Tucson Development Thread

[kaneui]

Another casualty of the housing downturn, local developer Mike Teufel's Pathway company had been a partner with Bert Lopez' HSL Properties to redevelop the Santa Rita Hotel downtown (still shuttered with no plans on the horizon):



http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/AldeadelReyunfinished.jpg
A shattered window opens on to a scene of abandonment and neglect at Aldea del Rey, an unfinished Pathway project on the Southeast Side.
(photo: Arizona Daily Star)


Buyers, investors left in lurch as builder fails
Once-acclaimed Pathway abandons big projects across city
By Christie Smythe
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
08.31.2008

At the peak of his success, developer Michael F. Teufel had acclaimed projects all over Tucson, earning praise for innovative designs and community accolades for business growth. Then things went bad. Now, Pathway projects across Tucson sit unfinished or with residents complaining of poor workmanship. While Teufel blames the downturn in the housing market, others blame him.

A Southeast Side town-home complex, Aldea del Rey, is blemished by partially built homes overgrown with weeds. Another project, Sky Ranch in Marana, shows scars from cracking stucco on many houses. Two Midtown condominium developments, Placita Escondida and Stone Crossing, remain incomplete, with fencing up around vacant buildings. At a Pathway custom-home project in a posh Catalina Foothills development, at least two lots were abandoned by the builder after no work except hole-digging. In cases where homes are unfinished, buyers say they lost from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars in upfront payments. Other buyers whose homes were completed have laundry lists of repairs, including leaking windows, ceiling fans with no switches and hot tubs that don't heat up. "I think they bit off more than they could chew," said Sky Ranch buyer Lucia Zegarski, who is dealing with stucco cracks.

Although the company hasn't filed for bankruptcy, it has effectively collapsed in the past year. "Pathway is going to go out of business," Teufel said. In a brief telephone interview, he blamed the housing slowdown. But many builders and developers have suffered through the housing slowdown without generating the same volume of complaints. Nearly 40 complaints against Pathway have been filed with the state Registrar of Contractors in the last few years, an unusually high number, said agency spokesman Brian Livingston. Pathway's license was suspended by the registrar in May. More than two dozen lawsuits have also been filed against Teufel or Pathway by home buyers, subcontractors, lenders and investors — some of whom allege Teufel either stole funds or shifted assets to avoid payment. A few projects have been taken out of Teufel's hands and placed under court-appointed control.

Meanwhile, people who bought homes from Teufel are finding they have limited recourse. Buyers who filed lawsuits are giving up, assuming Pathway has no money to cover any judgment they might win against the company. Payouts from a state recovery fund, available to those who filed complaints with the Registrar of Contractors, are capped at $200,000 per licensee, Livingston said. Each of the roughly 40 complaints seeks from thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. "Hopefully, there will be some funds available when we get the claims submitted," said Larry Aronow, who paid $512,000 for a home that needs about $50,000 in repairs.

100 homes at a time
Founded as a custom home-builder in 1993, Pathway Developments took off in the early 2000s, said Mark Mansheim, the company's former chief operating officer. Mansheim worked for Pathway from 2000 to 2005 and watched the company grow from handling just a handful of homes to developing as many as 100 at a time. "There weren't enough hours in the day to keep up with the work," Mansheim said. He described Teufel as "a great visionary" and "very charismatic."

Rapid expansion earned the company a Wells Fargo Copper Cactus Award in 2003. The company handled both residential and commercial projects. In 2004, Teufel pitched an ambitious $40 million renovation of Downtown's Santa Rita Hotel, but it fell through. The growth became difficult to juggle, Mansheim said. Disagreements between Teufel and his wife, Jennifer, who later divorced, also disrupted the work environment, he said. Ultimately, "I couldn't handle the stress anymore," Mansheim said.

Complaints pile up
In 2006, complaints and lawsuits against Pathway over construction delays and poor workmanship started to accumulate. One buyer, Preston Schrader, paid $38,000 in deposits to Pathway in 2005 for a home and waited for more than a year without seeing construction begin. Finally, he filed suit, hoping to recover the deposit. But he ended up losing in arbitration because the contract did not specify when work would start, Schrader said. Judy Westin filed a complaint about her unfinished Aldea del Rey town home after trying numerous times to contact Pathway. The property is partially built and "growing tumbleweeds all around it," said Westin, who lives in Tennessee.
"Of course, we would just like to have the money back that we put down," Westin said. "It's very sad."

A real estate agent who represented Pathway, Scott Niles, said the developer fell behind in the boom, then hit the brunt of the slowdown. "The market was so quick," he said. Then "everything kind of fell off a cliff." Several other Pathway buyers were reluctant to discuss their complaints for a news story because they feared being sued by Teufel. Teufel said he is "working out a plan" to pay back people harmed by his company's failure but declined to provide details. "I don't know what the plan is at this second," he said.

Questions of fraud
Two suits against Pathway came from investors in high-end projects in Stone Canyon and Sabino Estates. After hiring a forensic accountant, the groups alleged that Teufel took about $5 million from the partnerships. Steven Russo, an attorney who manages both groups, said he is surprised "no investor group stepped forward and sought to raise any criminal complaints" against Teufel for fraud. Russo is hoping to recover the funds through litigation.

In January, National Bank of Arizona sued Teufel for defaults on $6.5 million in loans, alleging that he transferred assets to Jennifer Teufel and to his father, Michael P. Teufel. Other banks have sued Teufel for more than $14 million in unpaid loans. Russo said he suspects Teufel has not filed for bankruptcy protection because he has assets he does not want to disclose in court. Teufel denied that claim but declined to answer whether he is planning a bankruptcy filing. Bankruptcy provides for either an orderly liquidation or reorganization of a company and gives filers relief from pending lawsuits and creditor claims.

A certified bankruptcy attorney unaffiliated with Pathway, Randy Nussbaum of Scottsdale, said corporations in financial distress might decline to file bankruptcy if they cannot afford the filing costs or if they have information they do not want to reveal in federal court. Companies must be candid about their finances or else face penalties for perjury, he said.

Uncertain future
Some of Teufel's developments may wind up in the hands of a former business partner, HSL Properties. HSL Executive Vice President Omar Mireles said his company is buying Pathway's defaulted loans and might take possession of the properties after they enter foreclosure. He declined to specify properties except Midtown developments Stone Crossing and Placita Escondida, which are being transferred to HSL after they were placed under court supervision by a lender. HSL, the owner of the Santa Rita Hotel property Downtown, also took back that redevelopment project last year after Pathway abandoned it. As difficult as things might be for buyers of unfinished homes, Teufel indicated his future also looks grim. "It's just a sad situation for me," he said softly. "I don't have any future plans."

[atbg8654]

I worked on this project when i was a junior at UA...cool to see its finally underway! More details on it go here http://www.uatechpark.org/static/index.cfm?action=group&contentID=72

Work under way on South Side bioscience park, retail development
After much delay, work is started on bioscience park, mixed-use site

By Dan Sullivan
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

09.03.2008

After months of delays and abundant controversy, work is finally under way on a new biosciences park and mixed-use development at East 36th Street and South Kino Parkway.

Work on The Bridges, a 357- acre development that includes the planned Arizona Bioscience Park, a housing development and commercial and retail centers, has begun with the start of a major flood-control project by the Pima County Regional Flood Control District.

"It's the first step to development," said Bruce Wright, associate vice president for economic development at the University of Arizona.
Wright said the flood-control system may take eight to 12 months to complete.

The site's infrastructure will be "development ready" by January 2010, he said.Pima County Flood Control is undertaking a massive earth-moving project that will eventually pipe floodwater under Interstate 10, away from the bioscience park and flood-prone neighborhoods to the west.

The UA has also recently started an application process with the U.S. Department of Commerce to secure funds to improve on-site infrastructure at the biosciences park.

The planned first phase of the bioscience park will include the first six buildings in the southern part of the property, including the main anchor building of a planned hotel and conference center, a five-level parking garage and four multi-tenant office buildings including laboratory space.

The mixed-use project is a collaboration of the UA, Eastbourne Investments Ltd. and its partner, Idaho-based Retail West Properties; and KB Homes.
Backers say the park will create high-tech job opportunities and new educational opportunities with a proposed bioscience high school. The UA says the park is needed to boost commercialization of new technologies and development of new companies.

The project would be the city's largest infill project and the first big urban-core development to mix homes, stores and jobs on a single spot.
But the development has had its share of controversy.

The biggest issue has been a provision in the city's ordinance restricting "big-box" retail development, limiting grocery space to no more than 10 percent of floor space in the stores. After months of political wrangling, the City Council waived the 10 percent grocery restriction in April 2007 to allow for a big-box store — possibly a Wal-Mart — at the site.
Democratic councilman Steve Leal said he is happy to see progress but wishes it had happened sooner.

The development, including the retail center, would alleviate the added burden brought by the economic downturn, Leal said. "We have to maintain our momentum and partnership and surface out of this troubled economy," he said.

John Bremond, regional vice president for KB Homes, said his company is pursuing its housing plans at The Bridges along with other active projects despite the real-estate downturn. "We expect the housing market will recover, and we hope to be a part as it recovers," he said. The project was made possible by a land swap finalized in August 2007 in which 132 acres owned by the UA Science and Technology Park at I-10 and South Rita Road were traded to KB Homes for 65 acres at the bioscience park site on South Kino Parkway.

Officials of Eastbourne Investments, the Bridges partner in charge of retail development, did not return calls seeking comment. But the UA's Wright said, "Eastbourne is moving forward aggressively."

Raphael Gruener, director of technology initiatives at the UA tech park, said the project will help the UA make up a 500,000-square foot deficit in office and lab space. Gruener said the park also will be an important resource to help commercialize intellectual property generated by UA researchers.

[Rive85]

i drove past this the other and saw tractors leveling the desert. i got excited to finally see this project get started...i hope its not a wal mart that gets built there...lol

[kaneui]

Greg Shelko wants to line up an arena operator even before an RFQ goes out for the arena design/construction. However, I remember Garfield Traub--selected as the convention center hotel developer--saying a year or so ago that they have already been chosen by the city as the contractor for the arena, and will take legal action to defend that position. (Of course, given Rio Nuevo's history, no one should be surprised by any of these convoluted steps.)


City in talks with firm to operate new downtown arena
by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
08.29.2008

Rio Nuevo Director Greg Shelko is negotiating with an undisclosed company to operate the Tucson Arena once it is built. Four companies responded in the past 60 days to a request for qualifications to operate the arena. Shelko interviewed two firms this week and chose to negotiate with one. He expects to announce the operator by mid-September.

Shelko is working with the city's procurement department, which turns to Chapter 28-18(4) of the Tucson Procurement Code not to disclose publicly who submitted proposals until the project is awarded. "It's standard operating procedure for us," said Mark Neihart, director of the city procurement department. Shelko and Jaret Barr, City Manager Mike Hein's assistant overseeing the arena project, want to reveal the company. Shelko routinely reveals all proposals, but this time falls under the procurement department's rules because it is facilitating the negotiations.

Shelko wants to sign an arena operator before shopping for a design-build team. "The intent is to find an operator first to get the building program right," said Shelko, referring to how the arena will be used. Shelko will issue a request for qualifications in mid-September for design-build firms that want to design the $130 million arena and build it. He anticipates giving potential applicants 30 to 45 days to respond. "Our goal," he said, "is to start construction of the arena after the gem show in 2010."

[kaneui]

The only downtown condo development under construction has come to a halt, as the developers look for a partner with deep pockets to finish the project or buy it outright:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/44Broadwayview.jpg
Long Realty's Susan Cassidy and her husband, Tom, are in charge of finding buyers for the new condo lofts at 44 E. Broadway.
(photo: Tucson Citizen)



44 Broadway construction stops
Owner of downtown condo project seeks new partner or buyer

byTEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
09.05.2008

Construction has stopped at 44 Broadway Lofts unless general partner James LeBeau finds a financial partner or can sell the former federal courthouse annex for $6 million. The stoppage comes as the six-story 1979 concrete structure at 44 E. Broadway has its entire front facade torn away. LeBeau said his minority partners don't want to put more money into the project and neither does he. "I'm not going to spend any more money until I find a partner or sell it," LeBeau said. "We're just tired of doing this by ourselves. We just want somebody to carry the burden."

LeBeau said the project has cost about $5 million so far and the total estimated cost is $13 million. He's looking for investors to fill the $8 million gap or buy it outright for $6 million. He said the project had no Rio Nuevo subsidies and is privately financed.

The 44 Broadway project is a 30-unit luxury loft complex with 18-foot floor-to-ceiling and wall-to-wall windows on one side. It also includes four penthouse lofts. The design also calls for a street-level restaurant and a swimming pool above the restaurant. A three-month delay in construction of the condo sales office concerned LeBeau. He said he was worried that more construction delays could imperil the project or inconvenience condo buyers. "I want to be able to deliver in a timely fashion once people go under contract," LeBeau said.

His construction loan with Bank of the West requires him to sell 50 percent of the condos ahead of time to complete the loan. He said he would rather have cash up front "so we can go faster" rather than wait on buyers to purchase the first 15 condos. LeBeau acquired the building 3 1/2 years ago and survived a series of partnerships. Construction didn't start until he partnered earlier this year with Jobax, a Phoenix general contractor that came up with a new design with Asian influences.

[kaneui]

Councilwoman Nina Trasoff suggests a parking solution that will allow Madden Media to relocate their headquarters to the MacArthur Building downtown:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/MacArthurBldg-map.png


Madden moving downtown
Media group buys MacArthur Building from the city

by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
09.09.2008

A triangle-shaped parking lot across from the city-owned, triangle-shaped MacArthur Building, 345 E. Toole Ave., provided the solution to reach agreement to sell the 1907 building to Madden Media for $1.7 million. The city, Downtown Tucson Partnership and Madden Media Chief Executive Kevin Madden late Friday worked out parking issues that had earlier broken off negotiations Aug. 20, said Glenn Lyons, the partnership's chief executive who negotiated on behalf of the city.

Madden hopes to move his 80 employees downtown from 1650 E. Fort Lowell Road by July. Madden publishes Tucson Home and Tucson Guide magazines as well as the Metropolitan Tucson Convention & Visitors Bureau's visitors guide and has online marketing campaigns in 37 states.

Madden agreed to pay $10 per space per month for 55 to 60 parking spaces on a paved triangle bounded by Pennington Street, Toole Avenue and Sixth Avenue. Currently used as a TICET shuttle stop, the plot is across Pennington from the MacArthur Building. The deal also involves 15 spaces in the Pennington Street Garage for $30 per space per month rather than the market-rate monthly $85 per space. Both parking arrangements are for 10 years. Lyons recommended ending negotiations with Madden on Aug. 20 after Madden insisted on paying $30 per space for 75 stalls for 30 years in the Pennington Street Garage.

Madden called City Manager Mike Hein and City Councilwoman Nina Trasoff to reopen negotiations. Trasoff suggested the shuttle stop triangle, which used to be a parking lot for city employees. "From the very beginning, parking was the No. 1 concern," Madden said. "It's proximity. Is it affordable and is it safe?" But Madden warned that parking will be an issue any time the city wants to woo a larger employer downtown, and the city may not have a potential lot available across the street. "Here's a question they should answer and the world should know," Madden said. "What's the strategy for the next Madden Media that wants to go downtown? The answer can't be, 'You have to want to be downtown.' " Trasoff answered: "We work with them on a case-by-case basis to see what the needs are and our ability to meet their needs."

The sale still requires City Council approval, which Lyons anticipates Sept. 30 or Oct. 7. Madden said he gave consideration to the Foothills Mall and Wilmot Road for relocation but settled on downtown because of its central location for his employees, who live as far out as Continental Ranch on the Northwest Side and Vail on the Southeast Side. Trasoff said Madden Media will give downtown a national company. "I think it's tremendously important," Trasoff said. "It's a homegrown company and it's known nationally. They made a choice to be downtown."

[ScottsdaleDevil]

While Tucson twiddles its thumbs, its northwest suburbs are aggressively courting its cultural attractions--Marana is contemplating a new MLB spring training complex, while Oro Valley could snag a Tucson Museum of Art satellite:



http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Maranaspringtrainingsite.png http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Maranagravelpitsite.jpg
A 600-acre parcel now dominated by two gravel pits is the proposed site for a mixed-use development that would include a new baseball complex for spring training.
(photo: Jim Davis / Arizona Daily Star)



Site of 2 gravel pits in Marana area proposed for spring-training complex
Development could have 2-team stadium, 16-field practice facility, hotel, golf course

By Brian J. Pedersen
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
08.07.2008

The impending departure of the Chicago White Sox has left spring training baseball in Tucson in a hole. But a local developer is proposing to use an actual hole in the ground to stop the major-league migration out of town by building a new baseball complex on the Northwest Side. A 600-acre parcel west of Interstate 10, between Orange Grove and Sunset roads — now dominated by two gravel pits — could be the perfect spot for a mixed-use development that would include a two-team baseball stadium and a 16-field practice facility, developer David Graham said he believes. The development would also include a resort hotel and an 18-hole golf course built into a pit that is still being mined by property owner CPC Southwest Materials Inc.

Local officials and community leaders would like to recruit more teams to Tucson, but their efforts have been hampered by the lack of facilities. "I'm a great believer in turning something ugly into something beautiful," said Graham, who is operating under the name of Orange Sunset Management LLC. "Both of those pits are not the nicest things to look at. The owners would like to do something with those two holes in the ground. " Graham, who was the creative force behind converting a former gravel pit at Continental Ranch into what is now the Pines Golf Club at Marana, said building baseball fields in a 20-foot-deep pit will allow the slopes of the pit to be incorporated into the design as natural viewing areas for spectators.

The site is on land currently within Marana, unincorporated Pima County and Tucson, going from north to south respectively. Graham said he believes this is a plus for the project because it would require all three entities to be involved in the planning. "This is a regional problem that requires a regional solution," said Graham, noting he has had informal discussions with officials from each government. "All three jurisdictions are aware of this project at varying levels," he said.

A regional effort to keep spring-training baseball alive in Southern Arizona has been under way since November 2006, when the White Sox announced they were breaking their lease at Tucson Electric Park to move into a new two-team complex in Glendale in 2009 or 2010. In April, the Pima County Board of Supervisors approved the formation of the Pima County Sports and Tourism Authority. The group, made up of local business and community leaders, has been looking for ways to keep the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Colorado Rockies from following the White Sox out of town, in addition to seeking additional major-league teams to train here. That group is trying to get the state Legislature to pass a bill authorizing a county election on a sales tax to fund renovations to TEP and Hi Corbett Field and for the construction of new facilities.

A bill was introduced late in the last legislative session but was not brought up for a vote. The gravel pit location is the second potential stadium site proposed by private developers. The first, identified in March, was suggested for northwest of the I-10/Tangerine Road interchange on land owned by Colorado-based MSP Properties, though owner Marcus Palkowitsch said no formal plans for a stadium exist. "We haven't put any pen to paper," Palkowitsch said. Although both proposed sites fall either partially or entirely within Marana, that doesn't mean Marana is the only place with options for a new stadium, Sports and Tourism Authority Chairman Tom Tracy said. It just means private landowners in that area have been the first to come forward with ideas.

"At some point, after our funding is in place, we're going to reach out to any and all people who would like to make a proposal," said Tracy, who spoke to the Marana Town Council Tuesday night during a special meeting to discuss spring training. "We are excited that Marana wants to be a part of the solution." Marana's extensive freeway frontage, much of which is still undeveloped, makes the town an ideal spot for a baseball complex, Marana Mayor Ed Honea said. "It's really about location," Honea said. "Spring training teams like the idea of being on I-10. You can drive from Tempe to Tangerine Road in an hour and 15 minutes." The Orange Grove/Sunset project could be done as early as 2011, Graham said, assuming all agreements needed for the development were in place by the end of this year or early in 2009. That includes getting the Regional Transportation Authority to move up its timetable for extending Sunset west from I-10 to Silverbell Road and building a bridge over the Santa Cruz River. That project is currently slated to begin no earlier than 2017.

Graham's development would also likely require bank protection work to be done on parts of the Santa Cruz and Rillito rivers and the Cañada del Oro Wash, all of which run through the property. Graham said no formal talks have occurred on that subject. "That's one of the items on the list," he said. The county is aware of the gravel pit idea, but no formal presentation has been made to county officials, County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said. Huckelberry said he doesn't know whether the project is a viable option. "Anything is possible," Huckelberry said. "I just view it as another development proposal right now." City of Tucson officials did not return calls made by the Star for comment.




Oro Valley courts Tucson Museum of Art
By Lourdes Medrano
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
08.07.2008

Oro Valley officials are working on an incentive package that might entice the Tucson Museum of Art to expand to the town. "We've identified six sites, some public, some private," said Town Manager David Andrews, who declined to divulge the locations. "We just need to look at the feasibility of those and determine what the museum of art's level of interest might be." On Friday, Mayor Paul Loomis, Andrews, other town officials and area business leaders met with Robert Knight, the museum's executive director. Knight plans to make a formal presentation to the Town Council at its Sept. 3 regular meeting, said Oro Valley spokeswoman Mary Davis.

Museum officials also have visited Marana, but the town does not have a proposal in the works, said spokesman Rodney Campbell. Although it's premature to talk about specific plans to attract the museum, Andrews said, one option may be for the town to provide land to the museum while the private sector makes its own contribution. "It could be that the private sector might want to put together some funding and then buy a private parcel," he said. The museum would be a great community entity and a boost to preservation arts projects such as Steam Pump Ranch, he said. The private sector would benefit, he said, because the more amenities a community has, the greater its chances of recruiting and retaining employees.

Knight was traveling and could not be reached to comment. But museum spokeswoman Meredith Hayes said Oro Valley is one of several sites museum officials are considering. The museum has outgrown its Downtown location, where parking and directional signs have been long-standing concerns, Hayes said. "What we've been doing is looking at expansion opportunities," she said. "We've got opportunities with a number of major collections that could be given to the museum, and we need space to display those."

