulding said.

Just a few months later, Wall Street toppled, Tucson’s projected growth rate slowed precipitously, and the original court house plans were scrapped.

“We needed to start fresh,” Spaulding said.

Demographic, caseload and judge projections were recalculated to the new reality of much slower growth, and the county came back with a phased approach, starting with a 256,000-square-foot complex for the first phase.

“The first phase should easily carry us to 2025,” Spaulding said.

A footprint will be drawn in for a potential second phase and utility stubs provided, but no plans will be drawn since the second phase is not anticipated for at least 15 years.

This is where the bits-and-pieced dynamic of the first phase comes into play.

Spaulding has only $17 million in bond funding remaining, and he’s proposing getting started with the basic skeleton, which he estimates at $35 million to $40 million.

“We want to find a way to move ahead with a shell and central plant with the chiller, cooling system and emergency generator, like building a spec building with no tenant improvements,” Spaulding said. “It will be a Board of Supervisors decision whether the county wants to bridge that ($18 million to $23 million) gap.”

He said another county bond will probably go to voters in 2013 to fund completion of the complex, whose total cost is unknown.

For now, Tucson-based Sundt Construction has been brought on as construction manager at risk to establish a guaranteed maximum price for the shell-and-central-plant segment, which Spaulding expects to be set by September or October. Once the price is set, construction could start as soon as November.

Construction drawings are about 60 percent complete, but the real challenge in the coming months is deciding how much to include in this initial phase.

“We want to put stuff in that doesn’t cost a premium later,” Spaulding said.

One item under consideration are the elevators, at least 14 of them will fill the buiding.

‘”The question is to what extent do you build out those elevators now,” he said.

The Joint Courts Complex also impacts the ArtWalk that the Warehouse Arts Management Organization and Downtown Tucson Partnership want to build on the Toole Avenue sidewalk across from the court site. Installation of the ArtWalk in May was delayed because Toole and Stone will be torn up for utility work for the court complex.

Spaulding wants the court complex to fit into the Arts District. He’s planning a landscaped water harvesting area along Toole.

“We want to be part of that revitalization,” he said.

The Joint Courts Complex will house the City Court and Pima County Justice Court.

[acatalanb]

Alright dudes and dudets, I'm off to a very very long 'working vacation' .... please, continue Tucson's "mission". Help yourself in posting updates in this forum. And it looks like Councilman Kozachik is considering integrating city hall/county administration in one tall high rise. Hope it gets built ... more jobs to the local economy. It would probably make way for private development from the old and ugly city hall/county offices (except the old county courthouse). Too many gov't buildings downtown. I've pretty much showered the city with my ideas over the last few months. I have accomplished my mission! Adios Amigos! :notacrook:

WorldArchitecture site (http://www.worldarchitecturenews.com/index.php?fuseaction=wanappln.shownewsinpictures&page=1)

other wish list downtown - mini-Walmart, mini-Target, IKEA, McDonald's, Wendy's, French Crepe and Cajun Food Truck, UA Science Center (with the $300 million Rainbow Bridge), a real IMAX , closed and open concert hall, aquarium, more affordable condo/apts, what the heck....a large ferris wheel (put some fun in this boring city) .... of course, Skyscrapers.

[andrewsaturn]

Thrifty Lot may yet get a hotel
June 01, 2011 (1:50 pm) | Permanent Link

By Teya Vitu

A Downtown hotel may yet happen for the empty lot on Congress Street that Bourn Companies has owned since 2007.

Don Bourn, the managing member, has entered into an agreement with True North to bring a 5-story, 123-room Hampton Inn to Congress between Scott and Stone avenues.

The crucial missing ingredient, as it’s been since 2008, is financing. Bourn sees more promise now than he has in the past three years.

“The financial market seem like it’s starting to get a lot better for hotels,” Bourn said. “Can we get financing in 90 to 190 days or 12 to 18 months? It’s hard to predict. We’re willing to be creative and make this happen.”

Bourn said he’s just as eager as the community to see something built on the former Thrifty Block, which has sat vacant since September 2004. He said he’s invested more than $4 million in the project.

He said once construction contracts are signed, a hotel could be open in 12 months.

In the mean time, Bourn is dealing with the board of the Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District and Rio Nuevo critic John Kromko, both challenging Bourn acquiring the property for $100 and so far building nothing on it.

“Our whole point is the Rio Nuevo board would be a catalyst to make things happen Downtown and be a positive force to get things built,” Bourn said. “I had spent $3 million by the time I bought it for $100.”

The city, which managed Rio Nuevo at that time, entered into a development agreement with Bourn in April 2006 to sell the property to him for $100 with the intention of having a condo complex called The Post completed by the end of 2008.

Bourn lost 18 months when negotiations failed with the bank next door to acquire its parking lot. This required him to redesign The Post to incorporate parking.

Bourn said National Bank of Arizona withdrew $3.9 million in financing for The Post in 2008, and with that the luxury condo plan died.

Bourn lined up with True North in 2010 to plan a hotel and recently landed Hampton Inn.

They have run up some number:
40,000-50,000 room nights a year
$2 million in guest spending
30 fully-time jobs
1,000 square feet of retail

“It doesn’t have a restaurant,” Bourn stressed. “One of the things we want to do is market the hotel with the amenities already here.”

Bourn understands public frustration.

“We understand people want results,” he said. “You have to keep working through things.”


:previous:

It's good to hear news about construction in that lot especially when it could come as early as within the next 12 months. I wonder what color the building will be? If it is a Hampton Inn wouldn't it be blue or something? :rolleyes: That would be cool but I'm guessing they'll stick to the contiguous brick colors of the buildings next to it.

[Anqrew]

If they build that Hampton Inn, it better have street side Retail and not look like a generic Hampton Inn:

http://www.hawkeyehotels.com/HamptonInnSuites.jpg yuck.

[ppdd]

I am not a fan of the Hampton Inn idea - horrible. Just get the lot back and move on, City of Tucson.

[bleunick]

yeah i would rather see that lot sit for a little while longer than just put a Hampton Inn there. That lot is in such a perfect location for something really cool to be put there, and with it being directly on the streetcar line i guarantee there will be better ideas and concepts for that space other then a cheap hotel real soon.

[Mattic505]

A Hampton might not be as bad as the first impression that comes to mind, here are a few shots of some of the more "tasteful" Hampton Inns.