Hayes said that in May the museum's board of trustees directed Knight to continue working with the city to resolve some of the issues affecting the Downtown location, as well as look toward long-term expansion. "There could be even a satellite location out there," she said of expanding to the Northwest Side. No immediate decisions are expected in September, when Knight reports his findings to the board, she said. "We've got so many options on the table that it behooves us to really look at each one of those options and find out what is best for the museum and for the community as a whole," Hayes said.



Any word on if this is going to happen? With the I-10 improvements getting from Tucson to Phx is even easier. I think it would be a shame to see spring training leave Tucson. I talked to someone in the DBacks organization and they said they want to be in Tucson. Lure a few more teams from FLA and Arizona will become the Spring Training capital!

[Locofresh55]

Yeah.....we need to keep baseball in Tucson.....but not with TEP sitting on AJO way. We lost the Sidewinders already and the Golden Baseball League just announced that a Tucson team (named the Toros) would play @ Hi Corbett Field instead of TEP. The CHI white Sox most likely are gone and the Rockies are saying if Hi Corbett isn't fixed then they will possibly try and leave. Supposedly Surprise is looking to add two more teams for Spring training. BUT DAMN PEOPLE IN TUCSON need to stop complaining about teams leaving if they are not showing UP!!!

I'm saying right now I will go to a Tucson Toros game and hold up a sign that says "LETS KEEP BASEBALL IN TUCSON!!! SPRING TRAINING RULES!!!!".

[NIXPHX77]

i would love to see tucson build a downtown ballpark for
spring training and the return of a aaa team someday.
(maybe share the facilities w/ the U of A.)

[kaneui]

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/UAScienceCenterrender.jpg
How much will you have to pay to visit this brand-new UA science center?
(rendering: University of Arizona)



Museum Money
The UA's soon-to-be-built science center looks for ways to balance the books

By DAVE DEVINE
Tucson Weekly
September 11, 2008

The University of Arizona's downtown science center is slated for a 2012 grand opening. But will higher anticipated admission charges prevent many Tucsonans from visiting? Currently, the space-focused Flandrau planetarium on campus charges $7.50, while the Arizona State Museum (ASM) at Park Avenue and University Boulevard suggests a $3 donation. But a business plan prepared last year for a new combined facility, to be located near the Santa Cruz River, recommends considerably steeper prices.

For the project to break even financially, the report suggests an adult entry fee in 2012 of more than $10 for the science center and $7 for the museum. On top of these ticket costs, an additional $8 would be charged for both the center's giant-screen theater and its digital planetarium. A combined ticket featuring the science facility and one of these attractions would be $16, while to get into all three, a visitor would have to pay almost $23. Thus, to visit everything, including the ASM, the cost could run close to $30. "The project needs to be (financially) self-sufficient," declares Robert Smith of the UA's Facilities Design and Construction Department. "The project will break even."

Through Rio Nuevo downtown redevelopment money, Tucson taxpayers are footing the bill for the $130 million building, which will have 125,000 square feet of total space. The science center is expected to draw 340,000 visitors annually, while the ASM could attract 121,000. Multipriced tickets similar to those recommended in Tucson are common at many museums. For example, the Arizona Science Center in Phoenix, which has 40,000 square feet of space, charges adults $9 plus $8 for entry to its IMAX theater, and another $8 for the planetarium. Nashville, Tenn.'s Adventure Science Center has 111,000 square feet and charges $11 for adult admission. The center then adds $6 for entry to the planetarium, and $5 for a ride in a flight simulator.

An exception to this multipriced ticket philosophy is the Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, Calif. Its 132,000-square-foot facility opened a decade ago and attracted less than 400,000 people a year until more free events, combined with a blockbuster show in 2007, shot the figure above 625,000. According to spokeswoman Lisa Croel, the museum has shown a profit the last two years. The all-ages entry fee is $8, which includes one IMAX presentation, but not access to the occasional blockbuster exhibit. Croel believes this simple approach to pricing has its advantages. "Up to a couple of years ago," she says, "we had multitickets, but then got away from that. It's helped with our attendance."

Whatever the final decision on ticket pricing is in Tucson, the university also has another financial dilemma ahead of it: Campus officials need to figure out how to cover a $60 million short-term construction-funding gap. When the City Council recently divided up all the available Rio Nuevo money, they allocated the science center's final $60 million to be available in 2014. The last construction payment from the city, therefore, won't come until two years after the building is opened. That same delay, according to Rio Nuevo director Greg Shelko, was taken with several other downtown projects. "To fully fund everybody (immediately) would have precluded some projects," Shelko says. "So this was a way to almost fully fund everyone instead of having winners and losers." For the science center and the ASM, Smith indicates this funding situation presents monetary challenges. "We'll have to have some gap financing," he states, "but we're not in a position of having to delay the project or throw in the towel."

Architectural plans for the science center/ASM are now being prepared, and a public meeting to review the design should be held by the end of October. Construction is then anticipated to start by next summer. The appearance of the building certainly won't be anything like the controversial "rainbow bridge" concept considered a few years ago. Instead, Smith says, "The design will reflect its use and grow from the forms and materials that have come from the area."

That area along the riverbed of the Santa Cruz and near the base of "A" Mountain/Sentinel Peak has been occupied for 4,000 years. Smith believes it is "one of the finest locations in Southern Arizona," not only for the university facility, but also for what it will add to a visitor's experience. "You'll be able to see centuries of history in one place," Smith says of the Science Center, the ASM, the Arizona Historical Society museum, the Tucson Origins project and other attractions to be built in close proximity to one another. "It will set Tucson apart from any other place, because no one else has (that history)."

The exhibits for both the science center and the ASM are now being developed, and Smith says they will allow for interaction with the visitor. "It will really be a multimedia approach for an interactive experience," he offers. Smith adds that the exhibits will allow university community members a place to display what they are working on. "Whether it's the Phoenix Mars Lander or global warming, we don't have to start from scratch in developing things," he says. While planning for the science center and ASM has been a time-consuming process, Smith is excited about the future. "With all the Rio Nuevo museums planning to open in 2012," he observes, "it could be a magical year. I can't wait to get started."

[NIXPHX77]

are both entities going to be housed in one bldg?
i hope not.
that seems odd for such different destinations.

[kaneui]

are both entities going to be housed in one bldg?
i hope not.
that seems odd for such different destinations.

I believe the most recent plans included a shared entry/lobby for the two museums (as shown in the render) as a way to lower construction costs. There will also be several other cultural attractions built on adjacent parcels, including a new Children's Museum, the reconstructed Convento and Gardens, and a cultural plaza, all to be part of a major cultural hub and visitor destination within Rio Nuevo, serviced by the new streetcar line.

And now that the city has approved the sale of bonds to get the initial construction going on all of these projects, most of them should be built (or at least under construction) by 2012, in time for Arizona's statehood centennial.

[kaneui]

Arts group wants to acquire warehouses, create arts area
by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
09.11.2008

The Warehouse Arts Management Organization intends to move forward with its effort to acquire nearly 30 state-owned warehouses to create a downtown arts district. WAMO invited people from arts organizations and downtown neighborhoods to an update meeting Wednesday at the Dunbar-Spring Auditorium to lay out the game plan for the next six to nine months to acquire and restore the warehouses along Toole Avenue and Sixth Street. In the next week, WAMO President Susan Gamble expects to find out where talks stand between the Arizona Department of Transportation and the city of Tucson to transfer the warehouses - many rented by artists - from the state to the city and then ultimately to WAMO. "We want affordable arts spaces in perpetuity," Gamble said.

The goal is for WAMO or for a land trust or a community development corporation created by WAMO to own the buildings to keep rents affordable for living/working space, studios, rehearsal areas, cafés, art shops and other artistic uses, she said. WAMO will work with Williams & Dame Development of Portland, Ore., and Peach Properties of Tucson over the next six to nine months to assess each of the warehouses, determine the cost to rehabilitate each one, put together a financing plan, and figure out the best use of each warehouse.

Williams & Dame was among the big players in creating the Pearl District near downtown Portland, Ore., out of a rundown warehouse district and abandoned railyard. The firm last month opened its first Tucson project for residents, One North Fifth Apartments in the former Martin Luther King Jr. Apartments, 1 N. Fifth Ave. "What we learned in Portland is that artists are often priced out of the market," said Matt Brown, project manager at Williams & Dame. Brown said Williams & Dame will use lessons learned in its Pearl District work to strengthen Tucson's arts district rather than drive away artists.

WAMO's board of directors has met twice a month for the last six months to discuss various issues that will come into play to develop the arts district, research other districts and determine how to include public input in the planning process. The Wednesday community meeting was the first effort to garner comments via comment cards given to each attendee. The event involved residents from the Dunbar-Spring, Iron Horse, El Presidio and Barrio Anita neighborhoods as well as people from Fourth Avenue and a number of arts organizations. More than 50 people attended. "The great part, with this economy, is it's a great time to plan," Brown said.

[Rive85]

City arena plans advance with operator pick on tap
By Rob O'Dell
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.14.2008



Tucson's push for a new Downtown arena will gain renewed vigor this month, as the city is closing in on deciding on a company to operate it and will soon launch a search for a company to build it.
The city is now in negotiations with two operators before choosing one to run the day-to-day business of the arena: securing shows and tenants, running concessions and handling general upkeep. The operator would take either a fee or a percentage of the profit.
Next, the city will release a request for proposals to build the Downtown arena, which the City Council has mandated will not cost more than $130 million.
The city is looking for an arena in the 9,500- to 11,000-seat range that would cost less than that cap.
The council had previously approved a 12,300-seat arena designed to resemble a desert tortoise. But council support for that plan evaporated after an updated financial analysis showed the cost had grown from the $130 million originally approved by the council to $196 million. The arena would have been built by a Texas-based developer, Garfield Traub.
Garfield Traub is free to submit plans along with everyone else to develop a new arena, said Jaret Barr, an assistant to City Manager Mike Hein. The city expects to start its search for an arena builder before the end of the month, Barr said.
"Competition is a good thing . . . to get the best deal possible," Barr said.
The city didn't stick with Garfield Traub because the company wants to be the developer of the arena, rather than the contractor that would build it. Garfield Traub's previous plans had it overseeing a contractor that would actually build the arena.
Barr said that setup means "an extra layer of fees," and Tucson would rather hire just an architect and a contractor who would actually build the arena itself.
Some in the community, such as Tucson Convention Center Commissioner Michael Crawford, have criticized the city for not continuing to use Garfield Traub on the project, contending the arena could be built sooner if the city didn't solicit new bids.
Hein said the goal is to break ground on the new arena in March 2010.
That's just as fast as Garfield Traub could do it, Barr said.
But first, the city must select an arena operator, a process run by the city's Procurement Department.
The city won't release the names of the two operators who were selected as finalists out of the four companies that responded in the competitive bidding process. It also won't release the names of the three-member panel that is selecting the operator.
Members of the City Manager's Office were required to sign confidentiality agreements promising they would not disclose information about the search.
Procurement Director Mark Neihart said the city selected a process designed to limit any outside influence or pressure on the decision.
Because the Procurement Department doesn't handle development agreements, Neihart said the selection of the arena builder will not follow the same process as the selection of an operator.

[kaneui]

The city is searching for a yet another developer for its lot at 301 W. Paseo Redondo--the site of Peggy Noonan's failed Presidio Terrace project. However, this time Tucson wants 30-40 apartments, and will only be soliciting developers with experience building downtown housing:


Wanted: new developer for Presidio Terrace
by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
09.15.2008

The 20-plus year epic to develop 301 W. Paseo Redondo - better known as Presidio Terrace - enters a new chapter this fall as the Downtown Tucson Partnership seeks a new developer. The partnership plans to put out a request for developer qualifications in November to find a developer with experience in building downtown housing projects, Executive Director Glenn Lyons said.Qualified developers will then be asked for a proposal in March to build 30 to 40 apartments or townhomes on the parking lot behind Tucson Water at Paseo Redondo between Main and Granada avenues.

Lyons anticipates the selection committee could pick a favored proposal by April and bring it to the City Council in May. If all goes well, a development agreement could be in place in August 2009. "If we don't get a decent proposal, we'll put the brakes on," he said. Lyons will present the status of the 301 Paseo Redondo project at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the City Council's Rio Nuevo subcommittee meeting in the Apache Room at the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave.

The city owns the land and has had no success building anything on the 1.1-acre plot since the 1980s. The land currently serves as a Tucson Museum of Art parking lot. Developer Peggy Noonan and the city went through a drawn out development process for the past four years, but the city pulled the plug on the development agreement in November, citing that Noonan did not live up to Rio Nuevo expectations with financing, marketing and design issues.

Noonan had proposed a seven-story, 101-unit luxury condo complex that stirred up height controversy within the El Presidio Neighborhood to the north. Lyons proposes assembling a selection committee with two El Presidio residents, one appointed by the Tucson Museum of Art, one with development experience chosen by the partnership and one appointed by City Councilwoman Regina Romero.

[BTinSF]

:previous: Tucson amazes me sometimes. In a metro of a million people, such drama over a building with 40 apartments. :brickwall:

[PHX4EVER]

I took few pics on 09/15/08 while driving on I-10 thru tucson with my phone cam.Sorry for bad quality
http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r441/PHX4EVER_2008/TUCSON/jaskocell051.jpg
http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r441/PHX4EVER_2008/TUCSON/jaskocell053.jpg
http://i355.photobucket.com/albums/r441/PHX4EVER_2008/TUCSON/jaskocell054.jpg

[kaneui]

The Mercado District of Menlo Park on downtown's west side, whose sustainable design features have won various awards, is slowly taking shape. Rammed Earth Development is building 50 of the initial 99 residences, the most of the six developers involved in the project. (And if the $360k-800k prices seem a bit steep, an adjoining neighborhood being built by the Gadsden Company on 14 acres across Avenida del Convento will feature numerous "affordable" and "work force" housing units, probably in the $125k-275k range.)


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/MercadoDistrictprogress9-2-08.jpg
Mercado District progress photo - Sept. 2


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Mercado_san_Augustin9-2-08.jpg
Mercado San Agustin construction - Sept. 2
(photos: Tucson Artisan Builders)


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/RammedEarthhomesrender-MercadoDistr.jpg
Rendering of the walkway (paseo) that will be part of Rammed Earth Development’s new project on downtown’s Westside.
(render: Rammed Earth Development)


New mixed-use development west of downtown features 'eclectic barrio' look
By Ed Egger
Inside Tucson Business
September 19, 2008

Downtown Tucson’s westside is getting more private development - a mixed-use neighborhood that inter-mingles customized Spanish-style two-story homes with retail shops, all tied together by a Mexican stone walkway giving what is described as a "Mexican-barrio-eclectic" look.

The development in the Mercado District is the inspiration of the two partners of Rammed Earth Development Inc., a Tucson-based builder specializing in the design and construction of hand-crafted masonry homes. Company president Tom Wuelpern also is serving as designer and project manager of the new development. His partner, Jeff Scheffman, is managing other projects the company is doing, including one soon to start in Scottsdale. Among the company’s past projects is Miraval, whose flagship resort in Tucson has consistently been rated as the No. 1 destination by SpaFinder magazine, Travel + Lesisure, Zagat Survey and Conde Nast Traveler.

Both phases of Rammed Earth Development’s Mercado District project are part of a planned area development specific to the Mercado District allowing for intermixing residential and commercial, according to Josh Conzemius of Realty Executives, which is marketing the project. Homes in the project range from $360,000 to over $800,000 in price. The last two homes sold have been in the $800,000+ category, Wuelpern said. He described the development as "a social vision that has a regional flare."

So far, the first phase includes six lots with two-story homes already completed, another lot with a home under construction, an eighth lot with construction about to begin on another home and four remaining lots. The first phase also includes a plaza not unlike those found in Mexican villages. Wuelpern said the second phase will include 14 lots, both retail and residential, with seven of those lots already reserved. Buyers of the retail space are all local — no chains — and include a Mexican bakery, a patio restaurant, possibly a wine shop and Mexican antique dealer, an art gallery and a delicatessen. Hispanics are among retailers buying there.

The second-phase project will have owners who are building a retail business on the first floor with living space above it, much like towns in Mexico, which are more integrated, Wuelpern said. "Our buyers are people who want to live downtown and take advantage of everything downtown," he said. "They will have all of their social and commercial needs met in one spot and their neighborhood will be connected via the streetcar all the way to University Medical Center." Wuelpern said buyers attracted to the development include physicians, lawyers and college professors. "Each of our buyers is a special person — they tend to be world travelers who have seen villages like this in Europe and Latin America. They see the once-in-a-lifetime potential of buying into this community. Wuelpern said his subdivision is "the only one in Tucson that doesn’t have foreclosures and where homes are appraising at their sales prices."

He argues it’s the safest place in the Tucson region to build right now. Once the community is built out in a few years, Wuelpern believes it will be a tourist attraction in its own right — the kind of hidden little place visitors will like to discover and enjoy. "It’s not a closed community," he said. "It will be a draw — a destination." He pointed out there is a large existing neighborhood west, north and south of the new development, and it also should be attractive to visitors from Sonora. "We aren’t building just another subdivision," Wuelpern said. "We want what we build today to be cherished 50 years from now. We are building a future historic district."

Wuelpern’s firm redeveloped Barrio Santa Rosa, one of 15 neighborhoods around downtown, back in 1998 when that community was deteriorating and experiencing an out-flux of residents. "It now has a dramatically improved quality of life," he said, adding that he currently lives in the neighborhood and has his business office there. From that project, he said, he learned a lot about what it takes to create a cohesive, diverse community. But he’s so excited about his new project that he plans to move there when it’s completed. Estimating that between $1 billion and $2 billion is being invested in the area west of downtown, he said, "This is all private money. It’s diversity without government intervention."


For more info.: http://www.mercadodistrict.com/, http://www.rammedearth.com/mercado.html, http://www.mercadosanagustin.com/

And here's a short video with Tom Wuelpern: http://tv.azpm.org/kuat/segments/2008/8/6/kuat-mercado-district/

[kaneui]

Hotel at UA tech park gets regents' blessing
By Aaron Mackey
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
09.27.2008

FLAGSTAFF — The UA will build a hotel and conference center on Tucson's Southeast Side at its Science and Technology Park under a proposal approved Friday by regents. The 123-room hotel, which UA leaders say is crucial to the development of the technology park, will include a 7,400-square-foot conference center and cost roughly $23 million to build.

Officials said it will be the only hotel within seven miles of the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park and will allow companies there to use much-needed conference rooms and lodging. A non-profit company will be created by the UA, University Hotel Corp., to manage the overall project, with Legacy Hospitality LLC of Nevada operating the hotel. Legacy manages hotels worldwide, including several Hilton Garden Inns and Holiday Inns, says its Web site.

But even as UA officials touted the potential profit the hotel could bring, one regent voted against the proposal over concerns the bonds used to finance the project would hurt the university in the long run. Regent Anne Mariucci opposed the project and the bonds because she said it counts against the UA's debt finance ratio established by the state. The project might not be necessary at this time, she added. "Can we afford to do something with that precious capacity of our debt ceilings?" Mariucci asked. "I think it calls again into question the strategic feasibility of the project and what this hotel is doing for us."

However, UA officials said whether the debt actually counts against the UA's bottom line is an open question. The project is being managed by a corporation, and the tech park has authority to finance projects independent of the UA. Therefore, it's the university's position the project doesn't count against its debt, said Bruce Wright, associate vice president for economic development. Wright also argued that the hotel would not be used just by the companies in the tech park but also by visitors to Southeast Side neighborhoods. "It's the fastest-growing region in that area," he said. "This will be a really important community asset."

Construction on the project would begin in June with an anticipated opening in September 2010. In its first year, the hotel would charge an average rate of $119 per night with a projected occupancy rate of close to 70 percent, the regents were told. UA President Robert Shelton said the hotel will be a welcome addition. "Having a hotel and conference center at the park will be essential to further development there," he said. "We believe that this project will not only be viable but will enhance revenues at the UA."

[kaneui]

Although no significant state funding for new transportation projects may be available anytime soon, the USDOT is providing $1M towards an initial EIS to study passenger rail service between Phoenix and Tucson:


$1M to study Tucson-Phoenix rail
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
October 1, 2008

PHOENIX — The federal government is giving $1 million to Arizona to launch a study of proposed new passenger rail service between Phoenix and Tucson, but whether the state can come up with a matching $1 million is a question mark. The odds appear even slimmer against the state coming up with the projected $600 million cost to actually launch the rail service between the state's two most populous cities, at least in the near future. That's because Arizona faces yet another budget crunch and because a sweeping measure to finance transportation systems never made it on the state's Nov. 4 general election ballot. "There's no committed funds at this time but it's something the agency is actively investigating," Arizona Department of Transportation spokesman Timothy Tait said of the money needed for the study.

State officials plan to confer with Maricopa County and Pima County regional planning officials to discuss possible funding for the study, Tait said. "It may be a joint effort." The U.S. Department of Transportation announced the $1 million grant award for starting an environmental impact statement on so-called "Sun Corridor" service that would generally follow the Union Pacific's existing freight tracks. Central and Southern Arizona are becoming increasingly urbanized with development of former agricultural and desert areas around and between Phoenix and Tucson. Most travel between the two cities is by auto on Interstate 10, but that route is increasingly congested by both regional and long-distance traffic despite widening projects.

Whether the UP rail route between Phoenix and Tucson would be available for use by passenger trains is questionable. The rail route includes UP's Phoenix branch, which splits off from a UP main line near Eloy in Pinal County before going through Tempe and other southeastern suburbs. The main line is crowded with trains carrying freight from California ports, and the railroad says it needs its Phoenix branch to deliver freight to business customers. According to a description of the Arizona project, it could include upgrading existing track and building new track either in current or along new corridors, with as many as 15 new stations and improvements of numerous grade crossings. Implementation costs are estimated at $600 million plus $34 million annually for operations.

The transportation funding initiative supported by Gov. Janet Napolitano and business leaders envisioned new intercity rail service along with highway construction and transit improvements. But that proposal's funding stream disappeared when an initiative measure for a one-cent increase in the state sales tax didn't qualify for the ballot because of a lack of valid voter signatures on petitions. Tait, ADOT's community relations manager, said the department has identified the intercity rail as an important element of Arizona's future transportation system. "Even when times are tough, we can't lose our ability to focus on the future," he said. "We know the needs aren't going away." It's up to policymakers to decide where the money would come from, he added.

[Locofresh55]

Hotel at UA tech park gets regents' blessing
By Aaron Mackey
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
09.27.2008

FLAGSTAFF — The UA will build a hotel and conference center on Tucson's Southeast Side at its Science and Technology Park under a proposal approved Friday by regents. The 123-room hotel, which UA leaders say is crucial to the development of the technology park, will include a 7,400-square-foot conference center and cost roughly $23 million to build.

Officials said it will be the only hotel within seven miles of the University of Arizona Science and Technology Park and will allow companies there to use much-needed conference rooms and lodging. A non-profit company will be created by the UA, University Hotel Corp., to manage the overall project, with Legacy Hospitality LLC of Nevada operating the hotel. Legacy manages hotels worldwide, including several Hilton Garden Inns and Holiday Inns, says its Web site.

But even as UA officials touted the potential profit the hotel could bring, one regent voted against the proposal over concerns the bonds used to finance the project would hurt the university in the long run. Regent Anne Mariucci opposed the project and the bonds because she said it counts against the UA's debt finance ratio established by the state. The project might not be necessary at this time, she added. "Can we afford to do something with that precious capacity of our debt ceilings?" Mariucci asked. "I think it calls again into question the strategic feasibility of the project and what this hotel is doing for us."

However, UA officials said whether the debt actually counts against the UA's bottom line is an open question. The project is being managed by a corporation, and the tech park has authority to finance projects independent of the UA. Therefore, it's the university's position the project doesn't count against its debt, said Bruce Wright, associate vice president for economic development. Wright also argued that the hotel would not be used just by the companies in the tech park but also by visitors to Southeast Side neighborhoods. "It's the fastest-growing region in that area," he said. "This will be a really important community asset."

Construction on the project would begin in June with an anticipated opening in September 2010. In its first year, the hotel would charge an average rate of $119 per night with a projected occupancy rate of close to 70 percent, the regents were told. UA President Robert Shelton said the hotel will be a welcome addition. "Having a hotel and conference center at the park will be essential to further development there," he said. "We believe that this project will not only be viable but will enhance revenues at the UA."

With this hotel and a supposed super target coming to Kolb and I-10 area....there better be more super markets and such coming to the southeast side...and no I´m not talking about Rita Ranch. I live on Wilmot and I-10 and it´s about time to get some commercial/retail development there....

[kaneui]

^Speaking of development on the southeast side, it looks like Westcor will be master-planning over 12,000 acres as shown on the map below, with a probable build-out time of 30-40 years:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/SEsidemasterplanarea.png



Huge Southeast side development will reach far beyond its borders
By Danielle Sottosanti
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
10.02.2008

A 12,000-acre development on the Southeast Side will be so large that it will affect other parts of Tucson, attendees of a recent town hall meeting said. Phoenix-based developer Westcor is creating an overview plan for residential, commercial, industrial and retail development on nearly 12,000 acres of state land in Ward 4, along South Houghton Road. It would be a 20-year project in a perfect world, but more realistically it's a 30- or 40-year project, said Mitch Stallard, vice president for Westcor. In January, the State Land Department gave Westcor an urban planning permit for the area, which is the second-largest state land parcel ever designated for master planning. Though Westcor will create the plan for the area, the state is still the property owner and the land will be sold in parts by public auction.

Stallard and lead Tucson consultant Jim Portner gave a presentation on the project Sept. 22 at Ward 2's Eastside City Hall, 7575 E. Speedway. About 20 people attended the meeting, which included a question-and-answer session with Stallard and Portner. They told attendees they are looking at all uses for the area, from residential to commercial to civic.

Ward 2 Councilman Rodney Glassman explained why his ward held a meeting about a development that will take place in neighboring Ward 4. "It's a significant portion of our city. It will both create additional burdens on our infrastructure as well as opportunities for our residents," Glassman said. The development will lead to more traffic but also more jobs on the East Side, he said.

West Side resident Tracy Williams said she has questions about the development. "I'm very concerned about natural resources and the impact that this very large development will have on the quality of life for all of us," said Williams, a lifelong Tucson resident of 50 years. The biggest question asked at the meeting was who will pay for the infrastructure, she said.

But Ward 4 Councilwoman Shirley Scott disagrees the development's infrastructure requirements will be a burden to taxpayers and spoke of the area's future benefits to Tucson. "Since the new development can pay for that itself, then the 'pressure on infrastructure' question is moot," she said. One way the area could pay for itself is if the City Council set up a community facilities district, she said. If that occurs, someone buying property in the district would pay an extra fee based on the property's assessment. "I think it is a good idea to plan a large area within the city limits of Tucson," Scott said. "I think the benefits will be city-wide and not limited to the general location."

[kaneui]

In a nod to serious water conservation, the City Council will consider making Tucson the first city in the nation to require new commercial developments to use rainfall for 50% of their landscaping water needs:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Rainwatertanks.jpg
Issac Figueroa, a member of a crew from Pro Service Landscape, works beside a row of 8-foot-tall rainwater tanks that
eventually will supply all the irrigation needed by the plants at Southwest Hazard Control, an environmental-cleanup company.
(photo: Arizona Daily Star)


Developers may win 50%-rain rule
by Tony Davis
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
10.06.2008

Standing at the entrance to the new West Side office of Southwest Hazard Control, an environmental-cleanup firm, are 11 corrugated metal tanks, all 8 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter. After the West Grant Road site's native mesquites and yuccas and the South American jacaranda trees become established in a year or two, every drop of their irrigation water will come from the tanks.

On Oct. 14, the Tucson City Council will vote on an ordinance to require new commercial developments to harvest rainwater. If it's approved, most of those affected likely won't go that far. The proposal, supported by the city's staff and an advisory committee, mandates that 50 percent of a development's landscaping water must be from rainfall. That's down from a proposed 75 percent that the committee had endorsed last spring and from some environmentalists' original hope for 100 percent.

The change was made in the name of flexibility after developers said 75 percent would be too costly and otherwise would be difficult to meet. Not everyone is happy about it. The committee voted 8-4 last month to recommend the lower figure. Environmentalist dissenters said the group was moving without adequate discussion. Even now, not all developers are on board with the new proposal, but they're clearly happier.

But all factions involved agree that a 50 percent ordinance still would put the city in the vanguard. It would bring water conservation one more step toward the foreground during a drought that many scientists say threatens the city's long-term supply of Colorado River water, backers say. Most committee members who voted against the latest change still support the current proposal. It's the only one of its kind in the nation, as far as Tucson officials know. "We have to address the issue of drought, and we need to provide for as much creativity as possible when it comes to water conservation," said Ward 2 Councilman Rodney Glassman, who pushed the water-harvesting proposal. "Fifty percent is not the end goal. It is the minimum standard. It is just the beginning."

City staffers and advisory committee members said the key factor making 50 percent more flexible is that according to staff calculations, that wouldn't force developers to install expensive cistern tanks. Instead, they could use "earthworks," a buzzword for the practice of building berms or contouring slopes on a site to guide rainwater to trees and shrubs. Or developers could depress curbs near landscape areas so water would flow into them. "When people typically think of rainwater harvesting, they think of corrugated metal tanks next to the house. This will be something different," said Kevin Barber, an architect on the water-harvesting advisory committee. "It was found that there is sort of a breaking point — somewhere around 50 percent — where it would require both tanks and earthworks."

Rob Paulus, the architect who designed the Southwest Hazard landscaping system, agreed that a 75 percent rule isn't desirable, even though his site will use 100 percent. The water-harvesting system there costs a little over $1 per gallon of stored water, he said, compared with an estimate from the business-backed Metropolitan Pima Alliance of $2 to $4 per gallon for a cistern system. But Paulus said that every site needs to be considered separately, and the city should give incentives such as permit-fee waivers to encourage harvesting.

The alliance, representing a wide range of business interests and also including some government officials, voted last week to endorse the 50 percent standard. A Tucson Chamber of Commerce official said that 50 percent is much more reasonable than 75 percent. "There could be scenarios where cisterns are the least expensive option, but now at least the developer has different options to choose," alliance Director Michael Guymon said.

On the environmentalist side, Sierra Club committee representative Matt Hogel said the 50 percent standard is too low, because he believes Tucson is 15 years away from a water crisis. The Tucson Audubon Society and the Sonoran Institute were mainly concerned that after hearing the city staff analysis on Sept. 18, they needed more time to digest what they felt were complex calculations. City staffer Ann Audrey said her studies found that roughly a 50 percent standard gives developers the flexibility to handle year-to-year fluctuations in rainfall. Another desert reality that must be considered is that some areas get more rain than others during a storm, she said.

Advisory committee member Brad Lancaster, a harvesting expert who has written two books on the subject, said he believes that if developers plant low-water-use plants — which city codes already require — they can meet a 75 percent goal once plants are established. Lancaster was out of town for the committee vote, didn't otherwise take sides on the 50-75 percent issue and now supports the proposal. But conditions for plants at a shopping center are far harsher than in the natural desert, replied Audrey, of the city's Office of Conservation and Sustainable Development.

A critical point that wasn't discussed is the balancing act between dealing with a continuing drought that could be aggravated by global warming, while the business community faces a serious economic crunch, said Amy McCoy of the Sonoran Institute. "We don't want to create an ordinance that puts an onerous financial burden upon people," McCoy said. "We're trying to find that spot where we can use this untapped resource of rainwater in an economical and efficient way."

Councilman Glassman defended the decision to move quickly, saying that all sides originally had agreed to an Oct. 14 vote. As for the committee membership, he said he wanted balance. He noted that a few months ago, the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association had criticized as unfair another committee recommendation to make gray-water plumbing mandatory in new homes, because existing homes use far more water. The recommendation became law last month after SAHBA withdrew its objection. "Perhaps there's balance in everyone feeling it's unbalanced," Glassman said.


IF YOU GO
What: City Council water-harvesting discussion.
Where: In Council Chambers, 250 W. Alameda St.
When: Meeting starts at 7 p.m. Oct. 14.

[kaneui]

The restoration of historic downtown buildings continues...the county is planning to spend $780,000 restoring the 1929 facade on the Walgreens building it owns at the prime downtown corner of Pennington and Stone, with the hopes it will attract potential buyers:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Walgreensbldg--origfacade.jpg
The Walgreens building at 44 N. Stone Ave., shown in the 1930s, is getting a restored facade.
The building was originally a Montgomery Ward in 1929. Architects believe the 1930s look can be
restored in less than two years. (photo: Tucson Citizen files)


Restorative work on 1929 Walgreens building is under way
by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
10.13.2008

Early design work is under way to restore the 1929 facade on the Walgreens building, 44 N. Stone Ave., which started life as a Montgomery Ward. Pima County awarded a $68,970 contract one month ago to Poster Frost Associates to design the project. It includes restoring the original facade underneath and determining how to remove the 1956 modernist facade visible now.Architect Corky Poster, a principal at Poster Frost, believes the 1929 look can be in place within 18 months. A precise construction schedule won't be known until the 1956 facade is removed, said Reid Spaulding, director of the county's Facilities Management Department.

The county owns the building and is doing the $780,000 facade work to make the structure more attractive to potential private-sector buyers. County bond funding is in place for what is informally called the Roy Place Building in honor of the architect who designed the Ward building and had his office there. "We're taking off the skin that's there to see what we have," Spaulding said. Poster estimates he'll be ready to peel off the 1956 facade in about four months.

Poster had his kick-off meeting Thursday to establish the design and construction plan. "We're going to draw the whole thing but bid it in an additive alternative," Poster said. That means he will get a separate price for the facade on Stone Avenue south of the tower at the Pennington Street corner. Poster is uncertain whether the $780,000 is enough for the complete facade and he intends to hold off on the Stone Avenue section of the store if money runs out. "Pennington had the main entrance (to Ward) and is (the facade) longer," Poster said. "If we really get lucky, we could do the whole thing."

Poster Frost has about a 20 percent headstart because the firm also did a May 2004 historic feasibility study on the restoration of the entire Walgreens building and a February 2005 schematic design report. That is the first phase of designing the interior for a potential user. Poster believes enough 1929 design elements remain intact underneath the 1956 skin that damaged features could be recast. "This will be an extensive restoration," he said. "Here we're missing a fair amount, but we're not trying to guess what's there."

[kaneui]

Reflecting the cancellation of numerous flights, TIA's September traffic reported the lowest monthly figures in nearly four years, after March had the highest monthly traffic ever:


Tucson airport's traffic off 12.5%
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
October 18, 2008

Passenger traffic at Tucson International Airport approached a five-year low in September, continuing a precipitous drop that started after July, when the total of passengers getting on and off planes at TIA was just below the five-year high. In September, 287,577 people got on and off planes at TIA, a 12.5 percent drop from one year ago, according to the monthly report from the Tucson Airport Authority. That's nearly as low as the lowest month in 2004, September.

Monthly passenger traffic had been building steadily since 2004 until June, when the totals dropped below last year's figures for the month, and have continued to slide, thanks to the closure of one airline, ExpressJet, the cancellation of several other daily flights, and the increasing price of airline tickets. Commercial flights were down almost 9 percent in September compared with the same month last year.

[kaneui]

City preparing for bond issues for downtown projects
by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
10.16.2008

City leaders will find out next week how Tucson rates for the first in a series of bonds to pay for a wide array of downtown projects. The worldwide financial crisis doesn't shut off the faucet for Tucson, but higher interest rates and other requirements may lead the city to bond for less than the $73.135 million targeted for the Series 2008 bond.

City Manager Mike Hein said it's a misconception that you can't get bonds. "The issue is not accesses to capital. The issue is projected revenue stream,'' he said. Hein will meet Oct. 23 in San Francisco with the three leading credit rating services to get a sense of where Tucson stands for the first of a projected six bonds to be issued through 2014 for a combined $453 million to fund a number of Rio Nuevo projects. Hein will meet with Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings. He will be accompanied by Frank Abeyta, the city's interim finance director, and Shawn Dralle, a financial adviser at RBC Capital Markets.

The Tucson team will back up its bond rating request with Dralle's comprehensive capital funding plan, which projects that the Rio Nuevo tax increment financing will produce $650 million in sales tax revenue through 2025, said Jaret Barr, Hein's assistant. Barr said that earlier this year, Tucson got an A-plus credit rating for Rio Nuevo bonding in a rating system that ranks AAA, AA, A, BBB, BB, B, CCC, CC, C and D. A-plus is considered low risk, according to investopedia.com, a Forbes Web site. "The biggest thing now, it's not about the rating," Barr said. "The biggest thing now is credit. If you have to hold more in reserve, that could be problematic."

Barr said standard policy is to hold 25 percent of a bond in reserve to assure bond payments. He said it is unknown whether substantially more of the bond will have to be held in reserve. Barr said the city may be ready to issue a bond by the end of the year. "I would assume if things stay the way they are, we are not going to go out for as much (bonding)," Barr said. "We would see what we absolutely will do in the next six months or so."

The only projects firmly in place for Series 2008 bond funding are $13.6 million for the Depot Plaza underground garage under construction behind Hotel Congress; $7 million for the first phase of the downtown infrastructure project on Congress Street, Broadway and South Granada Avenue; and $3.635 million to refund the Fox Theatre bond, Barr said. The Series 2008 bond also targets $48.9 million in Rio Nuevo projects at Tucson Origins on the West Side, the two most substantial being $10 million for a Cushing Street bridge over the Santa Cruz River and $17.3 million for an underground garage. Barr said they could be funded with the 2009 bond. The city also intends to issue bonds for $112.5 million in 2009, for $80 million and $11 million in 2010 and for $64 million and $113.3 million in 2014.

[kaneui]

Tucson multiplex boom goes on: New theaters opening this week
By Phil Villarreal
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
10.27.2008

Continuing a multiplex boom in the Tucson area that started last December, Cinemark will open a new 12-screen theater in Oro Valley this week. Century Theatres at the Oro Valley Marketplace, at 12155 N. Oracle Road, officially debuts Friday. The Marketplace features stadium seating, a self-service concession stand and 48-inch-wide aisles, similar to Cinemark’s El Con and Park Place theaters. “It’s our first theater in Oro Valley and we’re so very excited, not only because it’s in Oro Valley but because it’s such a neat development,” Cinemark vice president of marketing James Meredith said. “I don’t think I’d say it’s an underserved market, but there’s clearly demand for a theater in Oro Valley,” he said.

Meredith said Cinemark plans to make the theater something of an arthouse destination, much like the Century El Con 20. As long as the market supports it, he said, it will play smaller-budget, indie-style films such as “The Duchess” and “Pride and Glory.” Demand will also help determine whether it eventually joins Cinemark’s other Tucson properties in broadcasting the live HD simulcasts of the New York Metropolitan Opera, company officials said. The Plano, Texas-based Cinemark operates more than 400 theaters in 38 states and as well as Mexico and South America.

The Marketplace is the third first-run theater to open in the Tucson area in last 11 months. The 12-screen Tower Theatres opened near Continental Ranch in Marana last December and the Harkins Spectrum 18 followed in May near Interstate 19 and West Irvington Road on Tucson’s South Side. Before that, the last first-run multiplex to open was the Century Park Place 20 in 2001.

[kaneui]

Since there isn't much under construction of any height at the moment, it might be interesting to examine more of Tucson's historic structures that reflect the city's history and flavor:



El Con Water Tower saved by community efforts
10/27/2008 06:00 PM
Elaine Raines
Arizona Daily Star

It took a lot of local supporters and a 1955 Buick station wagon to save the historic El Con Water Tower from the wrecking ball in 1978. But that wasn’t the first time, nor would it be the last, that the old tower’s existence was threatened.


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/ElConWaterTower-1991.jpg
1991 Star photo
The El Con Water Tower


Built in 1929, the tower, near Randolph Way and East Broadway, provided water for the long-gone El Conquistador Hotel. It has been called “the last remnant of the first organized effort to bring tourists here.”

When it was built, the 50,000 gallon tank was surrounded by steel girders. Neighbors complained about its appearance, so the stucco facade, stained glass windows and weather vane were added. The city took ownership of the tower in 1944.

In 1975, having weathered previous attempts to tear it down, the six-story tower was threatened by the city. Clay tiles had fallen off and damaged nearby apartments. Instead of demolition, the city decided to spend about $2,000 for repairs and hoped that a buyer for the property could be found. It was used only for storage by that time.


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/ElConweathervane-1978.jpg
1978 Star photo
Workers carry off the tower weather vane.


During a storm in 1978, the bearings for the 75-pound weather vane were damaged and for safety reasons it was taken down. Neighbors began a petition drive to restore the Joesler-designed prospector and burro to their lofty perch. It was the spindle of a 1955 Buick station wagon that came to the rescue of the sculpture and the old weather vane turned once again.


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/ElConWaterTower-1978.jpg
1978 Star photo
The restored miner and burro are back on top.


In 1980, the El Con Water Tower was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was designated an official city landmark in 1991.

[Rive85]

cool. ive seen that thing there all my life and i didnt know what it was...

[kaneui]

Some recent museum developments--a possible permanent downtown home for the Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson, and an architect for the new $80M Arizona Historical Society Museum to be built west of I-10:


Museum might take over Fire Department site
Current fire headquarters will be vacated in 2009

by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
11.05.2008

The Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson is looking at moving into the Tucson Fire Department headquarters downtown after TFD moves out next fall. The vagabond museum is the only entity showing interest in the city's request for proposals on the building at 265 S. Church Ave., said Tim Murphy, special projects coordinator of the Real Estate Division. MOCA officials toured the building Oct. 28, the only scheduled tour before proposals are due Dec. 4. "It's the right kind of space for us," said Randi Dorman, president of MOCA's board of directors. "It's the right size, right location and right configuration." The two-story, 19,289-square-foot TFD headquarters was built in 1971. In September 2009, the Tucson Fire Department plans to move into a 62,000-square-foot structure under construction near Cushing Street and Granada Avenue.

The current fire station was initially destined for use by the Tucson Police Department, which shares the block with TFD, but the city decided to field other proposals after building a crime lab on Miracle Mile instead of at police headquarters. The leasing party would have to accept the building "as-is," despite acknowledged problems, including a lack of parking. "We would like to use it as part of our headquarter expansion," police Capt. George Stoner said. But TPD has made no move to submit a proposal.

Councilwoman Nina Trasoff, whose ward contains the Fire Department headquarters, favors finding a public use for the building to bring activity to that corner as the city is in the process of renovating the Tucson Convention Center and building an arena across the street. The call for bids limits the lease to five years and allows the city to terminate it with one year's notice. "The five years give whoever comes in enough time to really make a go at it," Trasoff said. "And it gives the city enough time to find a (permanent) use for it." MOCA is looking for a permanent facility, either by constructing one or acquiring a building. "We could probably do five-year planning," Dorman said. "It would be a great next step for us."

MOCA was established in 1997 but has never had a full-fledged home. It has relied on tenuous leases at city-owned or city-managed buildings. The museum's most high-profile location since February has been on the Plaza inside the city-owned building at 149 E. Stone Ave., where MOCA's temporary right of entry expires at year's end. MOCA has leased city warehouse space at 191-197 E. Toole Ave. for $550 a month since 1997. Its office is there, but fire code violations have prohibited exhibitions since June 2006. MOCA moved exhibitions across the street in February 2007 to 174 E. Toole into what is called concept : moca, where the museum's artists in residence work.




Architect chosen for Historical Society's Rio Nuevo museum
By Tom Beal
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
10.31.2008

The Arizona Historical Society has selected an architect for its museum at Rio Nuevo. The museum, expected to cost up to $80 million to build and equip, will be designed by the Denver firm of Fentress Architects. Fentress designed the passenger terminal for Denver International Airport, whose roof is a series of white tepee-shaped structures meant to reflect the terminal's Rocky Mountains backdrop. The firm also was the architect for the National Museum of the Marine Corps at Quantico, Va., whose soaring steel and glass roof ends in a 210-foot mast and geometrically mirrors the iconic World War II photograph of five Marines and a Navy corpsman raising the American flag on Iwo Jima.