Maybe the fresh sheets aren't such a bad idea after all :cool:

http://www.clickaustinhotels.com/t/hotels/AUS_HISD-exter-1.jpg
Hampton Austin
http://www.orangesmile.com/hotel-pictures/foto-hotel-hampton-inn-center-city-philadelphia.jpg
Hampton Philly
http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/missouri/saint-louis/hampton-inn-st-louis-downtown-at-the-arch-mo.jpg
Hampton St Louis
https://mymotels.com/propertyimages/280064/hampton_inn_suites_boston_exterior_boston_massachusetts_unitedstates.jpg
Hampton Boston
http://lodging.uptake.com/blog/files/2009/07/hampton-inn-1.jpg
Hampton Greenville

[somethingfast]

Let's be honest...if they build ANYTHING in downtown Tucson, it really is progress...even a Hampton Inn :cheers:

[Thirsty]

There is something to be said for having a national chain located downtown. People booking a hotel online feel more comfortable with chains. You know what you are gonna get.

The photos look reasonable. The Austin TX Hampton would would look good in Tucson.

http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/downtown/images/hampton_option6.jpg

[Mattic505]

Committee weighing two proposals for freeway frontage road
June 06, 2011 (10:22 am) | Permanent Link

By Teya Vitu



Two revised proposals to buy 8.41 acres of city-owned land along the freeway frontage road are being reviewed by a selection committee with a recommendation for City Manager Mike Letcher possible by June 15.

After that Letcher, could move forward with the recommendation or forward the proposals to the City Council to pick one, said Hector Martinez, director of the city real estate program.

A selection committee had whittled three proposals down to two in spring and asked those two teams to refine their proposals by June 1 for the strip of land between Congress and Cushing streets.

This is the property with the temporary Greyhound bus depot and the Catalina Parking Lot. The goal is to sell the land for at least its appraised value of $3.68 million, revised down from $5.35 million when the request for proposals was issued in October.

The initial Peach Properties proposal included 40,000 square feet of streetfront commercial, an 80-100-room boutique urban hotel, residential units, and the Greyhound depot would remain on the property.

Phoenix-based Evergreen Real Estate Development initially proposed a 180-room Drury Inn & Suites, a sit-down restaurant along Congress Street, and potentially some housing and offices south toward Cushing Street.

See story here (http://www.downtowntucson.org/news/?p=3288)

[Mattic505]

[QUOTE=Mattic505;5306437]Committee weighing two proposals for freeway frontage road

Drury makes the Peach design for El Presidio look Stellar. Let's hope if Drury gets the contract, they come up with something other than their four bland cookie cutter models :slob:


Drury Cookie Cutter #1 (almost bearable)
http://i0.bookcdn.com/data/Photos/LargePhoto2/51/5118/5118555/Drury-Inn-And-Suites-Greenville-photos-Hotel.JPEG

Drury Cookie Cutter #2
http://i2.bookcdn.com/data/Photos/LargePhoto2/50/5044/5044790/Drury-Inn-And-Suites-Springfield-photos-Hotel.JPEG

Drury Cookie Cutter #3
http://m.travelpn.com/images/franklin/hotel/0/035836/Exterior_F_1.jpg

Drury Cookie Cutter #4
http://m.travelpn.com/images/creve_coeur/hotel/0/040325/Exterior_E_1.jpg


There are however, a few I found.... That might be almost palatable :koko: ...

Drury Phoenix (Formerly a Radisson so forget anything like this)
http://media.expedia.com/hotels/1000000/20000/11200/11114/11114_53_b.jpg

Drury San Antonio-La Cantera
http://www.holidaycheck.com/data/common/hotelbilder/mittel/193/283556.jpg?5.20

Drury Flagstaff
http://m.travelpn.com/images/flagstaff/hotel/0/041172/Exterior_F_1.jpghttp://www.questenergy.com/files/drury-flagstaff1-460x345.jpg


Peach El Presidio Concept

http://peachprops.com/images/U-of-A-RFP-part-2-101.jpg

[Ritarancher]

Let's be honest...if they build ANYTHING in downtown Tucson, it really is progress...even a Hampton Inn :cheers:

ya but the Hampton needs stores on the ground floor. Maybe a Mall Store like hot topic to get the younger crowds attention

[Ritarancher]

Tucson has a serious problem with getting around.

My plans:

Aviation Highway
To fix this problem I think that aviation highway (which will hopefully be extended to St. Marys road) should be connected to I-10 past downtown.
I also think that Alvernon north of I-10 to Aviation Hwy should be a freeway. These changes would help citizens living in the south of I-10 access Broadway,22, and Speedway faster.

I-10
I-10 is used everyday by 200,000+ cars and in the future maybe 500,000+ cars.The big problem for growth comes from the Kino-Houghton. The freeway is only a two lane and needs to be extended. To me this problem seems to be a simple fix because there is enough space in the median to add more lanes and still have an irrigation system.
As much as I love Tucson we still have ugly sides. On I-10 a simple fix to make Tucson more appealing to travelers is building a wall hiding the uglyness away. I feel that the wall should be from Alvernon to Kolb hiding the power plant,the dump and ugly junkyards. This wall will also help quiet the freeway sound to the houses nearby.
Another way to make Tucson better looking is to remove our weeds. In places where we don't want plants we should pour bleach and/or vinegar. Both liquids are usually cheaper than weed kill and they last longer.

Rita Road and I-10 to Sahuarita Road and I-19
The future of Tucson development looks like it is going to be mostly on the southeast and east sides of the city. To help the future citizens fight the daily traffic we should build a freeway from Rita Road and I-10 to Sahuarita Road and I-19. Make it a 3 lane because it ends up costing more money to expand the freeway later.


Tucson to Yuma
The only way to drive to California from Tucson is going north I-10. This waste time and gas. Starting at the I-10 and I-19 junction a new freeway should begin taking you to Yuma,Arizona. Once in Yuma this freeway will become I-8.
Houghton
The city is planning on fixing Houghton but no major actions have been taken yet. I just want to know when is the city going to start expanding the road! traffic is horrible. EXPAND HOUGHTON ALREADY!

[Anqrew]

:previous:

All of those take great amounts of money and time. Houghton is already being expanded, its going to take about 10+ years though, you have to be patient.

[Ritarancher]

:previous:

All of those take great amounts of money and time. Houghton is already being expanded, its going to take about 10+ years though, you have to be patient.