No design has yet been chosen for the Historical Society Museum, said Historical Society CEO Bill Ponder. The museum will sit west of the dry Santa Cruz River, south of Congress Street, on land that was the site of Tucson's first European buildings at the Mission San Agustín. It will be part of a complex of cultural attractions being built as part of the city's Rio Nuevo project, and the city has set aside $50 million in tax-increment bonds for it. It is expected to take a year, with groundbreaking set for the fourth quarter of 2009. It will take about 22 months to build, said Ponder. The Historical Society wants to open its museum in advance of Arizona's Centennial, Feb. 14, 2012. Other attractions planned for the site include a building to house the University of Arizona's Science Center and Arizona State Museum and a series of reconstructions of the original mission buildings.

The Historical Society's museum will replace its present Arizona History Museum at 949 E. Second St., adjacent to the UA campus. Fundraising and the sale of that valuable property will help offset the cost not covered by the city, said Ponder. In addition to its exhibits, archives and meeting rooms, the museum will host an "e" library with computer terminals, run by the Pima County Public Library system, Ponder said. Matt Popowski, of Fentress Architects, said his firm will work to match the building to its site. "In whatever place we go to, we really take the culture, history and landscape into consideration and work with the local architect and the client to understand what it is that they want to represent in the museum." Breckenridge Group Architects/Planners of Tucson will be associate architect on the project.

[kaneui]

Although the most recent commercial leases show businesses leaving downtown, the completion of the streetcar line and perhaps the TCC expansion and hotel could hopefully ignite demand for tenants to fill this potential twin of the UniSource tower:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/UniSourceTower2-render.jpg
(render: Tucson Citizen)


Second Unisource Tower still possible
Developer sees potential demand for 100,000 square feet

by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
11.10.2008

Downtown Tucson was supposed to have its own twin towers when the UniSource Tower, 1 S. Church Ave., was built in 1986. What remains Tucson's tallest building at 22 stories also remains the last skyscraper built here. Tucson was in the habit of building one or two of what now are the city's tallest buildings every decade from the 1950s to the 1980s. A conceptual drawing was made for a second UniSource Tower that could have continued the streak into the 1990s, but any work on a second tower stopped underground. "The core of the building infrastructure is in place for a second building," said Buzz Isaacson, who has been the building's broker and leasing agent since 1988.

The 20-foot-high stub with the "build to suit" signs southeast of the existing tower is filled with an elevator shaft, footings and entire foundation extending three stories down for construction of a second 22-story building, Isaacson said. Isaacson posted a new "build to suit" sign recently after giving up his independent real estate company to become a senior vice president at CB Richard Ellis. He said interest in a second tower is "pretty quiet right now," but he sees potential demand. "Tucson is a growing community," he said. "I don't think there is anyone who will say nobody will ever build a building downtown. It's a matter of timing."

He just looks at his client list in the UniSource for tenants that will eventually warrant a second tower. They include UniSource Energy/Tucson Electric Power, and the law firms Snell & Wilmer, Lewis and Rocca and Fennemore Craig. "As those tenants continue to grow, that will trigger demand for a second tower," he said. The infrastructure is in place for 200,000 additional square feet, which nearly matches the 233,000 square feet in the UniSource Tower, but Isaacson believes a second tower will likely be built at around 100,000 square feet. "If a 50,000-square-foot tenant came along, that would trigger a 100,000-square-foot tower," he said. "It's whatever the market pushes it toward. It doesn't have to be 200,000."

Isaacson estimates building a new tower would cost about $300 per square foot, including interior finishes, or about $60 million. The second tower never came about because the mid-1980s brought together the move to the suburbs for new office structures, such as Williams Centre, compounded with the savings and loan crisis and resulting major real estate downturn. Reliance Development Group of New York and Venture West of Tucson built the UniSource Tower, but Isaacson has since sold it twice, the last time to its current owner Hub Properties Trust of Newton, Mass.

[kaneui]

Forget Rio Nuevo--the new "go-to" guy for revitalizing downtown is Glenn Lyons, whose vision and recent efforts as head of the Downtown Tucson Partnership are slowly beginning to transform the city center:


Public, private sectors work on setting downtown priorities
by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
11.11.2008

Business and downtown revitalization plans are in the works to give the Downtown Tucson Partnership clear priorities for the private sector to collaborate with government. The two plans will work in conjunction to establish projects, figure out how to staff partnership efforts, and how to pay for them, said Glenn Lyons, the partnership's chief executive. The planning comes as potential projects and collaborations come into play at the same time the partnership's budget has decreased from $1.4 million to $1 million with cuts in city and expected Pima County funding. "There are 100 things we can do, but only 10 we can focus on and do well," Lyons said. "We have to decide where we should put those efforts."

Lyons is exploring adding more fee-for-service projects to boost revenue. The partnership is expected to get $50,000 to manage the city's ParkWise division, if the City Council decides to transfer the parking operation that involves garages and parking meters. Lyons' work with the city to sell the city-owned MacArthur Building, 345 E. Toole Ave., was a test run for the partnership, but Lyons thinks future collaborations of that nature should be done as fee for service.

Lyons expects to bring a partial business plan to the partnership's executive committee in December, with a partial revitalization plan to follow in February. The partnership's board of directors should get full drafts of the business plan in January and the revitalization plan in March. Lyons wants to have a town hall for public input in March or April. "I think the public and private sector will have a much better idea what it will take to revitalize downtown in all areas," Lyons said. "We will have identified the stumbling blocks for private investment and work to remove those."

Lyons stresses his revitalization planning goes beyond the city's Rio Nuevo projects and focuses on private sector investment downtown. "Private sector investment comes on top of Rio Nuevo spending," he said. "The city hasn't focused on that, per se. I want to work with the private sector to acquire land and help them get projects approved."

Lyons said the partnership has evolved this year beyond its duties to do maintenance, provide security and put on events, the things done by its predecessor, the Tucson Downtown Alliance. The new economic development arm so far includes such actions as selling the former Walgreens building, 44 N. Stone Ave., and finding a new developer for Presidio Terrace, 301 W. Paseo Redondo. That evolution has also included leading the city's downtown facade renovation program. Lyons has gotten directly involved with the Tucson Convention Center expansion and new arena project to make sure private sector opportunities are addressed for retail and entertainment options. "We're slowly taking on a more proactive role," he said.

[PHX31]

There is only 233,000 ft^2 in that tower? It seems like a city's tallest would have more, not to mention it doesn't seem possible... but it must have a small footprint.

They should build something different, I'm not a fan of twins.

[Rive85]

whats that other building across the street suppose to be?

[somethingfast]

I remember seeing that rendering back in 1986 when I was in the 8th grade. Man, I seriously don't think we'll ever see another office high-rise in Tucson get built. The economics aren't there. At least not anytime soon. Btw, I thought UniSource was 23 stories. I've even counted them in person and it appears to be 23 unless the top floor is mechanical. Nice little tower really.

[aznate27]

I just checked the Emporis building site. It shows the Unisource Tower at 23 stories.

[somethingfast]

that's what i thought...proves my awesome visual counting skills :D

[kaneui]

Southwest Contractor gives a progress update on numerous metro area projects--nothing really new here, but lots of construction details.

(*Interesting to note that Rafael Vinoly is still listed as architect for the new UofA Science Center/Arizona State Museum--not a bad gig since he's already received millions for designing the Rainbow Bridge fantasy.)



http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/TucsonOrigins-excavation.jpg
Crews have excavated 130,000 cu yds of dirt at a former
landfill to make way for Tucson Origins Heritage Park.
(photo by Lloyd Construction Co.)


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/UAMedicalCtrtower.jpg
The University Medical Center’s new six-story patient tower
includes a new emergency department and children’s hospital.
(photo courtesy Kitchell)



Old Tucson Becoming New Again

Tucson Activity Report
While Tucson is feeling the economic pinch as much as the rest of the region, there are still a healthy number of projects, mostly related to the Rio Nuevo downtown revitalization or the University of Arizona.

By Alan M. Petrillo
Southwest Contractor
November, 2008

One of the longest anticipated projects in Tucson is beginning to show activity, although no steel has risen yet. The Tucson Origins Heritage Park, part of the Rio Nuevo project to revitalize downtown Tucson and the surrounding area, is a $55 million project that will recreate the historic Mission San Agustin Complex and Mission Garden. Located at the base of “A” Mountain, it will become a historical park with outdoor gathering spaces for events and performances. The 34-acre project includes a three-story underground parking garage that has now been excavated. Steel and concrete work is planned to begin in March. The entire site sits on a former landfill.

“Last June we began excavating 130,000 cu yds of dirt,” says Jeff Dupuis, field project manager for construction-manager-at-risk Lloyd Construction of Tucson. “Then we had to bury 7 mi of 1-in. high-density polyethylene piping for HVAC before we backfilled the excavation.” Dupuis says he expects Lloyd will perform more landfill removal before it begins construction on the mission complex, a walled compound that will house a chapel and two-story Convento building. The rectangular former convent was originally built in 1770 but fell into ruin in the 1880’s until it was later demolished.

The project is pursuing a LEED silver certification. In addition to the complex itself, a 30-acre park will sit atop the underground garage and tie in all the public structures at the site. The overall design firm is Burns Wald-Hopkins Shambach Architects of Tucson, while the garage is designed by Overland Partners Architects of San Antonio. Excavation work is being performed by Granite Construction of Tucson.


Diamonds Are Forever
University Medical Center’s new emergency department, patient tower addition and Diamond Children’s Medical Center are part of a six-story project at the University of Arizona. The new 61-bed emergency department on the first floor will have a seven-bed trauma unit as well as a 16-bed clinical decision unit and 61 emergency beds. The second and third floors will be dedicated to two 20-bed intensive care units and two 24-bed medical/surgical units, primarily designed to serve patients coming from the emergency department. Scheduled completion is August for the first three floors.

The Diamond Children’s Medical Center will occupy floors four through six and is expected to be completed by January 2010. It will feature 36 intensive care beds, 36 medical-surgical beds, 20-room pediatric intensive care unit, 12-room hematology-oncology unit and six-room bone marrow transplant unit. The center will have its own entrance and a 24/7 pediatric emergency room. A two-spot heliport will be on top of the structure.

Bud Bedingfield, project manager for general contractor Kitchell Contractors of Phoenix, says the first year of the project entailed prep work to clear the building footprint and relocate communication systems, as well as the existing heliport. Extensive underground utility work was required to relocate three emergency generators under the existing heliport, says Kitchell project director Pat Watson. He says they also had to build a new chilled water facility in the basement of the existing hospital, set up a temporary helipad while the other was being dismantled and provide a temporary access ramp for ambulances. The project totals 218,509 sq ft. Cost of the entire project is $116 million.


When Doves Fly
Another anticipated project is the Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain Hotel, with an expected construction cost of $276 million. Fred Bullington, project manager for general contractor T. L. Roof & Associates of Tucson, says the hotel is the biggest project his firm has tackled in Arizona with a total of 250 rooms - 225 in the main hotel and 25 others in nine detached wood-frame casitas. The four-story main hotel uses concrete columns with post-tension decks, adobe block, straw-flecked stucco, native stone and clay tile roofs to give it a Southwest flavor, Bullington says. The hotel features two ballrooms, outdoor venues, three restaurants and a 17,000-sq ft spa and fitness center. It also has a $60 million Jack Nicklaus-designed golf club with 27-hole golf course planned to complete in late 2008. A $220 million residential component of 91 single-family homes also is planned.

Bullington says the hotel topped out at the end of June a couple of weeks ahead of schedule, and he expects to be substantially completed by August, even though T. L. Roof has some experienced permitting problems. “Of the nine casita buildings, three of them still aren’t permitted, and neither is the grill building next to the main pool,” he says, “and they’re redesigning the front end of the spa. Modifications to the design is one of the reasons we don’t have some permits.”


UA Report
The University of Arizona has been active this year and even won an award from the National Wildlife Federation for sustainability and education in its academics and operations. Probably the biggest project planned by the university is its Science Center, scheduled to be built on the west side of Interstate 10 and serve as an anchor for Tucson’s Rio Nuevo Cultural Plaza. “We expect to be first out of the box to build for that area,” says Peter Dourlein, associate director of facilities design and construction for the university. “Our goal is to be completed by the end of 2011 to tie in with the completion of the modern streetcar, which will pass right by our building.” Dourlein says the $130 million budget also includes construction of a new Arizona State Museum. “It’s an interesting concept of how the two overlap for science of the past and future,” he says. “Their programs will be joined physically in the building and also educationally through collaboration. The Science Center is expected to occupy 127,000 sq ft and the Arizona State Museum 76,000 sq ft. Architect is Rafael Vinoly Architects of New York; construction manager at risk is Turner Construction of Tempe.

Another university project is the Student Recreation Center, which is due for occupancy in November 2009 and is on track to earn LEED silver. “We have a pretty large glass façade along the north exposure on Sixth Street that brings a lot of natural light into the building,” Dourlein says, “and we’re also using some translucent walls. The east and west sides have limited numbers of windows.” He adds that the 53,000-sq-ft building uses daylight-sensing controls and features recycled rubber sports floor and recycled fiber carpets. Sundt Construction of Tucson is the general contractor and the architect-engineer is M3 Engineering & Technology Corp. of Tucson. The university also is constructing an indoor practice facility that includes a new diving well and gymnastics training facility, scheduled for completion by the end of October. The main floor of the practice facility is depressed 17 ft in the ground to lower the mass of the building, which needs high ceilings for basketball, Dourlein says. “It’s a better visual effect and also helps insulate the building because part of it is blanketed by the earth,” he adds. The diving well, a separate pool only used for diving, is 30 meters long, 25 meters wide and 17 ft deep.

Recently completed was the $22 million Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences Building, renamed McClelland Park. Hensel Phelps’ Tucson office was general contractor. “The facility is conceived as an icon for the program, reflecting its multicultural identity and diversity as a welcoming place for families, businesses, community members, faculty and students,” says Mark Kranz, AIA, design principal with architect SmithGroup of Phoenix. Comprised of a mixture of aluminum, stainless steel, brick, wood, concrete and glass, the building’s interior uses are equally as multi-faceted with classrooms, lecture halls, retail-like space and even residences for faculty and staff. The exterior features a ramada screened by a steel shade structure that is illuminated at night with a colored LED lighting system.


High-Tech in Oro Valley
The Sanofi-Aventis Tucson Research Center in Oro Valley, a new 110,000-sq-ft research laboratory with space for chemistry and biology labs and regional operations corporate offices, is targeting LEED silver, says Robert Mitchell, project manager for the Phoenix office of DPR Construction Inc., the project’s general contractor. Mitchell expects to get LEED points for energy and water efficiency, use of 10% recycled materials on interior finishes, construction waste diversion and stormwater management. “The architect specified high recycled content, from countertops to flooring, as well as the steel,” Mitchell says.

The $49.1 million structure features two stories over a 21-ft-deep basement under half the building’s footprint. The public façade on the west side is clad in red sandstone imported from India that is mechanically attached with open joints. The back façade is interlocked metal panels. The project is scheduled for on-time completion in June despite delays early on caused by permitting and heavy monsoon rains. Kling Stubbins of Philadelphia is responsible for the mechanical and structural engineering, while the WLB Group of Tucson is handling the civil and landscape engineering.


Fullfillment is on Target
On Tucson’s southeast side, Target Corp. is building a 975,000-sq-ft fulfillment center for its online business. The facility will have automated conveyors, merchandise handling equipment and storage racks, as well as 50,000 sq ft of office space and a 20,000-sq-ft gift-wrapping space. Located in the Interstate Commerce Park, the site covers 133 acres, of which 100 acres are set aside for Target’s fulfillment center. The remaining acreage is reserved for future development. General contractor for the project is Archer Western Contractors of Phoenix.

[kaneui]

It's looking like the beginning of the end of MLB spring training in Tucson unless the county can lure a replacement team from the Grapefruit League:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/TucsonElectricPark.jpg
Tucson Electric Park
(photo: Tucson Citizen)


County looks at $5 million buyout pitch from White Sox
GARRY DUFFY
Tucson Citizen
11.15.2008

The Chicago White Sox are leaving Tucson to train in Glendale in 2009, a team official said Friday. How much it will cost the team to break its lease will be discussed by the Pima County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. One option in the team's proposal lets it pay the county $5 million and continue efforts to find a replacement Major League Baseball team for spring training at Tucson Electric Park. "It's probably the best financial arrangement for the county," Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said Friday. The White Sox want to move to a new $82 million spring training facility in Glendale that will be shared with the Los Angeles Dodgers. The White Sox share TEP during spring training with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

The proposal gives the county 180 days to decide whether to take the $5 million and have the White Sox keep looking for a replacement through 2016, or have the team get Major League Baseball to open a youth baseball academy at the complex. Under that option, the White Sox would have to fund the operation and any improvements needed at the sports complex, Huckelberry said.

The proposal was discussed Friday by the Pima County Sports and Tourism Authority, whose members represent businesses that benefit from the presence of spring training in Tucson. Authority members will make a recommendation to the supervisors at the Tuesday meeting, said Authority Chairman Tom Tracy. The county could try to hold the White Sox to the contract requiring them to stay at TEP through 2012, but that likely would result in litigation that would eventually yield far less than the proposed buyout, Huckelberry said. A White Sox study earlier this year said the county could turn TEP into a national youth and amateur sports tournament destination that would pump $42 million a year into the local economy. The team will continue to lobby MLB officials for a youth baseball academy , said spokesman Scott Reifert.

Supervisor Ray Carroll said Friday the chance of another MLB team relocating to TEP is virtually nil. "There are no other teams looking to move," he said. The departure of the White Sox could leave Tucson with no spring training teams. The county's contract with the Diamondbacks allows the team to break its lease if there are fewer than three MLB teams here for spring training. The city of Tucson's contract with the Colorado Rockies at Hi Corbett Field has the same provision.

[kaneui]

It's now official: the White Sox will be doing their spring training in Glendale...and the D-backs and Rockies could also leave within a few years. (And the feasibility studies say Tucson can support a minor-league hockey franchise to fill a new downtown arena? Hmmm...if history is any indication, launching a pro sports team in this town will be tough going, for a number of reasons.)


County accepts $5M for Sox departure; D-backs could be next to leave
by GARRY DUFFY
Tucson Citizen
11.19.2008

It didn't take long for another cleat to drop regarding the future of spring training in Tucson. Hours after the Pima County Board of Supervisors voted to accept a $5 million buyout to let the Chicago White Sox out of the team's lease at Tucson Electric Park, officials of the Arizona Diamondbacks confirmed the team is entertaining offers to move its spring training operations out of Tucson Electric Park and closer to Phoenix, as well. "We would rather just stay there," Diamondbacks president Derrick Hall said Tuesday. "But there has to be more than two teams. That's our issue."

The Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies, who train at Hi Corbett Field in Tucson, both have stipulations in their contracts with the county and city that there be at least three teams in the area for spring training. Both teams can use the departure of the White Sox, and any future failure to draw a third Major League Baseball team to replace the White Sox, as breaches of their contracts binding them to remain here for spring training through 2012 and 2011, respectively. Hall said the Diamondbacks will conduct spring training in Tucson this coming Cactus League season, and likely at least until the team's contract with the county to use TEP at least through 2012. "You would comfortably need at least two to three years to build a stadium and facilities," Hall said. Hall added a replacement team might not be enough ultimately keep the Diamondbacks at TEP. "We need four teams," Hall said.

County officials Tuesday accepted the White Sox buyout offer to leave TEP before the team's lease expires in 2012 to play at a new facility in Glendale, with a combination of anger and resignation. "It's a really sad day for baseball here in Tucson," Board Chairman Richard Elías said before the supervisors' 5-0 vote to accept the White Sox's offer. Though the deal negates the contract bonding it here through 2012, the Sox still will be required to search for a replacement MLB spring training team for Tucson Electric Park through 2026.

An alternative proposal rejected by the supervisors would have had the White Sox help establish and fund a youth and amateur sports tournament facility at TEP, including a MLB-affiliated Baseball Academy focusing on programs for at-risk kids in the community. Supervisors reserved irate comments not so much for the White Sox but for communities up north, which used revenues generated by the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority to build new lavish facilities to lure MLB teams not only from Tucson but Florida as well. The Phoenix-area sports authority was created by the Legislature in 2000 as a financing mechanism to build the National Football League Arizona Cardinals' stadium that opened this year in Glendale. "It was never the intent of the Legislature for the sports authority to be abused the way Phoenix and Glendale abused it," said Supervisor Ramón Valadez, whose district contains TEP.

After the Cardinals' stadium was completed, the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority continued to raise and use tax revenues to build new spring training facilities in such communities as Glendale and Goodyear. Elías termed the actions of the Maricopa County communities to take spring training teams from other cities in the state - namely Tucson - as "cannibalism." The Rockies already are exploring a move out of Hi Corbett Field. Team officials want the city to spend at least $10 million to upgrade the facility, located in Randolph Park. City officials, in the middle of a budget crisis that has included hiring and salary freezes, say they don't have the money. Rockies officials have spoken with officials of the town of Marana about occupying a possible new spring training and sports complex there. But plans for such a facility have not been drawn and a funding source source has not been identified.

County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said Tuesday afternoon that county officials and members of the Pima County Sports and Tourism Authority have heard rumblings that the Diamondbacks could look elsewhere if the White Sox were to pack up. 'It's no surprise," Huckelberry said. "Chandler - that's where we've heard," Huckelberry said. The Diamondbacks' Hall said one possibility could have the team partner with the Rockies at a new spring training complex closer to Phoenix. But Hall also said that talks also are ongoing with a private developer to build a new facility in or near Tucson for the Diamondbacks. At Tuesday's supervisors meeting, supervisors were told that local private businesses and amateur athletic agencies could help develop and operate youth facilities that could develop into a major tournament destination site on a regional or national level. "Whatever the price of buying out the contract, the money should be used for youth sports," Jim Tiggas, who represents the Amateur Athletics Union, the oldest amateur youth sports advocacy organization in the United States. Softball and baseball tournaments could be housed at TEP and draw large audiences, Tiggas said.