Ya it would cost at least 800 million and 20+ years but will be worth it! According to the city of Tucson website Houghton and Valencia to Houghton and Irvington will be expanded in July and I believe the Houghton/Broadway intersection will be expanded in October. But we all know Tucson so I'm not expecting work until 2012! hahaha

[Ritarancher]

A Hampton might not be as bad as the first impression that comes to mind, here are a few shots of some of the more "tasteful" Hampton Inns.

Maybe the fresh sheets aren't such a bad idea after all :cool:

http://www.clickaustinhotels.com/t/hotels/AUS_HISD-exter-1.jpg
Hampton Austin
http://www.orangesmile.com/hotel-pictures/foto-hotel-hampton-inn-center-city-philadelphia.jpg
Hampton Philly
http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/missouri/saint-louis/hampton-inn-st-louis-downtown-at-the-arch-mo.jpg
Hampton St Louis
https://mymotels.com/propertyimages/280064/hampton_inn_suites_boston_exterior_boston_massachusetts_unitedstates.jpg
Hampton Boston
http://lodging.uptake.com/blog/files/2009/07/hampton-inn-1.jpg
Hampton Greenville

I like the modern look of the Hampton in Boston and Greenville and I even think that the Peach El Presidio Concept is right for Tucson.
The Hampton in Austin,Philadelphia and St. Louis are too old for Tucson and plus it's not even Tucson style.
A Hampton that is kinda like the MLK apartment building would be more appropriate for Tucson.

[sherr]

The 2011 Arizona Historic Preservation Conference will be in Tuscon June 22-25th at the University Marriott. The conference starts with a community conversation on Building a Thriving Downtown. For more information about this event, please visit:

http://www.santacruzheritage.org/CommunityConversation2011

For more information about the conference http://www.azpreservation.com

[Azstar]

A Hampton that is kinda like the MLK apartment building would be more appropriate for Tucson.

I hope you're not referring to the original MLK building. "Tomorrow's ghetto, today."

[Thirsty]

The Hampton in Austin,Philadelphia and St. Louis are too old for Tucson and plus it's not even Tucson style.
A Hampton that is kinda like the MLK apartment building would be more appropriate for Tucson.

You know we're talking about Tucson right? The buildings and architecture downtown are a bit older than Rita Ranch. :D


http://www.abcn.com/thumb.php?src=3112_tucson_location.jpg&x=230&y=230&f=0
^Not in Austin, Philly or STL

[Ritarancher]

I hope you're not referring to the original MLK building. "Tomorrow's ghetto, today."
Im talking about the senior citizen apartments. The apartments have a very southwest look

[Ritarancher]

You know we're talking about Tucson right? The buildings and architecture downtown are a bit older than Rita Ranch. :D


http://www.abcn.com/thumb.php?src=3112_tucson_location.jpg&x=230&y=230&f=0
^Not in Austin, Philly or STL

I like that building, it's nice (except for the back side where we need a Hampton) but it's not Tucson. Tucson won the digital city award, we need more technology. An energy efficient building like the new unisourse building would work. I also feel that Tucson's downtown is becoming more appealing to the shopper to help with this cause I feel that the Hampton should have ground level stores. AND because I'm me i am going to say once again that Rainbow bridge needs to be built (the big one) and a 2 highrises, Unisourse energy tower twin ( the tall one) and another highrise 400 feet tall to 600 feet tall.:cool:

[Anqrew]

Some new Color Downtown to the Sears building brightens things up. What was once a cold grey toned building is now a bright and warm yellow and red. Its also right next door the the Green Pennington St Garage so sixth Avenue has a lot of color now.

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/264506_10150207952731923_283507751922_7513401_5016296_n.jpg
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/255133_10150206337626923_283507751922_7500290_4563961_n.jpg
http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/255016_10150206339841923_283507751922_7500312_2935158_n.jpg
http://a7.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/255016_10150206339846923_283507751922_7500313_8326200_n.jpg
http://a4.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/255016_10150206339856923_283507751922_7500315_6374443_n.jpg
all photos by Downtown Tucson Partnership Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Downtown-Tucsonan/283507751922


Color and more color splashes the walls at Imago Dei on 6th Ave.
By Teya Vitu
http://www.downtowntucson.org/news/?p=3311

Color has erupted on Sixth Avenue across from the Ronstadt Transit Center.

The street has quickly taken leave of the four shades of gray that has bleakly dominated for years at the former Sears Executive Center building, 51 and 55 N. Sixth Ave.

Imago Dei Middle School moved in right after Easter break, armed with a $5,000 façade improvement grant from the Downtown Tucson Partnership that they had to match with their own $5,000.

Mid-June a new color scheme quickly blossomed on the forlorn Art Deco façade. Michael Albers, a Downtown interior designer assembled a palette of Regency Cream (a warm yellow), columns painted Arabian Red and accents and window frames colored Needlepoint Navy (a slate gray-blue).

“It’s very fresh and will catch your eye,” said The Rev. Anne Sawyer, head of the school. “The façade is the first sign that Imago Dei is Downtown and opening its doors to the broader community.”

They want to open the 51 N. Sixth space to artists and musicians.

Imago Dei is an Episcopal school for fifth to eighth grade students who qualify for free and reduced price lunch, where education is free for students, funded by private donations.

Imago Dei is the first of three properties to carry out its façade work in the second phase of the Façade Improvement Program managed by the Downtown Tucson Partnership. The second phase is funded entirely by $25,000 in private donations with a maximum of $5,000 assigned to Imago Dei, The Drawing Studio and the former Reilly Funeral Home building.

“We rely on private donations to be able to fund these projects,” said Teresa Vasquez, the partnership’s Downtown planner and façade program manager.

Anybody who wants to add to the Façade Improvement fund can reach Vasquez at 837-6501.

The first phase of the program surprised everyone at the results that a bit of dressing up exteriors could bring. Providence Service Corp. moved its corporate headquarters into 64 E. Congress and its restored historic façade; the Screening Room and Beowulf Alley Theatre each added lighted marquees.

“Each façade renovations has really impacted the core of Downtown,” Vasquez said.

“It’s more than just color. It’s the attitude and perceptions. There really are things going on Downtown that are positive and this is just the visible spirit.”

Imago Dei moved a few blocks south from 639 N. Sixth Ave. on the Monday and Tuesday after Easter and classes started Downtown that Wednesday, while staff was still unpacking. Classes continue through June, and school starts again in mid-August.

“We’re closed for the entire month of July,” Sawyer reasoned. “We have 10-hour school days, 11 months of the year a six days a week. Saturday is a half day. We find the children talking about Imago Dei as a family.”

The students how have a new, colored home, too.

“We hope the children take pride in their school home,” Sawyer said.

[Teacher_AZ_84]

:previous: Damn, what an improvement. Looks awesome :tup:

[Ritarancher]

I just feel like I have to share this.


http://www.forbes.com/2011/06/08/best-worst-cities-for-renters_slide_2.html

Forbes Magazine has announced that Tucson is the best city for renters. The valley of the sun has also made it on the list at number 3!
if your too lazy to check out the site here is what they said about Tucson

Best Cities, No. 1: Tucson, Ariz.

Average Monthly Rent: $604
Change in Rent year-over-year: 1.5% increase
First Quarter Vacancy Rate: 9.4%
Mortgage Payment v. Rent Payment: $277 cheaper to rent

[Anqrew]

Tyndall Avenue Improvement Project Under Way

By Bill Davidson , Parking & Transportation Services, June 8, 2011

FULL ARTICLE: http://uanews.org/node/40164

A road improvement project under way this summer on Tyndall Avenue is intended to make the area more user-friendly for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians.

Improvements will include new pavement, curbs, angled parking, bicycle lanes, wider sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, landscaping and reconstruction of the street itself.

http://uanews.org/system/files/images/Tyndall.lg_horiz.jpg
(Photo by Caleb Tellez, Parking & Transportation Services)
http://uanews.org/node/40164

[Anqrew]

City green-lights repairs for historic signs
Owners no longer must let them decay or tear them down
Rob O'Dell Arizona Daily Star | Posted: Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Aging historic signs can now be repaired instead of simply removed under new rules passed unanimously by the Tucson City Council on Tuesday.
Under the city's previous sign code, older signs didn't meet requirements, so if they came down for repairs they could never go back up.


Read more: http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_c628b30b-97be-5848-905c-f09455e73d7b.html#ixzz1Qe8jkgvv

http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/azstarnet.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/e8/ce8d0b92-062c-5381-aa0e-ca47cd5ce020/4e0ab25142067.preview-300.jpg
Kelly Presnell/Arizona Daily Star
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_c628b30b-97be-5848-905c-f09455e73d7b.html

[Thirsty]

Great news about the signs. I think they're tacky, but at the same time... they're great too. I guess most Americana is that way. Plus they look cool at night.

The city listed a few stretches of road where the signage exceptions apply. How about taking it a step further and designating a street or two were neon signs are encouraged? A street with no fluorescent back-lit acrylic would be a start.

Anqrew
thanks for the updates. Any news or pictures of the TEP offices? (or anything else that's new since the last round of photos)

[Mattic505]

Rooted in Community
By Jamie Manser - Zocalo Magazine www.thezmag.com (http://www.thezmag.com/article-741-rooted-in-community.html)
image: Repp Design + Construction

http://www.thezmag.com/imgs/hed/art741nar.jpg"Sparkroot is a concept that I have been mulching in my mind for years," says Ari Shapiro of his latest Downtown venture, set to open in early August at 245 E. Congress St., at 5th Avenue. "It's essentially the kind of space that I crave as a customer that I don't feel really exists. The heart and soul of it is a coffee shop, but it's a coffee shop that brings elements of a restaurant into it."

Shapiro, who is also the proud founder and owner of three Xoom Juice smoothie shops (one is located in the 245 E. Congress St. strip), describes Sparkroot as a trifecta. It will have three beverage groups: coffee and tea, homemade sodas and boutique/micro beer and wine, and will serve healthy vegetarian fare. "We're not a bar or a restaurant, or a pure coffee shop. We're an amalgamation of all three."

Shapiro shares the details with an energy that conveys measured excitement. However, the more he elucidates on the features of his new business and everything that has gone into it, the broader his smile and the livelier his brown eyes.

As we pour over the urban aesthetics of the Repp Design Construction plans, Shapiro points out the coffee, bar and kitchen areas, the loft, and the layout of the seating. "There will be individual counter seating; we're going to have a seven foot community table built by my friend Raj Helweg and have lounge chairs and sofas. We're making a lot of furniture ourselves, but we're also buying a lot of mid-century vintage stuff." Notching up the cool factor is a 1963 Wurlitzer jukebox, with tunes for free, and patio seating along 5th Avenue.

Shapiro makes it clear how important it is to him to utilize local talent and is employing Tucson's artist community to decorate and build out the space. Contributors include: Troy Neiman making a hanging bike rack and a table made of bike parts, Ezequiel Leoni building a 20 foot window bar facing Congress Street, Travis Edgar constructing a writer's table.

"If you want a story Jamie, here's the story - do you know how hard it is to get reclaimed wood?" Shapiro says they bought 480 board feet of Wisconsin barn wood from a man far south on Nogales Highway. "It is gorgeous, and weathered, and mostly red and there is still some hardware in planks. We are using that throughout the space."

While the layout is certainly unique, what customers won't get anywhere else in Tucson is the Blue Bottle Coffee Sparkroot is set to serve. Shapiro looked at local options and loved them, but went with the San Francisco based company because it "is at the very leading edge of specialty coffee."

The beer and wine selections will feature quality options priced for everyone. "All wine is going to be $5 a glass, all day, no specials. I don't want to serve a $9 glass of wine; I don't want to serve a $7 glass of wine. And then all beer will be $4 a bottle."

When it comes to the menu, Shapiro promises healthful options of homemade granola and whole food bars, Panini sandwiches, soups, hummus and more. "Basically, simple fare done with a lot of care and
creativity." :cheers:

[Anqrew]

Hotel, apartment, bridge deal in works for freeway frontage
July 01, 2011 Downtown Tucsonan By Teya Vitu

Downtown stalwarts Peach Properties will likely get the nod to build a hotel, apartments and a new Greyhound terminal along the freeway frontage road between Congress and Cushing streets.

The Peach proposal would be the largest Downtown development in terms of acreage since the federal courthouse was built in the late 1990s.

Peach Properties owner Ron Schwabe proposes a 120-room hotel designed by local architecture firm FORSarchitecture+interiors, which has designed several Downtown interiors. Schwabe also proposed a 340-unit apartment structure, 50,000 square feet of commercial, and 1 acre dedicated to transit, likely a permanent Greyhound terminal to replace the temporary Greyhound station already in place on the property.