Hotel, restaurant, rental car, and other services in the area reap about $30 million annually from the teams, players, and fans each spring, hospitality industry officials estimate. The supervisors directed County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry to set aside $500,000 for the Pima County Sports and Tourism Authority over the next two years to develop youth and amateur sports programs - and also for travel and promotional activities to try to bring a different MLB team to TEP for spring training to offset the loss of the White Sox. Huckelberry had recommended accepting the buyout because the TEP-White Sox lease was marginally profitable - bringing the county income of about about $500,000 from the team each spring. Though $5 million was increased over the Sox's earlier offer of $4 million, Huckelberry said the buyout probably would not have gone higher.

[PHX NATIVE 929]

:previous:

That is unfortunate. First, they lose the Sidewinders, now the White Sox. I believe TEP was built in the wrong part of town to be fully taken advantage of...

[kaneui]

Now here's some Rio Nuevo funds spent on tangible results: $4.5M to beautify Scott Avenue with wider sidewalks, new lighting and added landscaping:


Steps to beautify and narrow Scott Avenue begins next week
by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
11.24.2008

Scott Avenue south of Broadway will start being transformed next week into a tree-lined pedestrian haven with a narrower street and less parking. A groundbreaking ceremony at 3:30 p.m. Monday launches the $4.5 million in streetscape improvements that are part of the $37 million infrastructure project for Congress Street, Broadway and Granada Avenue funded by Rio Nuevo tax increment financing funds. Demolition of a bus shelter near the Temple of Music and Art will start this week but the heavy-duty work won't start until Dec. 1, said Fran LaSala, assistant to City Manager Mike Hein. The project will narrow Scott from 48 feet curb to curb to 31 to 40 feet, depending on how much parking goes in each stretch of street, LaSala said.

The narrower street - two 11-foot driving lanes - allows for wider and more floral sidewalks, measuring 24 to 30 feet wide counting sidewalk and greenery. The sidewalks on both sides of Scott will range from 8 to 10 feet wide with 8- to 10-foot bands of trees and potted plants on each side of the sidewalk, he said. The trees will include mesquite and blue paloverdes and the plants include agave and thornless prickly pear. "What we're trying to do with Scott is make it a framework that attracts people to the history of the avenue," LaSala said. "People are missing the Udall building, the Scottish Rite Cathedral, the Royal Elizabeth B&B."

Scott has bleak nighttime lighting supplied by 30-foot-high cobra lights that cast a dim yellow light on the street. These will be replaced with dedicated street and sidewalk lights that shine a white light and comply with the city's dark sky ordinance, LaSala said. The first major work will involve ripping up the west side of Scott to replace decades-old 6-inch water lines with 8-inch PVC and ductile iron pipes. "We offered all business an opportunity to upgrade their water service," said LaSala, adding the business would pay for upgrades. The first phase will involve tearing up the west side of Scott starting near the Temple of Music and Art. Scott work should be finished by May 1, and at that time work is expected to start on Congress or Broadway to replace and relocate utility lines to make way for streetcar tracks.

[kaneui]

The latest casualty of the deepening economic downturn:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/WestcorDevAcreage.png


Westcor withdraws from huge SE Side plan
Developer cites weak economy for halting work on 12,000-acre project

By Rob O'Dell
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
11.25.2008

Giant Phoenix mall developer Westcor said Monday that it is pulling out of a master plan to develop more than 12,000 acres on the Southeast Side — the latest and largest casualty of a nose-diving economy. Citing the speed at which the national economy has unraveled and the unprecedented crisis in the credit markets, Westcor decided it would be best to step back from planning what one city official once called "a second city" flanking South Houghton Road.

The move comes as a bit of a surprise because, despite the flagging economy, as recently as two months ago the company met with city officials and residents and indicated everything was a go on the plans for the massive residential, commercial and recreational development. Westcor is walking away from millions of dollars in planning work it has done for the property since it received a permit from the State Land Department in January. Charlie McPhee, senior vice president for development of Westcor's parent company, Macerich, wouldn't say how much the company has spent, other than "millions." But earlier this year, Westcor officials said they would spend at least $3 million to finish the first phase of the planning process for the land, and Deputy State Land Commissioner Jamie Hogue estimated Westcor has spent $2 million to $3 million on the initial phase of development. McPhee said Westcor just finished that initial phase, creating the perfect time to take a step back from the more intensive and expensive second phase that would result in the land being put up for auction. "It seemed prudent to take a step back given the uncertainty in the market," McPhee said. "We completed the initial phase. We're just not going to proceed with the application and the auction because we're uncomfortable with the macroeconomic environment. Now wasn't the time to go to the next step."

Hogue said Westcor and the Land Department decided to put "a hold on the project for now." Although Westcor could re-initiate the development, both Hogue and McPhee said, ultimately the development could be up to another developer who would get the benefit of the studies and planning Westcor has already done. McPhee said Westcor was pleased with the investigative and feasibility work it has done, which will be helpful to "whoever proceeds to auction with that property." Hogue said given the economy and the availability of credit, there might not be any buyers if the land were auctioned soon. "We're delaying it until we have the resources or the private sector has the interest in moving the process forward," Hogue said. "This seemed like an appropriate time to put the brakes on and bring it back when the economy improves."

Westcor developed La Encantada shopping center in the Foothills, in addition to several other high-end shopping complexes, including Scottsdale Fashion Square mall and Kierland Commons, in northeast Phoenix. The 12,000 acres here run from South Harrison and East Irvington roads south to the Union Pacific railroad tracks and east beyond Houghton Road to the Pantano Wash. A large parcel south of the railroad that straddles Interstate 10 is also included. At the time Westcor secured the permit, several Tucson officials said the project would be one of the biggest in Tucson's history, creating a "second city" with residential and commercial development along with open space. The site is so large that it encompasses nearly all the state land in the area and was not expected to be fully developed for 40 years. The land lies mostly within the city limits but is owned by the state, which is overseeing the planning process.

Councilwoman Shirley Scott, who represents the area, said she felt Westcor needed to step back and have the market sort itself out instead of continuing to spend money while the economy is uncertain. Marshall Vest, an economist with the University of Arizona, said he was not surprised to hear the news because of the bad conditions in the residential and commercial markets tied to the credit crisis. Vest said that if there was an auction soon, there would likely be no buyers. "I'm not surprised to see them back out or put things on hold," Vest said. "Unfortunately, this is part of the business cycle we're in. It's going to be a while until the conditions improve."

Jack Camper, Tucson Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce president, said conditions in the business world are such that "nothing would surprise me right now." But he said Westcor is a quality company that is making prudent decisions. "It does not surprise me they would be cautious in a volatile market," Camper said. "It's time to be prudent and cautious. I believe that's what they're doing."

[NIXPHX77]

it's a shame tucson has lost AAA baseball and now the white sox.

i would love to see a new stadium in or near downtown Tucson,
say with a view facing northeasterly so the skyline is in the forefront and the SC mtns in the background. perhaps rio nuevo funds could help, or
the state legis. can try this year to give them the funding mechanism
needed (it was rejected last session.)

perhaps the above stadium, one in Marana, and TEP could provide 3 or 4 teams to sustain spring training in Tucson.
and hopefully at least a AA team could start playing there too.
or a new AAA team (does Tacoma really need a team?!)

[aznate27]

I'm kinda glad Westcore pulled out of that monsterous plan. All it was going to do was add to urban sprawl and the destruction of some beautiful desert in that area. The focus should be on infill projects and trying to create urban neighborhoods like that in and around the downtown area. I would hate to see Tucson turn into another Phoenix. :(

[chillinaz1]

Quick question... On the North, west corner of I-10 and kolb, are the they going to build homes there, or a "super target". i hear so many differant things..

[kaneui]

Tucson's new 4-mile, $139M streetcar line--scheduled to open in late 2011 and run until 2 a.m., 7 days a week--will hopefully encourage dense TOD along its route from the UofA Medical Center to the Mercado District west of I-10:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/streetcarroute.jpg
There are hopes that the new travel route of the trolley
will help spur residential and commercial growth downtown.
(photo: Joe Pangburn)


If it works like elsewhere, streetcar line could spur downtown growth
By Ed Egger
Inside Tucson Business
November 28, 2008

Tucson’s proposed four-mile-long, 19-stop streetcar system could spur significant development if results here are anything like what has happened in the nation’s first city to create a downtown streetcar system, Portland, Ore. Since Portland’s downtown streetcar system was rolled out in 2001, there has been nearly $3.5 billion in development along the line, including over 10,000 residential units and more than 5 million square feet of non-commercial construction. Those figures come from an April 2008 development report by Shiels Obletz Johnsen of Seattle, which manages transportation projects for public and private clients, prepared for Portland Streetcar Inc., which runs that city’s system.

An Aug. 13 article in the New York Times reports that no fewer than 40 U.S. cities are looking into streetcar systems after seeing the results in Portland. An answer to why downtown streetcar systems may spur development lies in the fact that they enable developers to build maximum-density structures along the line because parking, which requires a lot of space and money, can be greatly reduced, says Gary Oaks of HDR Engineering Inc., project manager for the Tucson streetcar system. For example, information prepared for Portland Streetcar Inc. by E. D. Hovee and Company of Vancouver, which helps coordinate public-private development projects, shows that construction within one block of the streetcar line has moved to 90 percent of maximum allowable density after the streetcar line was built from just 35 percent of maximum allowed density before the system. By contrast, building density three blocks from the system’s line remained at about 42 percent, both before and after the streetcar was launched.

Tucson’s system will connect key points in and near downtown and the University of Arizona and presents a number of future development opportunities. Its four-mile line will begin at the proposed museum district on the west side of downtown across the Santa Cruz River, travel through Congress Avenue and Broadway locations downtown, make stops at the warehouse arts district the Fourth Avenue business district, and the historic train depot before reaching a number of key university stops and then traveling on to University Medical Center.

Because historic neighborhoods around the university have been resistant to any changes that would bring high-density student housing there, the streetcar system may an answer. The university, now with about 38,000 students, is expected to eventually increase enrollment to 75,000. “The university is land-locked and this is an escape valve to provide access for further development,” said Jim Glock, director of the City of Tucson’s Department of Transportation. He said the streetcar line could solve several challenges the university faces as its student population grows—especially parking and housing. If the university and/or private builders construct student housing in areas between the university and downtown, it would no longer be critical for students to have a car or to live on campus. Furthermore, more students living closer to downtown could encourage development of more downtown restaurants, and entertainment there.

Funding of the $139 million streetcar system is only peripherally tied to the Rio Nuevo downtown redevelopment project—the streetcar will use the Cushing Street bridge to reach the area west of the Santa Cruz River and the system will benefit from some of the infrastructure work now being done. In 2004, the Federal Surface Transportation Act of 2004 authorized up to $75 million in federal funds for the project. In order for the city to actually receive those funds, they need to be appropriated by the federal government after a number of planning steps are completed—a step the area’s congressional delegation has committed to getting done. Then in 2006, voters approved an $86 million funding request from the Regional Transportation Authority for the project. The $139 million price tag includes installation of the rail, purchase of the streetcars, construction of a maintenance and storage facility and overhead conductor and creation of the 19 stations where streetcars will stop. Glock said the city is currently in the procurement process to purchase the modern electric streetcars, which will be acquired through a qualification-based, negotiated selection process. There is a 24 to 28-month lead time required for streetcar orders, he said, while the maintenance and storage facility can be built quicker than that.

The streetcars, which have doors that open at ground level and are easily accessible to the disabled, will run 20 hours a day, from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., seven days a week, and will reach stops every 10 minutes between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. and every 20 minutes in early morning and evening hours. Seven streetcars will be purchased and each has a 130-passenger capacity—larger than a typical bus. The streetcar system will become part of the SunTran system with the same fees and the ability to transfer to and from buses within the system. But the streetcar will use a ticket purchase honor system much like that used in other cities with light rail systems—patrons purchase the tickets via ticket machines and may be subject to periodic checks by security offers to make sure they have purchased a valid ticket.

Glock said the university has expressed an interest in contributing to SunTran the streetcar system and so that it can use a universal pass via university identification cards, but the university still needs to determine how to pay for this approach. The system, expected to be completed by the end of 2011—about the same time as many Rio Nuevo projects including museums also are targeted for completion—is expected to carry 3,600 passengers daily when it first begins operation, but Oaks pointed out that ridership estimates for systems in other cities “tend to be low.

[kaneui]

Although state funding in the near future is a pipe dream, ADOT is looking at an I-10 bypass west of Tucson to relieve congestion:



http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/I-10bypassroute.png



I-10 bypass west of city urged
State report recommends it start in Vail, go through Sahuarita, then Avra Valley

By Andrea Kelly
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
11.30.2008

A state report recommends an Interstate 10 bypass be squeezed between — if not encroaching on — Tucson Mountain Park, Saguaro National Park West and Ironwood Forest National Monument. The report says traffic will get so bad on I-10 through the heart of Tucson by 2030 that such a bypass south and west of the city will be necessary to avoid massive congestion. It recommends the state plan to build a bypass that would take traffic off I-10 somewhere in the Vail area and redirect it south of the city, generally through the Sahuarita area, crossing Interstate 19 before running north up the west side of Tucson and the Avra Valley.

Although a final alignment would be determined by further study, the state's preferred corridor is the one between or on the West Side mountain park, national park and national forest lands, which could put it within view of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. "I think it's a really bad idea to go forward," said Chairman Richard Elías of the Pima County Board of Supervisors. "We've been pretty clear about how we feel about it in Pima County. There's some important lands and important wildlife linkages there that we need to protect."

The bypass would reconnect with I-10 in Pinal County, likely near the Interstate 8 junction. The route could also act as a bypass for Interstate 19 traffic, which would help reduce traffic on I-10 in Tucson even more, said Greg Gentsch, state transportation department district engineer for Tucson. The state has no money to pay for a bypass, which transportation planners say could cost between $6 billion and $8 billion. In the latest state report, prepared for the transportation department, bypass costs are stated as $40 million to $60 million per mile. The study says if a bypass is approved, the next step would be corridor studies and planning by the Pima Association of Governments and the Central Arizona Association of Governments in Pinal County.

PAG and the state have looked at a few routes similar to the suggested bypass as "study routes" since the 1980s, said Cherie Campbell, transportation planning director at the Pima Association of Governments. "For ADOT to move forward there's a lot more work, a lot more studies that would need to be done," Campbell said. That perspective is echoed in the report recommending the State Transportation Board approve the route. The association has not taken a stance on the proposal. The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted late last year to oppose any bypass routes in Pima County. Even though the state has no money for the project right now, a lot of people assume there will be federal funding for infrastructure such as roads, Elías said. "We have a lot of good projects waiting to be done in local municipalities that will be much better," he said. But planning little by little could help in the long run, Gentsch said. "Long-range planning is a smart thing to do. You've got to start somewhere," he said.

The Tucson District will continue to work on other road projects, such as widening I-10 in Tucson and north to Picacho Peak, Gentsch said, but the state also needs to plan for the future. "If you wait until all these other things are done you never get time to plan ahead," he said. The impetus to study a bypass to take truck and interstate traffic off of the busiest stretch of I-10 through Downtown Tucson first came two years ago from Si Schorr, State Transportation Board member. Schorr is now chairman of the board. His term ends in January. Schorr hasn't asserted that a bypass is the only solution to traffic problems, but asked the state to study whether the option would help congestion on the only interstate through Tucson, which is already being widened to its fullest extent. It is predicted that population growth will mean traffic on I-10 will exceed the road's capacity in Tucson before 2030. "The idea is to start planning this, and even building it, before that date," Schorr said. He asserted that the lack of any other bypass or highways means that, in a disaster, there's only one road out of town. The state conducted several public meetings as part of its study, and sought comment on dozens of potential alignment options for such a bypass.

Public outcry against building an interstate through protected riparian habitats led the state board to drop consideration of routes that would have headed through the San Pedro Valley east of Tucson. That decision, made in March, left two route options: The one recommended to go south and west of Tucson, and another that would bypass Tucson to the east and north, passing through the Aravaipa Valley. All of the proposed routes have drawn heavy opposition throughout the studies. The level of opposition to all the potential routes prompted the latest report, which compares the costs and impacts of building a bypass to building a second deck of interstate above the existing I-10 route through Tucson.

Other state reports have already asserted the need for a bypass to take traffic out of the metro area, but hadn't suggested which single route the board should consider. "Economically, I think it would be bad for Tucson because then people wouldn't stop in Tucson," said resident Beryl Baker, who's been opposed to any bypass. Though interstate and truck traffic is targeted to use the bypass, people still stop in Tucson, she said. "Why do you think you have hotels and stuff along the freeway?" she said. "People say, well it's time to sleep. They stop, they eat." Baker also says a bypass through the suggested area would disrupt the lifestyle of many people who live there, and destroy the ecosystem. "The whole Avra Valley is going to be changed by putting a bypass through there. People moved out there because they wanted to be living where they are not by a freeway," she said.

Albert Lannon, a Picture Rocks resident, agreed. "We have this wildlife corridor that was set up to accommodate the CAP (Central Arizona Project) canal. The bypass, as we make out the route, would have an impact on that wildlife corridor," Lannon said. He worries that federal land, possibly from the national park or monument, would be swapped for state-owned land so the state could use the corridor for the road west of Tucson. "Some of us think that that's been the plan from the beginning, that the whole San Pedro (route) was a diversion," Lannon said. Picture Rocks will not take the plans lying down, he said. "We're not people who live in mansions but we are people who watch out for each other, take care of ourselves, and honor and respect the land we live on," Lannon said.

[PHX31]

The streetcars, which have doors that open at ground level and are easily accessible to the disabled, will run 20 hours a day, from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., seven days a week

This is good news. I wish the Phoenix light rail system would use similar hours of operation. Right now the light rail is scheduled to end service at midnight.

[somethingfast]

^ No, it's not. Sorry, this is retarded. If anything, Tucson needs an EASTERN bypass (loop freeway). In fact, this idea is so mind-boggling Tucson it, um, boggles the mind. The State came up with this idea???? Yes, I know the cost would be lower going west but, holy crap, when is this city going to join the 20th century and realize the 750,000 people that live east of Campbell Avenue need serious transporation help? God, I'm so glad I'm not in that city anymore :koko:

[PHX31]

/\ huh? I was talking about the streetcar hours of operation. :koko: :haha:

[jvbahn]

:previous: Look at the article above your post. It's concerning a western loop freeway through some of the last, best untouched desert in the Tucson area.

I wish ADOT would coordinate with zoning boards in AZ and try to stop the automobile insanity and try to create real cities. Figure out ways how to build decent cityscapes(it's not hard) and people will leave the cars at home and we can get on with building something sustainable. No more freeways, concentrate on rail and walkable density and get these fat-assed, Walmart/44 Oz. Thirstbuster-drinking blobs out of their cars.

Tucson has so much potential it's insane that anyone is considering this plan or the Aviation Parkway extension, destroying valuable landscapes or intact neighborhoods. It's sad, just sad.

[BrandonJXN]

I've only been in Tucson since September (from LA) and has Tucson ever thought of a long term light rail plan? I'm tired of risking my life at Rondstat. And what is this Rio Nuevo project? Is it that dirt lot on Toole and Grossetta? Tucson has all the potential but right now it looks like Detroit of the Southwest.

[somethingfast]

Tucson has potential like your boozed up 2nd cousin that just got out of the slam for the 8th time and never finished the 10th grade. Yeah, he draws really well, or did, but........potential? For what? That's what Tucson is like. It can't anything right. It's still an incredibly corrupt town run by Jim Click, Don Diamond, Humberto Lopez and Grijalva.

[azliam]

Tucson has potential like your boozed up 2nd cousin that just got out of the slam for the 8th time and never finished the 10th grade. Yeah, he draws really well, or did, but........potential? For what? That's what Tucson is like. It can't anything right. It's still an incredibly corrupt town run by Jim Click, Don Diamond, Humberto Lopez and Grijalva.

and Houston was great...in 1989.

[somethingfast]

^ ??????

[kaneui]

$78 million Rio Nuevo bond may be issued this month
by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
12.03.2008

The first Rio Nuevo revenue bond is expected to be issued Dec. 30. It will be for about $78 million to pay for various portions of 14 downtown projects, including $10 million for design work for the new Tucson Arena. It will be the first in a projected six Rio Nuevo revenue bonds that will raise about $453 million through 2014 to pay for substantial portions of the Tucson Origins museum complex on the West Side and the Tucson Convention Center, hotel and arena work.

The Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District Board on Tuesday authorized a bond purchase agreement, which still needs City Council approval that is expected on Dec. 9. "There's no guarantee (a bond will be funded) but we think so," said Bill Hicks, the city's bond counsel. As soon as the council authorizes the bond purchase agreement, underwriters Piper Jaffrey and Stone & Youngberg will shop for bond investors. Hicks expects to know by Dec. 17 if the bond is funded. All the documents will then be compiled and the bond funds should be deposited by Dec. 30 at Wells Fargo Bank, which is serving as the bond trustee, Hicks said.

The $78 million bond, and subsequent bonds, will be repaid with Rio Nuevo tax increment financing derived from sales tax generated downtown and along the Broadway corridor to Park Place. A second bond for about $112 million will likely be issued next summer, with two more bonds following in 2010 and two final bonds slated for 2014, Rio Nuevo director Greg Shelko said. This first bond will pay for design work for the Tucson Arena, the University of Arizona Science Center/Arizona State Museum, Arizona History Museum and Tucson Children's Museum as well as construction at the Depot Plaza parking garage and Clark Street freeway underpass, Shelko said.

Tucson Arena funding, originally set for next year, was moved forward to the first bond because Shelko expects to have a design-build team in place by mid-January to start design work. One new item added since the bond plans were announced in August is a $6.8 million payment on a $14 million city loan made to Rio Nuevo in the early 2000s. The city still awaits bond ratings from Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings to determine precisely how much the first bond will be for and the interest rate that will be charged, Hicks said.


RIO NUEVO BOND
The first Rio Nuevo revenue bond, for about $78 million, will fund the following projects:
• $11.6 million - Depot Plaza garage (under construction)
• $10 million - Tucson Arena design work
• $9 million - Clark Street freeway underpass
• $6.8 million - repayment of city loan
• $6 million - downtown infrastructure
• $5.4 million - mission landfill and archaeology
• $3 million - Mission Gardens
• $3 million - Arizona History Museum design
• $2 million - UA Science Center/State Museum design
• $2 million - Barrio Viejo infrastructure
• $2 million - Barrio Sin Nombre infrastructure
• $1.6 million - Cushing Street bridge and road design
• $1.4 million - Depot Plaza public improvements
• $1.2 million - Tucson Children's Museum design
• about $4 million for interest repayment
• about $7.7 million in reserve as a debt service guarantee

Source: Rio Nuevo

[PHX31]

Seriously, has more money ever been wasted than the Rio Nuevo?

[Rive85]

that freeway bypass is just a stupid idea.... and i just cant beleive that they are still in the "design" phase of all these projects... tucson is just so incompetent. they cant get anything done.

[Vicelord John]

I think I said it once when this thread started.....

Development + Tucson = confused?

I don't think anything has been built in 35 years, except Marana, Oro Valley, and Ventana Canyon of course.

[kaneui]

^Tucson is just following in the footsteps of where Phoenix was with a metro population of about 1M. (Not that Phoenix is any shining example of urbanism.) So for Arizona, fairly par for the course....

[poconoboy61]

^Tucson is just following in the footsteps of where Phoenix was with a metro population of about 1M. (Not that Phoenix is any shining example of urbanism.) So for Arizona, fairly par for the course....

You would think Tucson might actually learn from Phoenix's mistakes to become a decent looking city. Tucson's elected officials are completely incompetent. If Tucson allows the bypass to the west, Tucson will actually look like the Detroit of the Southwest.

Why does everything in Tucson take decades to study, only to never actually materialize. I am only 23 and am not sure I'll still be alive when Tucson starts to look like a respectable city. :shrug:

[kaneui]

If this Daily Star investigative report holds water, the UofA has been as loose with its pocketbook as Rio Nuevo, shelling out big dollars for various designs of their new science center over the past few years:



http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/newUAScienceCenterrender.jpg
This new conceptual design shows the planned UA science center at left, with a planetarium dome;
Arizona State Museum at right; and a three-story Imax theater in a middle plaza.
(courtesy: Rafael Viñoly Architects)



UA outlay for science center near $13 million
City taxpayers foot big bills for travel, scrapped designs

By Rob O'Dell
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
12.07.2008

The University of Arizona has spent nearly $13 million designing a new science center for Rio Nuevo — including notable expenses for travel, meals and architectural designs that have been discarded, according to an investigation by the Arizona Daily Star. Pitched to voters in 1999 as a $30 million item, science-center costs ballooned to $350 million with the proposed addition of a Rainbow Bridge across Interstate 10 before settling back down to about $130 million in a joint development with the Arizona State Museum. With the project poised to move ahead with its third and final building design, a database created by the Star gives taxpayers their first detailed look at what's been spent since mid-2004.

Combing through more than 2,700 paper receipts provided by the UA, the Star found:
● $4.86 million to architect Rafael Viñoly, about two-thirds of which was for the Rainbow Bridge and other designs that were scrapped. Viñoly is still working on a scaled-back science center.
● More than $355,000 in travel expenses for consultants and personnel, including trips to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Acapulco, Mexico; The Hague, Netherlands; and various locations around Italy. Much of the travel money was spent bringing consultants to Tucson for meetings, evidenced by more than $40,000 spent on plane tickets.
● $63,000 wired to a Russian bank so a software company called Softomate could develop an Internet Explorer Toolbar add-on. UA officials said they wired the money to Russia because that office does different work than the company's office in Washington state.
● More than $1 million to outside consultants for exhibit design, although the UA is doing most of the exhibit design itself.
● $112,000 for state-of-the-art computers, laptops and electronic equipment for the university, including $7,000 to purchase 12 iPhones. The UA received few bulk discounts on the equipment.
● More than $250,000 in rent, furniture and installation for a new office in the Unisource Tower, so the university would have a presence Downtown.
● $173,000 for public relations.
● $43,000 for local catering and for meals throughout the country, including New York.
● The UA billed city taxpayers nearly $1.75 million in salaries for university employees who worked on the project.

University defends spending
The university defended the expenses on travel, meals, technology and architecture, saying it pared back spending as much as possible when the city reduced its funding for the science center. Bob Smith, the UA's director of facilities, design and construction, said the payments to Viñoly are "well within the normal parameters of architectural, engineering and specialty consultant costs" for a complex project such as the science center. Smith said 75 percent of the meal costs were catering for community meetings or working meetings that contributed to the development of programs, exhibit concepts and design. He defended the travel spending because he said the university flew many experts to Tucson for their opinions rather than paying them consulting fees. But a Star review of the receipts found that only a handful of the experts fit that description. A vast majority of the travel was for paid consultants or staff members. "I think we are getting a heck of a deal," Smith said of the travel. "We're getting some of the best minds in the world for the cost of flying them out here."

Of those reimbursed the most for travel, only Columbia University's Peter Eisenberger, a longtime colleague of Flandrau Science Center Director Alexis Faust, directly fit Smith's description. He was reimbursed more than $52,000 for travel. "A lot of the concepts we are using came from Peter," Faust said, adding that he spent thousands of hours on the project and never charged a fee. Much of the international travel, Smith said, was for conferences where the UA made presentations, including one in Rio de Janeiro where he gave a presentation on how to properly engage the community when building a science center.

Faust said the iPhones were needed because smartphones will be integral to the experience at the center and they are being used in exhibit prototypes. She said the UA needs many of the laptops for exhibit prototypes as well as community outreach, adding that any furniture or electronic equipment bought will be transferred to the science center at Rio Nuevo when it is built. The Russian contractor Softomate was selected for its expertise in developing custom toolbars for Internet Explorer and other Web browsers, along with its in-depth knowledge of "spidering" — intelligent Internet searches that add content to a Web site. Faust said every contractor was "the best in the business or had specialized expertise that made us pick them."

Numbers analyzed
Sheila Grinell, who founded and developed the Arizona Science Center in Phoenix and wrote a book on how to build a new science center, analyzed the Star's database and said none of the spending strikes her as "outrageous." Given that the university hired people from New York, she said, "If you are going to work with them, you have to fly them." She said designers Viñoly and Ralph Appelbaum cost a lot.

But Bob Vint, a local architect who is working on preserving the Mission San Xavier del Bac, criticized the time and money spent on the now-discarded Rainbow Bridge version of the science center, saying it was "absurd" that the UA fell for the idea, and that the city and the university need to start learning from their mistakes. "We fall for these nonsensical, grandiose visions and throw millions of dollars at them. It's just dumb," Vint said.

However, it's not just UA money being spent. As part of the agreement to scrap the Rainbow Bridge design, the city agreed to pay half the UA's design cost, meaning city taxpayers split a $12.8 million expense. When asked whether the city reviewed and approved the expenses, the city released a short statement from City Manager Mike Hein stating: "The city is only following the terms and conditions of the agreement. If the university approves the expenditure and pays for it, then we are obligated to reimburse one-half the amount."

A new beginning
Although university officials showed the Star the new design for the joint science center and Arizona State Museum, Smith said it was two to three weeks premature to make the plan public. However, late Friday, Faust e-mailed the design plans to science center "supporters." The design shows visitors entering from the west, with a large plaza in the middle containing a three-story IMAX theater. The science center with its planetarium dome is to the left and the museum to the right. A dome-shaped telescope is located at the southeast corner of the building.

Smith said the final schematic design will be completed soon, with the more intensive design and engineering work to be completed next year. An optimistic timetable for starting construction is in mid-2009, with the center opening by 2012. At the same time, staff for the Flandrau is developing exhibits for the science center. The centerpiece is an interface that will allow visitors to swipe either an electronic card or a smartphone at the entrance to the museum and at all exhibits.

Faust said the interface — a program called ZoneBee the UA has spent $750,000 on — will transfer content from the exhibits to cell phones and home computers and allow visitors to experience the center after they've left. The museum would also create a specialized Web site for visitors and continually update users with new science and Flandrau information. To help create ZoneBee, the UA hired New York-based employee Giovanni Battistini for nearly $150,000, and has reimbursed him more than $78,000 for travel, meals and cell-phone use in the past several years. Faust said Battistini would make much more in the private sector. Battistini also has an agreement with the UA to try to develop ZoneBee commercially. The agreement calls for the UA to have a "substantial" investment with Battistini in the product, but the amount is confidential under the terms of the contract. UA President Robert Shelton said ZoneBee is a good concept with the potential to be engaging for museum visitors. Shelton said he did not look at the Star's numbers, and delegated the budget and planning for the science center to those under him.

Reactions of support, anger
Tucson City Council members defended the university and its spending. Councilwoman Regina Romero, who represents the West Side, said the university is the expert, and she has faith in it to "plan, design and deliver" the science center. Mayor Bob Walkup said the spending amounts "sound about right to me." He said the city will soon conduct an audit to see how the UA has spent the money, even though the city has already paid the UA most of its $6.4 million share.

Some community members were more critical. Downtown business owner Margo Susco said she was appalled by what she called the extravagance of the UA's spending: $16,000 at the Arizona Inn, $40,000 on plane flights, and meals at some of Tucson's finest establishments. "As a taxpaying small business owner Downtown, I think it's ridiculous," Susco said. "They are just flagrantly spending. It's just not right."

Developer Richard Studwell said the UA spent money on whatever it thought it needed with no regard to cost. "This is indicative of Rio Nuevo: It's not run in a business-like fashion," Studwell said, adding there's little appreciation shown for the taxpayer's money. "They fire the football coach if he loses too many games. These guys are spending millions of dollars and nothing is said."



Timeline of the University of Arizona Science Center

• June 1998: Discussions of a possible $100 million "Sonoran Science Center" museum district on the West Side include a relocated Flandrau Science Center.
• November 1999: Prop. 400, diverting $60 million in state sales taxes for Rio Nuevo, is approved by 62 percent of Tucson voters. The science center is included in the plan.
• May 2003: Preliminary drawings by designer Ralph Appelbaum show a cluster of buildings and two pedestrian bridges spanning Interstate 10 and the Santa Cruz River.
• July 2003: A UA study says a $100 million science center can bring in enough money to pay for itself. The city is asked for $20 million to get construction started by 2006.
• September 2003: The Arizona Board of Regents unanimously approves $73 million for a "world class" science center on the West Side.
• May 2004: The UA selects Rafael Viñoly as the architect.
• August 2005: Viñoly says his Rainbow Bridge design will cost $200 million — double what was approved. By December the cost estimate hits $350 million.
• May 2006: The Arizona Legislature approves a $600 million 12-year extension of the Rio Nuevo special taxing district.
• July 2006: City officials refuse to put up more than $40 million for the Rainbow Bridge.
• August 2006: New UA President Robert Shelton drops the Rainbow Bridge plan, citing a lack of money and community consensus.
• September 2006: The city agrees to pay half the UA's planning and design costs for the science center, provided the Rainbow Bridge concept is scrapped.
• May 2007: The City Council approves a $100 million Science Center combined with a $30 million Arizona State Museum, with the city footing the entire bill. The Board of Regents approves it three months later.
• Dec. 2008: With the final design almost done, UA officials hope to have the Science Center open by Arizona's state centennial in 2012, if the city can sell $65 million in bonds to start construction soon.

[BrandonJXN]

Someone educate me: What the hell is Rio Nuevo?

[kaneui]

^For starters, you can peruse the city's outdated Rio Nuevo website (http://www.ci.tucson.az.us/rionuevo/ ). After that, there are plenty of earlier posts on this thread that will get you up to speed on downtown's controversial and perpetually delayed redevelopment project.

[kaneui]

Richard Oseran's success at Hotel Congress bodes well for his new market and restaurant that are replacing the ill-fated Central Bistro at the train depot:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/MaynardsMarket.jpg
Maynards Market & Kitchen opens in the Historic Train Depot this week.
(photo: Tucson Citizen)


Market and restaurant to open in downtown train depot
by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
12.08.2008

The brains behind the popular Hotel Congress the past 23 years are about to see if downtown lightning will strike twice at their new Maynards Market & Kitchen. Maynards opens Friday in the east half of the city-owned Historic Depot, 400 E. Toole Ave. The restaurant is getting a head start on the market, which should open by Jan. 1. Hotel Congress owners Richard and Shana Oseran and partner Ross Rulney have transformed the space once occupied by Central Bistro into a simpler railroad-themed eatery. They are filling half the depot lobby with the market. "People won't recognize it," Richard Oseran said.

The Central Bistro entrance is now part of the kitchen expansion, the bar was moved to the back and carpet gave way to the ground-and-polished concrete floor. Black and gray are the dominant colors in the restaurant except for the colorful ceiling, and an industrial railroad theme provides the look. Shana Oseran describes the food offerings as "homemade food you'd find at your neighborhood restaurant.". Maynards will serve breakfast from 7 to 11 a.m., lunch from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. A late-night pizza menu from 10 p.m. till midnight will be offered Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. "Everything is a la carte," said Shana Oseran, who devised the restaurant concept. "You decide what you want." Breakfast includes egg frittata. Lunch features seven kinds of pizza and sandwiches such as hot brisket or Mediterranean tuna on multi-grain breads or baguettes. Dinner includes fish, meat or chicken entrees. For breakfast and lunch, you order at the market counter (even when the market is closed). Then you pick a seat next door, on the train platform or in the market, where there is an 18-seat table crafted from a tree burned on Mount Lemmon in the 2003 fire. Dinner has seated menu service. "This is a hybrid system we're trying to pull off," Richard Oseran said.

Even with Central Bistro's failure and Fourth Avenue underpass construction next to the depot, Oseran decided to take a chance directly across the street from his Hotel Congress. "We believe if you build something authentic and original, that will bring people downtown," Oseran said. "All I could really alter (about downtown development) was what I had the power to do myself. We have 130 people, people who hire on with us and stay on. They don't leave. We can do something for the community, and we're giving people an opportunity to move up in management."

The city gave Oseran a rent-free lease for the restaurant space until May 2011, but Oseran is paying $200 a month for the lobby and platform area, according to the lease agreement. Starting in March 2011, rent would be $7,010 per month. A year ago, Deputy City Manager Mike Letcher said the three-plus years of free rent would take the place of the city paying for tenant improvements in the city-owned depot. Oseran said building the restaurant and market cost about $750,000, about twice as much as he expected. The encaustic tile ceiling above the bar, espresso station and lounge gives the only color relief to the black-gray at human level. Colored tile in hues of amber, white, Sag Harbor gray and Georgian brick depict a Cuban floral motive that Sonoma, Calif.-based designer Rory McCarthy thought would fit the early 20th century setting of the depot. "The essence of it is we wanted to respond to the context of the depot but we didn't want to do (the Maynards renovation) in a traditional way," said McCarthy, who lived in Tucson from 1966 to 1989. "It's an industrial aesthetic, a celebration of the machine. In this case it's the railroad." His interiors can still be found at Etherton Gallery and the Roadrunner Grill.Maynards Market & Kitchen opens in the Historic Train Depot this week.

[kaneui]

City Council approves $78 million bond for Rio Nuevo work
by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
12.10.2008

The City Council approved a roughly $78 million Rio Nuevo revenue bond Monday to fund portions of 14 downtown projects. The council action will allow underwriters to shop for investors next week with the intention of having the bond funded by Dec. 30, said Shawn Dralle, a financial adviser at RBC Capital Markets. She anticipates an interest rate between 5 percent and 6.5 percent. "The underwriters have been premarketing the bond," Dralle said. "We have a good sense there are investors out there." The proposed bond last week got a credit rating of A-minus from Fitch Ratings and A2 from Moody's Investor Service. Dralle described them as "very solid, good ratings." "These ratings really allow us to sell the bond," she said.

Technically, the Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District Board last week authorized the sale of a bond not to exceed $80 million. The council action provides "city stand-by" money if sales tax revenues and the one-year debt service reserve fund built into the bond fall short of meeting a year's debt service. The provision creates a dedicated avenue where the city can channel its required 50 percent match of every Rio Nuevo Tax Increment Financing dollar spent, said Jaret Barr, an assistant to City Manager Mike Hein.

Council members spoke favorably about the bond in the Monday afternoon study session. "It's our own economic stimulus package," Mayor Bob Walkup said. This bond will be the first of six planned Rio Nuevo bonds through 2014 to raise a projected $453 million to largely pay for Tucson Origins projects on the West Side and Tucson Convention Center and Tucson Arena work downtown. "We're going out for a reasonable amount of money and money we're ready to spend," Councilwoman Nina Trasoff said. This first bond will pay for design work for the Tucson Arena, the University of Arizona Science Center/Arizona State Museum, Arizona History Museum and Tucson Children's Museum as well as construction at the Depot Plaza parking garage and Clark Street freeway underpass.


What the bond will pay for

The full allocation is as follows:
• $11.6 million - Depot Plaza garage (under construction)
• $10 million - Tucson Arena design work
• $9 million - Clark Street freeway underpass
• $6.8 million - repayment of city loan
• $6 million - downtown infrastructure
• $5.4 million - mission landfill and archaeology
• $3 million - Mission Gardens
• $3 million - Arizona History Museum design
• $2 million - UA Science Center/State Museum design
• $2 million - Barrio Viejo infrastructure
• $2 million - Barrio Sin Nombre infrastructure
• $1.6 million - Cushing Street bridge and road design
• $1.4 million - Depot Plaza public improvements
• $1.2 million - Tucson Children's Museum design
• About $4 million for interest payment
• About $7.7 million in reserve as a debt service guarantee

[kaneui]

With the new streetcar line under construction, apparently Portland developer Williiams and Dame sees the opportunity in downtown Tucson, and has gathered a few local partners to make the city a most interesting proposal:



Venture plans major work Downtown
Pledges to shoulder $12M in upfront costs on 75 acres; city appears ready to OK deal

By Rob O'Dell
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
12.11.2008

A team of high-profile Tucson business leaders wants the city to give it the right to plan and develop a large swath of Downtown's east side and has offered to invest nearly $12 million upfront as a show of good faith. The group includes Tucson developer Jim Campbell; Portland, Ore., development firm Williams and Dame, which has built a high-profile project in Tucson; financier Scott Stiteler; and restaurateur Kwang C. An, who has agreed to open a new restaurant next to the Rialto Theatre.

The group's pre-development agreement with the city includes money for some of the City Council's favored causes, including affordable housing, the Warehouse Arts District and the Skrappy's youth club. The council is set to consider the agreement on Tuesday. In return for its investment in infrastructure, planning and land, the investment group would receive options on several prime Downtown land parcels in addition to the ones it already controls.

Details of the agreement include:
● $650,000 to plan and design infrastructure in the 75-acre district created by this proposal, which consists of much of the eastern portion of Downtown and straddles the Union Pacific railroad to include much of the historic Warehouse District.
● $1.8 million to pay for zoning, development standards and design guidelines for all parcels in the 75-acre district, including land the group doesn't own or have options on.
● $500,000 for the Warehouse Arts Management Organization, or WAMO, to conduct assessment of the aging structures there.
● $2 million in a revolving line of credit for artists in the Warehouse District to fix up the buildings and help get them tenants.
● $250,000 in either a rent subsidy or building improvements for Skrappy's, and a pledge to find the youth club a permanent home in the district within a year. Until then, Skrappy's would move back into its old home on East Broadway.
● $1.5 million to fix up the Rialto Theatre by upgrading restrooms and a bar downstairs, adding restrooms and a lounge upstairs, and adding a merchandise area as well as a green room for the acts who play there.
● $3.5 million to upgrade the Rialto block and bring tenants to it, including An (pronounced "On"), who has agreed to open a 20,000-square-foot restaurant there named An Congress, a play on words and his name. An currently owns the Great Wall of China restaurant and formerly owned Sakura, where he was known for his commercials with former Diamondbacks slugger Luis Gonzalez.
● In exchange for the money they put up, the developers agree to develop land they already own, which includes the former Greyhound Bus Station site, the Rialto block and the entire southern portion of the 200 block of East Congress, as well as the former Martin Luther King Jr. housing project, which is now called One North Fifth.
● The developers would also get options on several prime parcels Downtown or near it, including the Ronstadt Transit Center, the vacant land next to the Historic Train Depot, 6 acres of vacant land within the Warehouse District and the city-owned former Broadway Volvo site at East Broadway and Euclid Avenue.
● The city is required to complete the modern streetcar planned along Congress Street by 2012. If it does not, the city would have to reimburse the developers for some of their pre-development costs.

The agreement, which the city and the developers have been talking about for months, has been moving on the fast track, as a number of Downtown interests and organizations already have lent their support. After initial criticism from Downtown interests that the deal was a "giveaway" because people thought the development company would get the warehouses, many groups have now signed off, including the Warehouse Arts Management Organization, the Rialto Theatre Foundation and the executive committee of the Downtown Tucson Partnership.

Marvin Shaver, WAMO's president, said the group signed off after receiving assurances that the $2 million line of credit will be zero-interest. He said the organization will decide "how and when the warehouses will be renovated," which will include putting up its own money and finding other funds, such as new market tax credits. "It basically preserves the buildings and lets WAMO take the lead," Shaver said. Doug Biggers, the Rialto Theatre Foundation executive director, said he supports the deal, adding, "If not this, how could it ever work?" Michael Crawford of the Downtown Tucson Partnership said the deal is "the kind of public-private partnership we've been dying for here." One Downtown interest who didn't give approval was Hotel Congress owner Richard Oseran, who voted against the agreement at the Downtown Tucson Partnership meeting. He declined on Wednesday to say why.

City officials are high on the development proposal as well. "This is an unbelievable opportunity in a difficult market to see revitalization take place in a magnitude few thought could or would happen," City Manager Mike Hein said. Council members Regina Romero and Nina Trasoff both said they support the agreement. "I presume it's a good deal for them; I know it's a good deal for the city," Trasoff said, adding that moving Skrappy's back to Downtown was "gravy." Representatives from Skrappy's couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday.