Full Article: http://www.downtowntucson.org/news/?p=3337

[Anqrew]

@Thirsty
No new photos lately, the city has live webcams though, i usually check the "downtown east" one.

http://cms3.tucsonaz.gov/camera

[ComplotDesigner]

Student Housing Pressures Tucson Neighborhood

Story By Luis Carrión
July 6, 2011

Student populations at the University of Arizona have grown consistently for several years, and demand for housing has exceeded the number of available units. This market force has led Houston-based Residential Housing Development to plan a 756-bed complex on East Sixth Street just west of North Fourth Avenue. The project is under construction in the long-vacant lot formerly occupied by the old YMCA.

The District, as the project is named, falls under the city of Tucson’s Infill Incentive initiative, which seeks to promote high-density housing in the urban core. However, area residents are uneasy about the implications of such a large influx of students.

Jennifer O’Conner, a longtime resident of the neighborhood, and a member of the West University Neighborhood Association, says developers met with residents but only after city approval of the project.

John Sedwick, executive director of the Fourth Avenue Merchants Association, says having a 756-bedroom facility so close will be a boon for merchants. He understands the resident’s concerns, but he thinks the size of The District makes sense.

“We have a lot of open space in this urban area, and the infill is good,” Sedwick says. “It will help downtown grow, revitalize, and it will help us stay healthy.”

http://media.azpm.org/master/image/2011/7/6/spot/070611_Student_Housing_PKG_617_347_1.jpg
Photo: AZPM

Artist's rendering of a student housing development being started on East Sixth Street near North Fourth Avenue.

These are the empty lots around the area.

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/1967/thedistrict.jpg

[Azstar]

Karen Uhlich will probably get this project canned and put in more subsidized low income housing. That's her vision for downtown. Regina Romero would favor a skate park and graffiti wall.

[andrewsaturn]

I was wondering why there were steel railings coming out in front of the Plaza Centro garage looking north and I sensed and imagined it be for a cool screen :cool:. It will be a cool screen but I imagined it as a video screen like the ones you see when driving north on I-10 heading into phoenix. But I guess having some type of artistic screen works. Here is a update from the architect's blog site:


"Just a quick update from our Plaza Centro Construction Site: The Garage is nearing completion, steel for the Arcade and the two big GreenScreens / Art installations is now going in. The screen on the southwest corner is going to be transformed by a large scale public art installation by local Tucson artist Daniel Martin Diaz - the piece will stand as a widely visible focus point and frame the historic downtown entertainment district at the north end of Congress street.

Check back next week for a sneak preview of Daniel’s work when the pieces go up!"


http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZKHQpUMBDCA/Tg1D8RCM00I/AAAAAAAAAGE/2SFyzdCnjyI/s1600/Blog+Pic+%257C+Tucson+Site-steel.jpg

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JxBpQ31o258/Tg1D7pSDjhI/AAAAAAAAAGA/wZe4kqG2vVg/s1600/Blog+Pic+%257C+Tucson+Paseo+render.jpg

Actual Webpage:aiarchitects.blogspot.com/

[ComplotDesigner]

UofA dorms in the corner of Euclid & 6th St.

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/9786/img0014de.jpg

http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/3831/img0013xa.jpg

[Ritarancher]

UofA dorms in the corner of Euclid & 6th St.

http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/9786/img0014de.jpg

http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/3831/img0013xa.jpg

the dorms look nice
:tup:

[andrewsaturn]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2Wp-UH8szwA/TiTxoW5EzbI/AAAAAAAAAGU/e_-_CUV77ow/s1600/Blog+Pic+%257C+Plaza+Centro+Art+-Installation+1.jpg

"Installation on the Plaza Centro screens has begun! The first art panels have been installed - they are inserted into a larger screen of metal mesh that will support climbing vines - eventually the art panels will float like medallions in a wall of green. We worked with Tucson based Landscape Architect Lisa Ribes and consulted with various other local experts to ensure that the selected plants will withstand the intense Arizona summers.
The flowers of Yellow Orchid Vines and Tangerine Trumpet Creeper will reflect and complement the paint accents of the projects color scheme. Check back soon to see pictures of the main art piece on the corner of Congress Street and the new 4th Street underpass."

I can't wait until it is complete. The designs are great!

[andrewsaturn]

Cushing Street Bridge will have 1920s flair with touches of 2010s
July 12, 2011 (5:59 pm) | Permanent Link

By Teya Vitu

Much more often than not, bridges are meant to rush over without the slightest consideration given as a destination.

The Golden Gate Bridge stands apart, as does the new bridge at Hoover Dam.

The new Cushing Street Bridge that will span the Santa Cruz River could well be more a destination than even a way for cars, bikes, the streetcar and pedestrians to get across the dry riverbed.

This Cushing Street Bridge will evoke the 1930s. Those who remember the old Congress Street Bridge that came down in the early 1970s will see a very familiar sight. Those who don’t can check out the balustrades on the Stone Avenue Underpass, which were replicated for the Cushing bridge.

Four wide staircases will lead down to the river. Slanted, triangular canopies will flair to the west to provide shade for pedestrians. Art and history will decorate the bridge at street and riverbed levels.

“Bridges are around for 50 to 75 years,” said Claudia Perchinelli, principal at Structural Grace, the Tucson bridge engineering firm that designed the bridge. “Bridges impact the environment. Our goal is to leave it looking better.”

“This bridge was seen as a significant gateway to the West Side,” said the bridge’s architect, David Dobler, also at Structural Grace. “We believe every site has integral history.”

Construction of the two-span, 310-foot-long concrete girder bridge will start in earnest the week of July 18.

The groundbreaking ceremony will take place Thursday, July 14, at 8:30 a.m. near the west bank of the Santa Cruz River. Take West Congress Street to Avenido del Convento (Mercado San Agustin), turn south and continue until you see an event tent on the bare landscape.

The Cushing Street Bridge is slated to open to traffic in August 2012. Originally planned to feed into the canceled Tucson Origins museum complex, the bridge for now will primarily service the luxury housing Mercado District of Menlo Park, its adjacent Mercado San Agustin and the nine-block Mission District yet to be built.

The 40-acre Origins site has no committed plans these days but the acreage just about matches the size of the Downtown core.

“We are linking the opportunity for a new Downtown with the old Downtown,” Tucson Transportation Department Director Jim Glock said.

The bridge will be Tucson’s most striking automotive bridge and the third iconic Downtown bridge erected this century, along with the Rattlesnake and Basket bridges that primarily serve bicyclists.

It will have 8-foot-wide sidewalks on each side, separated from vehicles by traffic barriers with benches built into the pedestrian side. 5-foot-wide bicycle lanes will go each way, and cars and streetcar tracks will share the single 12-foot-wide lane going each direction.

The bridge is aligned 22º39′ askew from the river bed in a southeast to northwest slant. Designers learned by chance that this alignment was only half a degree off from where the sun rises and sets on the summer solstice, June 21.

“We determined we needed to respond to the sun in some way in the design of the bridge,” Dobler said. “We needed to have shade structures.”

Dobler found a way to bring the sun and shade canopies together to create sidewalk history and art.

The six, green shade canopies above each sidewalk will appear as ship’s sails, 8 feet wide and 10 feet above the sidewalk at one end and tapering down to a near point over its 75-foot upward journey ending 23 feet higher than the sidewalk,

The canopies will be perforated with small cottonwood leaf patterns, and at each base will be a cut-out of a historic image such as a propeller or railroad spike that will project onto the sidewalk below.

On the sidewalk below each canopy, a historic image will be sandblasted, such as a streetcar or the Phoenix Mars Lander.

The canopy and sidewalk art were engineered so that the canopy image projects onto the sidewalk image at a precise time on the historic date each year each year described in a panel at each sidewalk image. The will detail the historic event and provide the time when the project image will overlap.

The artwork is by Brenda Semanick, also collaborating with Structural Grace. You will find her touches all over the bridge, above and below.

On the sidewalk, along with the historic images, there will also be sandblasted cottonwood leaves. Much larger cottonwood leaves - up to 5 feet - will be blasted into the bridge abutments above a layer of volcanic rock veneer.

More cottonwood leaves will appear on the retaining walls along the for stairways heading down to the river, and Semanick will also embed ceramic pot shards into the steps. The staircases start at 8 feet wide at the stop and spread out to 15.5 feet by the bottom.

“They are kind of like a grand staircase or terrace steps,” Dobler said.

The two piers will be sandblasted with fish and fowl that once inhabited the river when it flowed year-round. Bats will be sandblasted into the pier caps under the bridge.

All the artwork was a collaboration between artist, designers, residents in the Menlo Park, Barrio Sin Nombre and Kroeger Lane neighborhoods, city leaders and the Tucson-Pima Arts Council.

Design features from the 1920s are all over the Cushing Street Bridge, most markedly with the balustrade railings with the many small arches and the ribs that carry the cantilevered sidewalks that project beyond the piers that hold up the bridge.

The historic design perfectly bridges the history on both sides of the river, where much of the Menlo Park neighborhood dates from the 1890s to 1910s, and Downtown east of Stone Avenue is nearly intact 1910s and 1920s.

Dobler researched Congress Street bridges spanning that era. An iron girder bridge with timber at each end was first built in 1907 but washed out in 1915.

A concrete, two-span arch bridge with cantilevered balustrades was built in 1922-27 and stood until it was replaced in the 1970s by the non-descript modern Congress Street Bridge in place now.

They did extensive research of the old bridge and found everything the city and Arizona Historical Society had. They found no balustrade details and so deferred to the next best thing, the Stone Avenue Underpass.

“The balustrades look like the same precast molds used on the Stone Avenue underpass,” Dobler said. “We went over there to make templates of the shapes.”

The Stone Avenue underpass opened in 1935.

The Cushing Street bridge has gone through several major design overhauls as well as drastic changes in proposed funding. Three years ago, Rio Nuevo funds were earmarked for the bridge.

The combined collapse of Rio Nuevo and emergence of President Obama’s stimulus package shifted the bridge’s funding from Rio Nuevo to Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which will supply $9.3 million. The construction bid amount is $6.4 million but that does not include city administrative costs.

The bridge is budgeted for up to $15 million.

“We have adequate budget to cover the costs and any eventuality,” Glock said.

These are the historic images sandblasted into the sidewalks and the corresponding cut-out images projected through the canopies by sunlight:

1. February 19, 1910

Pavement: Charles “the Bird Man” Hamilton flies first plane in Tucson
Sunlight projection: Propeller

2. February 21, 1925

Pavement: La Fiesta de los Vaqueros, First Rodeo Parade

Projection: Spur and horseshoe

3. March 20, 1880

Pavement: Southern Pacific Railroad, first train in Tucson

Projection: Railroad spike

4. April 10, 1983

Pavement: First Mariachi Conference with Mariachi Cobre, Los Changuitos Feos, Lalo Guerrero

Projection: Guitar, trumpet, hat

5. May 25, 2008

Pavement: UA Phoenix Mars Mission landing

Projection: The symbol for Mars

6. June 24

Pavement: St. John for El Dia de San Juan

Projection: Rain

7. July 3

Pavement: A poem by Ofilia Zepeda honoring the average day for the first monsoon

Projection: A saguaro harvester

8. August 20, 1775

Pavement: Etching of Presidio San Agustin

Projection: A Bell

9. October 26, 1775

Pavement: Bautista de Anza, 2nd Expedition

Projection: Colonial Spanish flag

10. Pavement: Tucson Pressed Brick Company

Projection: T.P.B.C.O

11. 1705

Pavement: Father Kino-Pimeria Alta Map-first published in France

Projection: Tower of San Xavier del Bac

12. Nov. 19, 1897

Pavement: First streetcar

Projection: Overhead cable pattern

Here's a link from Kvoa.com about the start of the construction of the bridge :

http://www.kvoa.com/news/groundbreaking-for-cushing-street-bridge/

http://www.structuralgrace.com/projects/large/cushing1.jpg

[andrewsaturn]

http://www.collegefootballfansite.com/images/fansubmitted/IMG_0122.JPG

http://cdn0.sbnation.com/entry_photo_images/1578282/Picture_4_large.png

Construction is nearing completion and the video scoreboard itself is being shipped over from China and should get to Tucson and put up by the first game against NAU Sept 3.

[somethingfast]

So a "leading" American research university -- one that champions itself in all things optical, no less -- can't f**king get a scoreboard built domestically? Wtf? We're doomed....