Campbell, Stiteler, and Williams and Dame have pooled their investments into one development company called the Downtown Tucson Development Co. Stiteler, who has developed and financed several projects in Tucson, said he and rest of the team are committed to revitalizing Downtown and are willing to take on the risks to do it. "There's nothing in there that's unrealistic," he said. "There are things in there that are going to be difficult."

An, whose new restaurant would be a combination of a sports bar like the ESPN Zone and a restaurant like the Yard House, said it also will have a rooftop deck with views. "Everybody's been talking about Downtown for 20 years, and it's all talk, talk, talk," An said. "Somebody needs to step in, and others will follow. . . . This will be good for me, good for the developers, good for the city and good for Tucson's people." Campbell, who noted that the developers would not get options to the land until they meet requirements, said a large developer who will take the risk is needed Downtown. "Downtown Tucson is not going to happen until somebody steps up and takes a chance," Campbell said. "That's what we're doing."

[BrandonJXN]

As someone new in Tucson, does anyone have a rundown of the projects that are happening downtown as well as the streetcar route?

[kaneui]

^There's a streetcar map on page 25 of the following link:

http://www.dot.ci.tucson.az.us/hottopics/pdfs/Tucson%20Draft%20EA%201.18.08.pdf


To date there is no development project list for Tucson. Off the top of my head, the biggest projects going right now are the $500M Ritz-Carlton resort in Marana and the $200M widening of I-10. Other than that, the few downtown projects under construction include the 4th Ave. underpass, the Depot Plaza parking garage, and the Mercado San Agustin just west of I-10. And there are too many stalled or "on hold" projects to mention here.

The best bet for a new high-rise in Tucson is probably the Sheraton convention center hotel, which probably won't happen until the convention center remodel and new arena are further along; and the hotel will need its own bond issue by the city to get funded. (Also, see the list a few posts back of some upcoming Rio Nuevo projects to receive bond funding.)

Maybe after the first of the year I'll pull together a more comprehensive list for the metro area.

[kaneui]

MOCA Tucson may have a new home in the fire department headquarters building:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/newMOCAbldg.jpg
This artist's drawing shows what the art museum would look like after the Fire Department moves out next year.
(render: courtesy of Wedge Studio)


Art museum only bidder for TFD headquarters
Building at 265 S. Church Ave erected in 1971

by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
12.11.2008

The Museum of Contemporary Art Tucson turned in the only proposal to take over the Tucson Fire Department headquarters, 265 S. Church Ave., once the department moves out next autumn. The deadline was Dec. 4 for proposals to lease the building, said Lou Ginsberg, the city's real estate program director. The selection committee is evaluating the museum's proposal and will send a recommendation to City Manager Mike Hein in January, Ginsberg said. City Council approval would be sought in April or May. The two-story, 19,289-square-foot building was built in 1971. The Fire Department plans to move to a new structure in fall 2009 near Cushing Street and Granada Avenue.

The museum leases space in another city-owned building at 149 N. Stone Ave., next to the Joel D. Valdez Main Library, but must move out by the end of the year. The fire headquarters would come with a five-year lease. "We plan to reactivate that building by operating a world-class contemporary art museum," said Randi Dorman, president of the museum's board of directors. She said the museum envisions quickly opening a gallery in the large open area where fire engines sit now and then improving smaller rooms for other gallery and studio space.

The city selection committee includes Ginsberg and Tim Murphy, both from the city real estate program; Tony Larrivee of the city Facilities Management Division; Tucson police Capt. George Stoner; and Glenn Lyons of the Downtown Tucson Partnership.

[kaneui]

Although the city selected Garfield Traub's proposal for the convention center hotel in June, it will now hold three open houses to get public input on the final design of the new Sheraton, now scheduled to begin construction in 2010:

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/RioNuevochanges.png
The Science Center will be west of Interstate 10; the arena and hotel will be east of the freeway



Rio Nuevo projects finally on their way
Public's input wanted on TCC hotel design

by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
12.12.2008

There's been a lot of talk for many years, plenty of false starts, endless chapters of public discord. No construction cranes currently fill downtown, but two major Rio Nuevo projects have quietly reached milestones, with real start dates on the horizon. Construction is set to start in the summer on the $130 million University of Arizona Science Center/Arizona State Museum just west of Interstate 10. Formal design work will start next week on the hotel for the Tucson Convention Center following a Monday open house where public input will be sought for the hotel's look. The public can play a role in designing the Sheraton Tucson Convention Center Hotel, which will add a 25- to 28-story landmark to the downtown skyline. Those who show up for the 5-7 p.m. open house Monday at the TCC Grand Lobby (west entrance on Granada Avenue) can weigh in on what they want the hotel to look like. Parking is free.

The hotel will be the signature piece of a project that includes building a new Tucson Arena and expanding the convention center. Construction is expected to start on all three projects after the 2010 gem shows, Rio Nuevo director Greg Shelko said. The Garfield Traub Development/Sheraton design team will take public comments and use them as a basis for their design vision. They will return with a design at a second open house in late January, Shelko said. "We have no preconceived idea what it will look like," Shelko said. "We will ask people what they want it to be in sense of look, design and feel of the building. The whole thing is not to foist a design on the community."

Garfield Traub/Sheraton has determined the hotel will sit at the edge of the TCC Grand Lobby, filling a curved space now used as a drop-off area. The hotel, TCC and other nearby buildings will be presented as unadorned blocks at the open house, giving the public a chance to say what they should look like. The designers will then show a variety of hotel designs elsewhere, as well as material palettes to give people a sense of different looks. "People can express some preference for tower designs," Shelko said. "Do they like glass, metal or stone materials?"

Garfield Traub/Sheraton won the development agreement in June over three other development teams offering Hyatt, Hilton and Marriott hotels. The four hotel designs were played up earlier this year, but Shelko said they were just window dressing. The city and selection committee were more concerned with hotel operations and financial details. "They were ideas. They were just concepts," Shelko said of the earlier designs. "They meant something at the time, where their heads are at, but we didn't buy a design. The most important thing about all this is we have the hotel operator."

The hotel will be built with a $150 million revenue bond that will be paid back with hotel revenue. The bond is independent of the six proposed Rio Nuevo bonds that will be issued between now and 2014 to raise an estimated $453 million, Shelko said. Shelko plans to take the hotel design to the City Council in April, after a third open house in late March. When the council approves the design, Rio Nuevo will try to sell the bond. The recent downturn in the economy is not expected to be a factor, said Bill Hicks, Rio Nuevo's legal counsel. "There are always people with money to invest if we have a credit-worthy project," Hicks said. Shelko anticipates starting hotel construction soon after the 2010 gem shows and having it open in 2012. He expects construction of a $130 million Tucson Arena and the TCC expansion to start about the same time.

A pre-submittal meeting Dec. 4 for arena design/build teams drew 140 to 150 people from 25 to 30 companies. TCC Interim Director Tommy Obermaier didn't expect that large a turnout. "It tells me the project is pretty exciting and a lot of people are paying attention to this, and, of course, there is the economy," Obermaier said. He will post a request for qualifications later in December for "construction managers at risk" to lead the design/build team. The CMAR concept means the team will complete the project for a guaranteed maximum price, in this case $130 million.

Obermaier is negotiating with two prospective arena operators and expects to have an operator in place by the end of the year. The operator will serve as a nonvoting adviser as the city weighs replies to requests for qualifications to design/build firms. The replies are due in late January. He estimates design work will take 18 months and construction will take 18 months. He's shooting to open the arena in fall 2012. The arena will be located just south of Congress Street along the freeway frontage road. The design/build team will work with established parameters such as 12,500 seats, 22 suites, an ice floor to accommodate hockey and facilities to handle modern-day touring events such as rock concerts and circuses, and to do it all with $130 million in Rio Nuevo bond funds.

UA Science Center to use 'open source technology'
How do you get the most out of $130 million to build a big-city science center? Utilize open-source technology. Science centers routinely cost $200 million to $300 million or more to build, but the City Council drew the line at $130 million for a combined University of Arizona Science Center/Arizona State Museum at Tucson Origins on the West Side. So the Flandrau: The University of Arizona Science Center team brainstormed to come up with an innovative concept to furnish a science center on the cheap. The answer was open-source technology. That is technology available at no cost that can be used or altered, as long as the user offers the alterations to others at no charge.

The Flandrau team will tap into such technology to create 26 variations of intelligent, interactive exhibit modules that will let you do anything from becoming a virtual brain surgeon to designing your own Mars Lander. "We don't know anybody doing this in the science center community," said Alexis Faust, Flandrau's executive director. Visitors will use a Smart Ticket included with admission that will allow them to personalize a science center visit as more personal information gets loaded onto the plastic card, which is digitally connected to all the exhibits. Visitors can also use the Smart Ticket to access the online version of the science center from home or school. "There is an online component for every exhibit experience," said Sean Fitzpatrick, a Flandrau special projects manager.

Depending on what's programmed onto your Smart Ticket, an exhibit may present information tailored to your interests. "It allows you to create your own experience," said Matthew Wenger, a graduate student working on exhibit prototypes. "Normally, you go to a science center, you do something and it's done. This allows visitors to continue the experience at school or home." Faust said the new science center will pioneer new ways of learning with the interactive technology. "The truth of the matter is we're creating new knowledge at such a rapid rate we have to learn how to better evaluate information," Faust said.

The Flandrau team will substantially reduce costs by building and maintaining its own exhibits rather than hiring a firm to do the work, as is common among science centers, Faust said. One interactive model will be a 3-D Planner. This will be a table spanned with neoprene rubber and pixels underneath that can be programmed to push up the Catalina Mountains, for example, and an image of the mountains can be projected onto it. The 3-D Planner can be changed at will to respond to current events, Faust said.

Faust said $1 million has been raised toward the $60 million UA must raise in advance to build the pair of museums as it awaits compensation from a 2014 Rio Nuevo bond. The UA is expected to get $65 million in Rio Nuevo bond funds in summer 2009, which will fund construction through fall 2010, said Robert R. Smith, UA's vice president of facilities design and construction. UA previously received $5 million in Rio Nuevo funds for design costs. "We look at construction starting in earnest next summer," Smith said. "We want to have this open for February 2012 (the month of the state's centennial)." The science center will use $100 million of the $130 million in Rio Nuevo money, while the Arizona State Museum will use the other $30 million. The two museums will share a central lobby, Smith said.

additional information
IF YOU GO
TCC Hotel Open House
• When: 5 to 7 p.m. Monday
• Where: Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave., Grand Lobby, Granada Avenue entrance
• Parking: Free in TCC lot off Granada
• What: Public input is sought for design features the Sheraton Tucson Convention Center Hotel should include.

[kaneui]

City to get just $25M of $75M federal grant it expected for streetcar
by GARRY DUFFY
Tucson Citizen
12.13.2008

Tucson's modern streetcar project will receive $25 million through a federal grant instead of the $75 million that planners had expected. City Council members will hear an update Tuesday on the streetcar, which voters approved in 2006 as part of the $2.1 billion Regional Transportation Authority 20-year plan. The project would be built in phases and eventually run from Avenida de Convento downtown to near the Arizona Health Sciences Center off Campbell Avenue.

Since the RTA vote, city transportation officials have been working with Federal Transit Administration staffers to secure grant money to start and build the project. The $162 million streetcar system, to be completed in 2011, called for the RTA to fund $87.7 million of the cost. The remainder was anticipated to come from "up to $75 million" in federal transit Small Starts program grants. "We're going to continue to pursue federal funding in other areas," Shellie Gin, project manager for the Tucson Transportation Department, said Thursday. "The goal is to keep this project moving forward." Among the issues between federal staffers and city transit officials is whether the streetcar system meets required FTA cost-effectiveness criteria to qualify for up to $75 million in grants.

Mayor Bob Walkup and city transportation officials met with federal transit representatives in Washington, D.C., in June to discuss the funding. The mayor wrote a letter July 10 to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters, stating local officials' belief that the city had met all requirements for the anticipated $75 million grant. The mayor followed up with a July 22 letter to FTA Administrator James S. Simpson, saying federal Small Starts evaluation methods do not "adequately nor accurately capture" the full benefits of streetcar investments." Federal transit staffers continue to disagree with Walkup's assessment.

The federal officials Thursday said the $25 million grant is being provided to the streetcar project under an exemption through a different grant category, New Starts. "The request is small enough so it doesn't have to meet the stringent requirements of the New Start process," Paul Griffo, an FTA spokesman, said Thursday. Griffo said the city can submit grant applications for later phases of the project.

At the council study session Tuesday, city transportation officials will provide an update on the anticipated release of the $25 million federal grant on Dec. 20. The streetcar project was a central feature of the 2006 Regional Transportation Plan. Backers cast it as both a mass transit amenity that would reduce traffic and air pollution, and an economic driver that would attract high-quality development along its almost 4-mile route.

[kaneui]

The city's restoration program of historic buildings is bringing back downtown's sense of place:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/FacadeRestorationProperties.png


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/ScreeningRoomFacade.jpg
LEFT: The look of The Screening Room. RIGHT: Proposed facade restoration and new marquee for The Screening Room


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Wig-o-RamaFacade.jpg
A vacant office building at the intersection of Congress Street and Scott Avenue (LEFT), will be renovated to its original 1909 and 1919 look, (RIGHT).


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Rialtoblockfacade.jpg
LEFT: The Rialto Block is boarded up. RIGHT: Proposed facade restoration for the Rialto Block brings back prismatic glass cubes above the storefronts.


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/64ECongressFacade.jpg
LEFT: 64 E. Broadway has one 1984 facade that covers two buildings. RIGHT: The proposed facade restoration will reveal both buildings with their original 1909 and 1919 facades.



Rialto Block, 3 other downtown buildings picked for facade makeovers

by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
12.13.2008

Wig-O-Rama, the Rialto Block, The Screening Room and a vacant, historic office building at 64 E. Broadway will tap into Tucson's $520,000 fund to restore facades dating back to the 1910s. The four properties were chosen from eight finalists to take part in the city's facade restoration program for pre-1948 buildings. The program is funded with leftover downtown revolving loan funds from 1982, said Glenn Lyons, executive director of the Downtown Tucson Partnership. "If we would have had another $2 million, we could have had 30 building renovations in 2009," Lyons said Friday while making the announcement at the Rialto Theatre. The property owners must at least match the city contribution, Lyons said. The facade projects should be finished by the end of 2009 or early 2010.

Wig-O-Rama, 98-110 E. Congress St., will get $120,000 from the city fund for an estimated $240,000 effort to remove stucco sheeting from 1948-49 to restore the original 1904 look. "It's the ugliest corner that downtown has with the biggest opportunity to be rejuvenated," said architect Rob Paulus, whose firm is designing the facades for Wig-O-Rama and the Rialto Block, 300-320 E. Congress St. "We will unfrost the cake and see what we have to work with." The Rialto project was allocated $125,000 from the city fund for a $500,000 project that will be on street level. Glass storefronts will be restored, as will small cubes of prismatic glass that originally were above the storefronts in the 1919-21 structure that attaches to the Rialto Theatre at the east end.

The vacant office building at 64 E. Broadway, until recently occupied by Southern Arizona Legal Aid, will lose its 1984 facade. Architect Robert Bailey will use the $125,000 forgivable city loan for a $500,000 project to reveal two separate facades from 1909 and 1919. The Broadway-Scott corner had a brick facade that "doesn't have a lot of style," but the adjoining building's facade on Scott Avenue had Prairie-style brick, Bailey, of Robert Bailey & Stephen Grede Inc. said. "We have the original corners of the original blueprints," Bailey said. "We were really fortunate they were found in the building. They are just scraps of blueprint." Bailey's project will likely include a sidewalk cafe on the 8-foot-wide sidewalk that will be part of the Scott Avenue infrastructure project that started last week. The Rialto Block proposal also includes sidewalk dining on Fifth Avenue and both the proposals include awnings to provide sidewalk shade.

The main thrust of the effort at The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St., will be a triangle marquee jutting over the sidewalk. Architects from Ibarra Rosano Design Architects were out of town Friday. The Screening Room will get $63,000 in city funds for a $126,000 project.

If any of the selected projects fails to come up with the matching funds, the downtown partnership's selection committee will award the money to one of the four facade proposals not selected, Lyons said. They are the W.A. Julian Building, 111-121 E. Congress; 256-278 E. Congress; Beowulf Alley Theatre, 11 S. Sixth Ave.; and ArtFare The Muse, 51 N. Sixth Ave. Lyons said the partnership is working to raise more money to award a fifth facade project and possibly more. The selection committee that picked the four proposals consisted of Lyons and Teresa Bommarito from the partnership; Fran La Sala and Nicole Ewing-Gavin from the city manager's office; Brooks Jeffery, associate dean of the architecture school at the University of Arizona; Demion Clinco of the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission; developer Phil Lipman; Mary Lou Focht, owner of Old Town Artisans; and Jonathan Mabry, the city's historic preservation officer.

[NIXPHX77]

K - thanks for always posting the great info and updates on Tucson.
it all sounds so promising; i can't wait to see results.
i really like that program to restore historic facades. i hope they find/raise more money.
also, hopefully Obama's transportation funding/economy stimulating project will get more money to tucson for the streetcar.
ps - what is the picture of in your avatar?

[PHX31]

I like the idea of the facade restorations going on in Tucson.

I have several in mind up here in Phoenix that I wish they'd tackle.

[kaneui]

ps - what is the picture of in your avatar?


^Although I've mentioned it previously, it's a photo from several years back of snow on 13,800-ft. Mauna Kea, on Hawaii's Big Island. After an unusually cold winter storm, it snowed down to the 8,000 ft. level, although it only lasted for a day or two. To see it in person is rather astonishing--almost looks like the Rockies (albeit it with coconut palms in the foreground).

[Mrblue21]

These latest facade restoration projects are great, especially with the earlier announcement that the old Montgomery Ward/Walgreens building will be restored. I hope more funds can be found for such projects. There are a lot more surviving historic buildings downtown than most people realize, they are just all covered by later renovations.

These facade improvement projects really should have been a primary focus for Rio Nuevo from day one. Just think, by now most of the historic commercial buildings downtown would have been restored. These would have been tangible signs for progress and people would not think Rio Nuevo is a total bust/cash cow.

Congress Street rather than the west side of I-10 is where I think the greatest opportunity to revitalize downtown lies. We are very fortunate to have 2 historic theatres framing the street - that combined with more relatively low cost restorations would give the street a character that could attract infill development once the economy recovers.

My dream projects would be if someone restored the exterior of the Pioneer Hotel at Stone and Pennigton and the remaining wing of the old Santa Rita Hotel - combined here with some sort of new construction on the site of the demolished portion of the original hotel - hopefully better designed than the last proposal for that site.

[kaneui]

My dream projects would be if someone restored the exterior of the Pioneer Hotel at Stone and Pennigton...

Holualoa Companies bought the Pioneer for $7.8M about four years ago and promptly said they were interested in restoring its original facade. However, I haven't heard anything since, so those plans are probably on hold until the downtown office market picks up again (see more info. on post #88).

[Mrblue21]

Thanks - I thought I might have heard something along those lines. Hopefully it will come to pass... the current appearance of the building is so odd.

[kaneui]

A convention center hotel with a "daring design" is usually an oxymoron, but Tucsonans have told the Sheraton hotel architect to be bold and create something iconic:


New tower hotel design should be daring, architects told
Design panel hopes to include local landscape features into downtown structure

by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
12.16.2008

A man new to Tucson sparked applause when he challenged architects for the planned Sheraton Tucson Convention Center Hotel to be imaginative with their design. "I don't think you should be shy with what you do with (the tower). I think you can do some eloquent, wonderful forms," said Jerry Shapins, a retired landscape architect who moved to Tucson four weeks ago from Boulder, Colo. Shapins was one of about 100 people attending the first open house Monday for public input on what the 520-to-550-room, 27- or 28-story, $150 million dollar hotel at the northwest corner of the TCC should look like. Shapins' remark got the most reaction from the local crowd as well as catching the attention of architect Ken Martin, principal at DLR Group, the hotel project architect. "The big surprise for me today was two or three people saying, 'Be bold, be iconic, give us something that screams Tucson,' " Martin said. Martin said architects are often hamstrung by conservativeness of communities. He reads the open house reaction as a community "really open to see something different." "Open minds are always a lot more fun," Martin said.

James Bird, a Tucsonan who works at Raytheon Missile Systems, suggested putting a bar and grill on the hotel roof. "This is an open-air environment," Bird said in an interview. "We need to stick to that." Bird's suggestion to put the bar and grill "on top of the building" may not have been interpreted as the roof by Tony Traub, principal at Garfield Traub, the hotel's developer. "We're looking at putting a restaurant upstairs," Traub responded. Martin and DLR design leader Gary Worthy walked the crowd through a basic visual concept for the shape of the hotel and its meeting rooms and how it fits with the TCC, but the hotel is "not going to look anything like" the tower drawing seen Monday, Martin said.

Worthy said the design team is intrigued about working rock, crystal and slab into the hotel. It wants to incorporate features from the local landscape and wants a sense of what that means to the local community. Paul Abbott, a low voltage systems salesman, thinks the designers should get a sense of the landscape themselves. "I'd like to see them take a hike up to Sabino Canyon if they want to see shapes and landmarks," Abbott said. "That would tie them to what Tucsonans do."

DLR proposes putting one-third of the hotel on stilts to allow people to drive under the building to get to the lobby. Glass walls would enclose the lobby and a restaurant on the rest of the ground floor. "We're trying to blur the line between indoors and outdoors," Martin said. "We didn't want the whole footprint of the tower to impact the landscape, so we elevated it on legs and the part that touches the ground is really glass." A desert garden would sit between the tower and 30,000 square feet of Sheraton meeting rooms behind the tower. A 20-foot wide open space would lead into the lobby. "You'll arrive and just progress inside," Martin said.

DLR will return with preliminary designs to a second open house at the end of January, and full hotel designs will go to the City Council in April following a third open house at the end of March, Rio Nuevo director Greg Shelko said. The intention is to start construction after the 2010 gem shows and open the hotel in 2012.