[ComplotDesigner]

While I was riding the bus I took these pics of Plaza Garage Centro (7/20/11)

http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/236/img0020pg.jpg

http://img849.imageshack.us/img849/2453/img0021ncd.jpg

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/8953/img0022ke.jpg

[Thirsty]

So a "leading" American research university -- one that champions itself in all things optical, no less -- can't f**king get a scoreboard built domestically? Wtf? We're doomed....

Big TV's aren't the kind of optics they do. Besides, I'm sitting here looking at my BASEBALL GLOVE that reads "Made in Philippines" down the thumb.

I bet they make our apple pies too!

It wouldn't be 100% American if it weren't manufactured overseas. :)

[somethingfast]

^ Yes, I know the UofA is renowned for a different kind of optics however the point stands. We can't continue to enjoy our past levels of prosperity whilst importing all of our electronics in exchange for manufacturing overpaid sports stars....or something like that.

[Thirsty]

^ Yes, I know the UofA is renowned for a different kind of optics however the point stands. We can't continue to enjoy our past levels of prosperity whilst importing all of our electronics in exchange for manufacturing overpaid sports stars....or something like that.

More importantly, when it comes to science and manufacturing, our water supply limits the industries Arizona can grow. This sounds like a water-reasonable business to grow, and why not expand the meaning of Optics Valley?

Remember, Tucson's street car may not have happened if we hadn't promised to buy domestically. Maybe that same sentiment would drive this industry.

Makes more sense than Slim-Fast anyhow.

[somethingfast]

I wasn't looking for a logical debate but you actually made a good point about water-intensive industries -- good call. Yes, I doubt optics is water-intensive although I don't know jacksh*t about it, so who knows? Can't be more water-intensive than copper-mining!

More to your point about the street car: YES, make it mandatory that public funds go to DOMESTIC solutions. Stupid f**king bureaucrats everywhere...argh.

[Thirsty]

On the subject of local industry...

Why isn't Tucson a player in the film industry. I know Westerns were dead, and forget the marginal comeback; we've got a resort city (and a burned down sound stage) a six hour drive from LA.

Both television and movie studios travel to New Mexico, the Carolinas and Canada to film. Apart from the tax benefits (easily fixed in a heavily right leaning state), what do those places offer?

[andrewsaturn]

Courtesy of KOLD news. This photo is from July 13, 2011

http://media.dtsph.com/sites/kold.com/files/imagecache/story615/img_3878.jpg

http://media.dtsph.com/sites/kold.com/files/imagecache/story615/img_3874.jpg

UA student housing moves forward:

"A new student dormitory project at the site of the old YMCA on North Fifth Avenue, is moving ahead toward a projected 2012 occupancy date.

The dorm, designed to house over 700 students, will have a swimming pool and dedicated parking. It is one of three projects in the works to alleviate dormitory waiting lists for new students.

The new West University Neighborhood facility will be called "The District". After it closed, the old YMCA enjoyed a short life as an artist studio building, but was subsequently demolished because of high maintenance costs.

The residence hall will be located one block away from the Old Pueblo Trolley line, itself slated for a $63 million upgrade thanks to a grant from the US Department of Transportation." By Bill Morrow

[andrewsaturn]

Sparkroot will serve acclaimed Blue Bottle Coffee
July 28, 2011 (10:27 am) | Permanent Link

By Teya Vitu

Specialty coffee, served quite exclusively in a few San Francisco spots and in the Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn, will come to Downtown Tucson as the signature beverage at Sparkroot, Ari Shapiro’s newest coffee house venture two doors down from his Xoom Juice, both at 245 E. Congress St.

Shapiro hopes to open Sparkroot on Aug.8.

Shapiro hooked up with Blue Bottle Coffee Co. in Oakland, Calif., to introduce Arizona to a coffee that is the rage of the Bay Area, the New York Times and Los Angeles Times magazines, and deemed one of the best coffees in America in GQ magazine.

Shapiro’s not arguing that proclamation.

He got his first Blue Bottle taste a year ago at the company’s coffee bar in the Ferry Building on San Francisco’s Embarcadero.

“I was floored,” Shapiro said. “The execution. The taste. Blue Bottle is very robust and rich without any bitterness.”

Blue Bottle has five company coffee bars and Shapiro is one of their 135 wholesalers. Only 10 are outside California and Sparkroot will be the first Arizona purveyor of the Blue Bottle coffee.

Shapiro, himself from San Francisco, is not at all the reticent type, but he was hesitant to approach Blue Bottle.

“When Sparkroot was coming to fruition, I didn’t contact them because I didn’t think they would work with me,” he said. “It was the bottom of the ninth and two outs, and I decided to go for it. One morning I woke up and wrote an email but didn’t hear back right away. Finally I heard back. We set up a meeting. Truly, I knew this would be a good relationship. I’ll give you one word: simpatico.”

Ends up Shapiro and Blue Bottle wholesale director Luisa Alberto were quite simpatico.

“Ari and I share the same values,” Alberto said. “He came out here and spent a few days with us. Not every wholesaler does that.”

What Alberto means is very few wholesalers gather up their baristas and head up to Blue Bottle’s Oakland roastery to learn the fine art of grinding and brewing, even serving, Blue Bottle coffee.

“It was easy to feel early on that he was committed to be a partner of something different,” Alberto said. “We look for someone willing to go above and beyond.”

Sparkroot is an Ari Shapiro vision, but the Blue Bottle Coffee element is an equal player at Sparkroot.

“They are not just a vendor. They are a partner,” Shapiro said.

Alberto concurs: “There is always a very direct connection to us as a company. He wanted to find someone who will support him.”

Blue Bottle Coffee is part of what Shapiro describes as the Third Wave of Coffee after the “cup of Joe” of old and Starbucks of the past 20 years.

“The Third Wave is a very large emphasis on the artisan specialty aspect of coffee through the critical steps of procurement, roasting and they are very particular about the equipment they use,” Shapiro said. “Everything we’re doing here is manual. The fourth step is execution and service. There’s a lot of training. We spent three whole days at their roastery.”

Blue Bottle was launched nine years ago and is the rare coffeemaker to pay prominent homage to the 1683 siege of Vienna, which introduced the coffeehouse concept to Central Europe. The Turks laid siege to Vienna and left behind coffee beans in their hurried retreat, and immediately the first coffeehouse sprouted in Vienna: the Blue Bottle.

What all this will add up to at Sparkroot is a coffee house in Downtown Tucson that will reflect a European and Bay Area ethos.

The European coffee house - especially the tradition of the Viennese coffee house - follows the ideal that a coffee house is a hang out, where you can lounge for hours, if you wish, and turning tables is not the goal.

“A common gathering spot is particularly important for Downtown,” Shapiro said. “Downtown needs to reflect an urban sensibility. It hopefully adds greatly to the other side of the scale. The last few years have been great for development. We need people to partake. The more opportunities there are to feel comfortable in the urban environment, that’s the fulfillment of the equation.”

Anyone familiar with Shapiro and his Xoom Juice operation knows he is zealous about fruit and healthy eating. How does he square that with a coffee house?

“Coffee is a fruit,” he proclaims. “It flowers. It’s harvested as a fruit. Then it’s roasted. They say it’s not healthy because people become addicted to caffeine. What’s unhealthy is when you drink six cups a day and load it up with sugar, cream and whipped cream.

“Sparkroot is a complete health twist on a coffee shop. You’re going to get a purist cup of coffee. We will have natural sugar, a brown sugar; a good quality milk, a soy milk and almond milk. Nothing with high fructose corn syrup.”

No artificial sweeteners. Sorry.

Sparkroot will offer espresso, two standard choices of coffee plus a rotating single origin variety.

“On the food side, we aren’t going to have any of the heavy butter based pastry [The Viennese author of this article protests],” Shapiro said. “We have whole food bars. We are making our own granola bars. We have a yogurt selection. We call it light fare. Everything’s going to be small plates. You can have bruschetta at night, a nut butter sandwich at lunch, and a granola bar for breakfast.”

Sparkroot’s corner spot in the One North Fifth Apartments commercial strip has a 24-foot ceiling, allowing Shapiro to build a small mezzanine level. Black hot rolled steel dominates, contrasted with light colored furniture, all made from scratch or vintage.

“I call it rough around the cutting edge,” Shapiro said.

Sparkroot can seat 70 people.

Shapiro launched Xoom Juice 10 years ago in October and now has three stores, including the Downtown store he opened in October 2009 two doors down from Sparkroot. Xoom Juice fills his day plenty. He had no need to expand into another concept.

“It’s part of my DNA,” he said about his serial entrepreneurship. “This idea took root in my mind a couple years ago and I couldn’t shake it. As it evolved in my mind, the opportunity presented itself to lease that space. Xoom Juice is turning 10. I felt I was ready for a new chapter.”

Shapiro did not have a grand plan to have Xoom Juice and Sparkroot in the same commercial strip at the foot of the One North Fifth Apartment, a built-in customer base.

“The idea centered around warehouse places with open areas,” he said. “I made myself an offer I couldn’t refuse to make this happen, to go for it.”

Shapiro has watched the Downtown renaissance unfold outside his door the past 18 months. That’s what sold him on bringing Sparkroot to Congress and Fifth Avenue.

“The pivot point,” he called it. “The changing of the guard. The turning of the leaf. This city was getting past the Rio Nuevo debacle and looking at another way to revitalize Downtown. The recovery was relying less on civic enterprise and more on private enterprise. I think seeing both those things align really solidified my belief that something is and will continue to happen Downtown.

“Being Downtown has given me a front row seat for the change afoot. I sensed this burgeoning community needed a community coffee shop.”

[andrewsaturn]

The seven acre expansion will provide an introduction to the culture of East Africa and the important work being done to protect wildlife. Guests will be able to explore the winding pathways, find clues which will provide insight into the lives of animals, and discover the excitement of seeing elephants in an expansive habitat.

Key Features:
A 9 foot deep pool that has already been dug and concreted.
Walls of the elephant care center are up and this state-of-the-art facility will have three animal areas, each large enough to hold a bull elephant and equally comfortable for females and their babies. This facility will also provide opportunities for very special behind-the-scenes tours in a safe environment.
An elephant training wall–the first of its kind in the US–where visitors interact with the elephants as they work with their keepers.
A mud wallow where elephants will spend time playing and interacting.
A large patio where children and adults alike can explore a number of hands-on activities and displays to learn about both the physical characteristics of elephants and their important in our world.

http://www.zoochat.com/gallery/data/1244/IMG_19261.JPG
Courtesy of zoochat.com
Here's a link to the website:

http://www.zoochat.com/819/model-new-elephant-exhibit-205930/

http://media.azpm.org/master/image/2010/8/2/spot/park-model-expedition-tanzania.jpg

[Teacher_AZ_84]

The project on 6th and at the zoo are nice to see get built. I just hope no more animals die....

[Ritarancher]

The project on 6th and at the zoo are nice to see get built. I just hope no more animals die....

yes. unfortunately the people who work at our zoo are stupid. and our animals are rapidly aging. local endangered species such as the mt. Graham squirell are being moved to phoenix. and zoo keepers feed animals bad stuff...

[Teacher_AZ_84]

yes. unfortunately the people who work at our zoo are stupid. and our animals are rapidly aging. local endangered species such as the mt. Graham squirell are being moved to phoenix. and zoo keepers feed animals bad stuff...

How many animals have we lost in the past year and a half? 6 or 7? I do understand that these animals are older, but the last death was just totally avoidable.

[Teacher_AZ_84]

Any Tucson forumers ever want to do a meet up?

[andrewsaturn]

[QUOTE=Teacher_AZ_84;5364111]How many animals have we lost in the past year and a half? 6 or 7? I do understand that these animals are older, but the last death was just totally avoidable.[/QUOTE

Wow! I didn't know we lost that much....:( But I agree, the most poisonous plant in the zoo was just carelessly left out of the employee booklet or something...:shrug:

[andrewsaturn]

Any Tucson forumers ever want to do a meet up?

That would be nice...but for what? :D:cheers:

[BrandonJXN]

That would be nice...but for what? :D:cheers:

Tater tots and pesto sause at The Grill! Oh how I miss that place. 3 am food after IBT's was the best.

[azliam]

Tater tots and pesto sause at The Grill! Oh how I miss that place. 3 am food after IBT's was the best.

Awww...I miss that place too. Don't really miss IBT's though...that place has really changed.

[Teacher_AZ_84]

Awww...I miss that place too. Don't really miss IBT's though...that place has really changed.


LOL, I don't remember IBTs too much. I was always drunk when I went in and drunker when I came out. No Los Betos or IHOP at 3?

[Teacher_AZ_84]

That would be nice...but for what? :D:cheers:

Uhhh, I dunno...meet people who actually want to see Tucson grow.