[kaneui]

The City Council has given preliminary approval to the Williams & Dame development team for a creative 20-year plan at downtown's east end:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/EastCongressdevproposal.png


City, big players unveil downtown plans
by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
12.17.2008

A year of quiet negotiations led to Tuesday's public unveiling of a 20-year, large-scale downtown development vision including Congress Street, the Warehouse District and stretching from Sixth Street to Armory Park. The City Council enthusiastically approved a pre-development agreement for housing, commercial and other developments with three large developers that banded together to redefine the east end of downtown. The Downtown Tucson Development Co.'s immediate focus stretches north and east from Congress Street and Sixth Avenue, but eventually also will include investing $2.5 million to rehabilitate two dozen century-old warehouses for the Warehouse Arts Management Organization.

Williams & Dame Development of Portland, Ore., luxury home builder and financier Scott Stiteler, and downtown Plaza Centro developer Jim Campbell won the trust of the council with a commitment to spend $10 million in pre-development work over three years. In exchange, the three will receive an option on city-owned land, including the Ronstadt Transit Center, the triangle-shaped parking lot to the north recently leased to Madden Media and the former Volvo lot at Broadway and Park Avenue. "Part of my trust comes from people not afraid of performance criteria," Councilman Steve Leal said.

Williams & Dame has built more than 1,000 homes in Portland's Pearl District created out of a former rail yard. In Tucson, the Portland developer in the past month finished turning the former Martin Luther King Jr. Apartments into the $8.1 million, 96-unit One North Fifth Apartments that will include retail outlets. Stiteler financed One North Fifth and is a partner in the Rialto Block, where $5 million in renovation is slated in the agreement. Since 1995, Stiteler has invested more than $150 million in Tucson as majority owner of about 20 housing projects, bringing about 600 homes to Rancho Vistoso, Honeybee Ridge, Sky Ranch and others and financing half the homes at the Mercado District of Menlo Park just west of downtown. "My style has always been to stay off the radar screen," Stiteler said. "I understand the past has not been kind with a number of agreements (between the city and private developers). Where do we go from here? We start working. One building at a time. Together."

Stiteler convinced Great Wall of China restaurant owner Kwang C. An, known for his commercials with former Arizona Diamondback Luis Gonzalez, to open An Congress restaurant on the Rialto Block. "It's a really good opportunity," said An, who has served Chinese food on Tucson's fringes for 30 years. "That's why I'm willing to say I'll do it with (Stiteler)." The partners are committing to let Skrappy's, the youth empowerment center, to move back into its former 201 E. Broadway home, part of the Rialto Block, for up to one year. "When I hear people talk about redeveloping downtown and Skrappy's in the same sentence, it gives me hope," said Joyce Serido, president of the Tucson Youth Collective, the formal name of Skrappy's.

The pre-development agreement sets the stage for six months of negotiations between city officials and the development company to reach a formal agreement. "Trust is an important word," City Manager Mike Hein said. "They go to a certain point with real dollars. Then we perform." City performance measures include building the streetcar project by 2012, or the development company gets $950,000. Warehouse Arts Management Organization President Marvin Shafer said the warehouse group has struggled to implement the 2004 warehouse master plan endorsed by the city. "There is now a plan before the city that will allow us to do that," Shafer said. Councilwoman Regina Romero believes the developers recognize the city's uniqueness. "I remember asking what is the value Tucson is gaining from this pre-development agreement," she said. "I can answer this question by the work these partners have done so far."

[kaneui]

Another article and initial sketch of Tucson's upcoming new tallest, now proposed at 25-28 stories and 525 rooms. They've also wised up and are planning the hotel construction and convention center expansion to be done concurrently.

(For a taste of the renders we might see in January, check out DLR Group's prior convention hotel designs--a Marriott in Omaha, NE and a Sheraton in Overland Park, KS: http://www.dlrgroup.com/#/3.14/ )


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/Sheraton_render12-08.jpg
DLR Group design director Gary Worthy explains the different features of the proposed
downtown Sheraton hotel. The project is estimated to cost $150 million.
(photo: Nicholas Smith)


Rio Nuevo hotel to be tallest in Tucson
By Nicholas Smith
Inside Tucson Business
December 20, 2008

The new 525-room Sheraton hotel will dominate the skyline and be one of the most recognizable aspects of the Rio Nuevo downtown revitalization projects, an effort that has faced delays and public criticism. Plans for the tallest building in Tucson were unveiled for public comment on Dec. 15. “What we don’t want to do is expand the convention center and add a hotel,” said Rio Nuevo Director Greg Shelko. “The idea is to redevelop a downtown.”

Input was sought because the project will be so visible, coming in at no less than 25 stories. “It’s really all our hotel, we’re going to have to live with it a long time,” Shelko said. The downtown Sheraton will sit next to the Tucson Convention Center on the east edge of Granada Avenue and will feature glass walls on the first floor and people will be able to drive “through” the building to get to the lobby. “We’re really trying to blur this line between indoor and outdoor,” said DLR Group Principal Ken Martin.

The hotel will be built in conjunction with an expansion of the TCC. The new Sheraton will account for 51,000 square feet of meeting space and join 25,000 square feet of expanded convention center space. An additional 35,000 square feet of exhibit space will also be included in the project. “Without this hotel, convention activity cannot survive,” said Design Director Gary Worthy of the DLR Group. Groundbreaking for the hotel is anticipated for March 2010 with an opening two years later. Construction of the convention center’s new east entrance is expected to begin next fall and conclude in time for the 2010 gem and mineral show.

A second public forum is expected to be held at the end of January. Project drawings are expected to be submitted to the city for review in March. Public inputs ranged from concern over integrating an adjacent streetcar stop to including a bar and grill on the roof to designing an iconic look for the building. “We don’t want to recreate an adobe hut, we want to create something synthetic with the past,” Worthy said. The exterior look of the hotel has not been finalized. Funding for the $150 million project comes at a good time, despite the economic turmoil, Shelko said. “I think the timing for construction is good because the access to public funding is, not ideal, but good,” he said, adding that the hotel should be open by the time the economy starts turning around. Retail is expected to be constructed on the northern edge of the hotel along a new east-west road that will bisect the current convention center footprint.

The out-in-the-open hotel plans aren’t the only signs of change downtown. Earlier this month, the developers of Hotel Congress opened Maynards Market and Kitchen in the Historic Train Depot. Also this month, the Tucson Downtown Partnership awarded more than half a million dollars in grants to restore the facades of four downtown buiildings. Also slated for construction not far from the hotel is a new, 12,500 seat Tucson arena, which will be for multipurpose use, including concerts and minor league hockey and football teams, Shelko said. The current Tucson arena has a seating capacity of 9,000 and is home to the University of Arizona Icecats. Shelko hopes the arena construction will happen concurrently with the hotel, but it is not critical to the project. “The arena is different, it doesn’t have the revenue that the hotel will have,” he said.

[kaneui]

With the west tower restoration now complete, work on San Xavier Mission's east tower will begin in 2009 and last for three years:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/SanXavierMission2008.jpg
People visiting San Xavier Mission, 1950 W. San Xavier Road, this holiday season will not run into
restrictions for the restoration project. With the west tower finished after five years, crews will
take a break and begin work on the east tower after the holidays.
(photo: Renee Bracamonte)


Scaffolding off San Xavier Mission - for now
West tower spiffed up in time for Christmas

by FERNANDA ECHÁVARRI
Tucson Citizen
12.23.2008

Restoration of San Xavier Mission's west tower is finished - just in time for Christmas Eve Mass. After five years of work, the tower has been restored with the integrity of the church protected, said Vern Lamplot, executive director of Patronado San Xavier. The mission has been undergoing a multimillion-dollar restoration project funded by Patronado San Xavier, a local nonprofit group, that began with the interior preservation in 1989.

The restoration team removed the earlier coating of cement plaster inch by inch on the west tower's exterior, repairing the historic brick beneath and refinishing the exterior surface with a traditional lime plaster, Lamplot said. The west tower's flawless finish contrasts with the original plaster on the east tower, built more than 200 years ago. The west tower restoration cost $5.5 million, Lamplot said, and the east tower will take at least three years and about $1.5 million to repair. The scaffolding that has been the hallmark of the west tower restoration is gone for at least a month, until the restoration crew begins working on the east tower next year.

More than 250,000 people visit the church every year from many parts of the country, and the wear and tear takes a toll on the original structure, Lamplot said. "It's a miracle this place still stands," he said, "considering the damage that was done during an earthquake in 1880, and the mold, cracks and water damage it has had in the past hundred years." Inside, the paintings on the walls, the domes and the overall structure have been fully restored, but conservation crews do maintenance a couple of months each year. "Some of the paintings are gone forever, but we've been able to bring most of them to their original state," Lamplot said.

San Xavier Mission was founded as a Catholic mission by Father Eusebio Kino in 1692. Spanish Franciscans wanted to replicate the Spanish-style churches built in central Mexico, and began construction of the current church in 1783, making it the oldest European structure in Arizona. "This is our iconic building," Lamplot said. "History is contained here: Spanish, Anglo, Indian, no matter what the history is, we have it right here." The mission is at 1950 W. San Xavier Road, west of Interstate 19 and about six miles south of the I-19 interchange with Interstate 10. The Christmas Eve masses will be celebrated at 8 and 10 p.m. and Christmas Day masses at 9 and 11 a.m.

[kaneui]

Arizona still 2nd fastest-growing state

According to the Census Bureau's latest estimates, Arizona remained the second fastest-growing state between July 1, 2007 and July 1, 2008, growing at a rate of 2.3%, with 146,759 new residents. The nation's fastest-growing state is now Utah, replacing Nevada at the top spot. (Nevada has now slipped to #8.)

As of July 1, 2008, census estimates now have Arizona ahead of Massachusetts as the nation's 14th most populous state with 6.5 million people, and by 2010 could replace Washington in the 13th slot. Also, Arizona could possibly gain an additional two congressional seats as a result of the 2010 census.

For more info.: http://www.census.gov/popest/estimates.php

[kaneui]

Rio Nuevo appears in peril at Legislature
By Rob O'Dell
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
12.28.2008

Tucson's half-billion-dollar Rio Nuevo Downtown redevelopment district is in danger of being suspended, or even canceled, after the Legislature convenes in January. Growing impatience over the lack of progress, compounded by the state's $1.2 billion budget shortfall this year — with a looming $2 billion shortage next year — has lawmakers talking about pulling the plug on Rio Nuevo funding. The 25-year tax increment financing district is funded by sales taxes diverted from the state general fund.

Legislators from both Tucson and Phoenix have criticized Rio Nuevo as a waste of taxpayer money that has accomplished little, with some citing Rio Nuevo expenses revealed in a series of Arizona Daily Star investigations this year as evidence of waste and poor oversight. Several Maricopa County legislators expressed hostility toward Rio Nuevo, but stopped short of committing to kill it. "Rio Nuevo is one more pet project that individual legislators have held onto that is straining the state general fund," said state Sen. Jack Harper, R-Surprise. He declined to say more. State Sen. Barbara Leff, R-Paradise Valley, said Rio Nuevo is "still wasting taxpayer dollars and nothing has been accomplished." "If it was up to me, it would be stopped," she added.

The danger is Rio Nuevo could meet its demise as a bargaining chip in a larger budget compromise, with the funding being cut off with little or no public discussion, said state Sen.-elect Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, who has already drawn up a bill to reform Rio Nuevo accounting. Paton said he doesn't want to kill Rio Nuevo, but to institute overhauls to persuade Maricopa County legislators not to take away the money. "If the Legislature can be convinced of reforms, then they might not take it away," he said. "But if there's no effort to be more open, the city is setting itself up for a really rough session." Paton's bill would require the city to put its accounting system into a searchable online database, with transactions and receipts posted within 30 days of money being spent. Originally targeted just at Rio Nuevo, the proposed reforms have been expanded by Paton to include all state agencies and local governments, effective in 2010.

Several Tucson officials were not overly concerned about the prospects of losing Rio Nuevo money. Councilwoman Nina Trasoff said she won't "invest energy worrying about something until there's something to actually worry about." "We have a lot to speak about that's very positive, very substantive and very real," Trasoff said. "I think we have a strong case to make. I have confidence in their ability to see it." City Manager Mike Hein said the talk was "speculation and rumor," and added that commenting on it would be premature.

A worse environment
Rio Nuevo was originally expected to draw $60 million in state sales taxes when it was approved by the Legislature and city voters in 1999. Securing approval of a 12-year $600 million extension was a tortuous process in 2006, when Tucson Republican Tim Bee was Senate majority leader and supporter Rep. Jim Weiers, R-Phoenix, was speaker of the House of Representatives. There were audible groans and boos from Maricopa County legislators when the bill came to the Senate floor, and Phoenix-area lawmakers were publicly jeered for voting in its favor. Now Bee, who later became Senate president, is gone from the Legislature and Weiers is no longer speaker. Paton said he is the lone Southern Arizona Republican remaining in either chamber who voted to extend Rio Nuevo in 2006. "You had a friendlier Legislature" in 2006, he said. "The Legislature that is coming in is less receptive, and it was difficult enough getting it in before."

State Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City, who famously called the 2006 bill "Rio Dinero" on the Senate floor, said Bee's departure could hurt Rio Nuevo's prospects. "You don't have Bee as president to protect it anymore," he said. And some legislators still resent voting for the original bill in 1999, including Leff, who said the city violated the spirit of the tax-increment finance law by gerrymandering the Downtown redevelopment district to include El Con and Park Place malls. Tucson Rep. Phil Lopes, who was recently pushed out as Democratic minority leader, said he hasn't heard anyone but Paton talking about Rio Nuevo. But Lopes said an important unknown factor is the newly elected Republicans from Pima County. One of those new Pima County Republicans, Rep.-elect Frank Antenori of Tucson, said Rio Nuevo would be a hard sell even to him. He said many of his constituents are asking him to cut the money off. "I'm going to have a hard time hitting that yes button," he said. "They have bungled this from the beginning. I don't see a reason to vote yes."

Words of caution
Some Republicans are discussing a suspension of Rio Nuevo's ability to draw on state taxes until the state's budget crisis passes, said local businessman Bruce Ash, a party leader who has had a long-standing interest in Rio Nuevo. Ash said the city is "playing with fire" with its recent sale of $80 million in Rio Nuevo bonds, since the Legislature may suspend Rio Nuevo state sales-tax deliveries to Tucson. That would leave the city paying for the bonds out of its own general fund, meaning substantial cuts to other city services to pay off the bonds. Antenori also questioned the city floating Rio Nuevo bonds. "They've got to realize they could be on the hook for that," he said.

Hein downplayed the potential the Legislature would take the money pledged to the bonds. He said all of Rio Nuevo's cash flow for the next several years is pledged to the $80 million in bonds sold in mid-December. If the Legislature were to repeal or suspend Rio Nuevo, Hein said it is likely to trigger complex legal action involving the city, the state and bondholders. It would also set precedent statewide that any specially dedicated funding source, such as water or sewer bonds, could be pulled by the Legislature, making it impossible for any Arizona jurisdiction to float those bonds because of that risk, Hein said.

Assistant House Minority Leader Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, said she knows of no specific plans for Rio Nuevo this legislative session, but added that "you can bet on" someone trying to get rid of Rio Nuevo at some point. Sinema said the Tucson City Council asked the Democratic leadership to try to protect Rio Nuevo funding, something it will try to honor. "What kind of power we have to do that is another story," she said.

Push for reforms
Paton said his accounting reforms are designed to make Rio Nuevo palatable enough that Maricopa County legislators won't pull or suspend the funding. He is also introducing a bill to create non-partisan elections in Tucson to change a council he calls dysfunctional. The reforms are the absolute least the city can expect given the lack of progress with nearly $100 million spent on the project, Paton said. "For most people, there would be hell to pay," if they had spent money as freely as the city did and had no results to show for it, Paton said.

A devastating blow
Losing a half-billion dollars in Downtown redevelopment money would be a "devastating blow" for Tucson, said Si Schorr, a local lawyer and active Democrat. "One doesn't have to hold an MBA from Harvard to figure out that," he said. George Larsen, co-owner of Larsen Baker Commercial Realty, said losing the money would be a setback for Downtown, adding that the Legislature should be able to mandate changes like accounting reform, but should not be able to suspend or cancel Rio Nuevo. But Cotlow Co. President Dean Cotlow, a commercial real estate broker, said the city doesn't deserve any more money for Rio Nuevo, given how badly it has misspent the first $100 million. It would be understandable for the Legislature to take the money, given how it has been spent so far, he said. Losing the money would be a blow to the community, Cotlow said, but it would force the city to own up to its mistakes and learn an important lesson.

Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup said he's concerned about the Legislature taking the money, but that he doesn't think it will happen because the city will make a convincing argument to the Legislature for keeping it. "I think we've got a story to tell that a lot of good things are starting to happen," Walkup said. "We owe them that story."

[somethingfast]

Lke all Tucson politicians, Walkup is an idiot hippie that wouldn't know good civic leadership if it came up and bit him on the a$$. I seriously hope Rio Nuevo is cut down and I'm from Tucson originally. The waste and lack of results are infuriating. Even this so-called "progress" is hippie-dippie BS centered around projects that will never achieve profitability. Kill it.

[kaneui]

Metro Tucson Development Projects

LATEST UPDATE: January 4, 2019*


*Go to MAP: Metro Tucson Development Projects (https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1ZDr5IBac9av0dyLvHyrli4vezGs) for current information.



https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4240/35595004266_535e2202e0_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4281/35503851551_10648976e8_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4113/35247655730_f1111b2ddf_z.jpg
Mission San Xavier del Bac (1797), neon "Gateway Saguaro" on Miracle Mile, One South Church tower (1986)
(courtesy: David Harvey, Arizona Daily Star, Momta Popat)

Estimated 2019 population of Tucson-Nogales CSA (Pima & Santa Cruz counties): 1,095,600
(source: AZ Employment and Population Statistics)



DOWNTOWN REDEVELOPMENT

Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District
Rio Nuevo is a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district approved by voters in 1999 to fund and support downtown Tucson revitalization. Although funds did not begin transferring from the state until 2003, and a significant part of TIF revenues (now averaging over $1M/month) are used to pay debt service, Rio Nuevo is now providing financial support and incentives for the following projects:

1. Providing up to $8M in future TIF sales tax rebates to developer Scott Stiteler for theAC Hotel and an upgraded 200 block of E. Congress St.
2. Lending $2.6M to Bourn Companies to construct City Park*, a $27.5M mixed-use project.
3. Building the $50M Caterpillar Tucson Mining Center* on W. Cushing St. by March, 2019 to be leased back for 25 years; also providing $2M for company relocation costs.
4. Funding $5M to Peach Properties/Dabdoub Investments for four downtown redevelopment projects: 100 block of E. Congress St., Arizona Hotel, Brings Building and 123 S. Stone.
5. Funding $1M for Ochoa St. streetscape improvements between Church and Stone Aves.
6. Lending $250k to Flores Concepts to open three new businesses at 61, 121 and 125 E. Congress St.
7. Providing sales tax rebates and site-specific tax payments through 2025 for HSL Properties' $20M Hotel Arizona renovation* as a 309-key, Hilton-branded convention hotel.
8. Providing up to $2.5M in sales tax rebates for the proposed $24M TCC DoubleTree Hotel* by Caliber Hospitality.
9. Providing $4.5M in sales tax rebates for the $34.3M redevelopment of 44 E. Broadway* by Ron Schwabe and Marcel Dabdoub.
10. Providing $1.1M in sales tax rebates for JE Dunn's 12-story downtown mixed-use tower at 75 E. Broadway.*
11. Providing a $2.4M loan to the Gadsden Co. to construct The Monier*, a $35M, 122-unit market-rate apartment complex in the Mercado District.
12. Providing up to $7.5M in sales tax rebates for the Hampton Inn and Home2 Suites at Cathedral Square* project.
13. Providing $2.1M for proposed $24M Volvo site redevelopment* project.

*see project details below


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4236/34825314383_5c516ae504.jpghttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4124/34825314043_52b6c21a67.jpghttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4258/34825313813_e6b234078a.jpghttps://farm5.staticflickr.com/4036/34825313603_00a84d0a24.jpg
Boundary map of Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District
(courtesy: city of Tucson)


Rio Nuevo website (http://rionuevo.org/)


Downtown Tucson Partnership blog (https://www.downtowntucson.org/invest/economic-development-blog/)


MAP: Metro Tucson Development Projects (https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1ZDr5IBac9av0dyLvHyrli4vezGs)



Construction Webcams:

UA Honors Village (http://www.pdc.arizona.edu/project/18-9395?tab=camera)

The Mark (https://ueb.net/webcam31.html)

UA Skaggs Building addition/renovation (http://www.pdc.arizona.edu/project/17-9362?tab=camera)




12-MONTH OUTLOOK

COMPLETIONS
Winter, 2018-19
UA Health Sciences Innovation Building ($165M)
City Park ($27.5M)
The Landing (220k s.f. Phase I - mixed/use)
West End Station ($12M)
Marist College restoration/adaptive reuse ($3M)
UA Cole & Jeannie Davis Sports Center ($16.3M)
UA Hillenbrand Softball Stadium renovations ($8M)
Caterpillar Tucson Mining Center ($50M)

Spring, 2019
Diocesan Complex ($12M)
Banner-UMC Tucson expansion ($400M)

Summer, 2019
UA Honors Village ($137M - 1,035 beds)
Aspire (505 beds)
The Mark (595 beds)
Hub Speedway (183 beds)

Fall, 2019
GEICO Regional Office Building (200k s.f.)
Casino del Sol expansion (151 keys)
Downtown Clifton Hotel expansion ($4.5M)
UA Skaggs Building renovation/addition ($26M)
RendezVous Urban Flats (100U)


STARTS
Winter 2018-19
UA Student Success District ($71M)
TCC DoubleTree Hotel ($24M)
Graduate Tucson (165 keys) & The Collective at Main Gate (238U)
Hotel Arizona renovation ($20M)

Spring, 2019
44 E. Broadway mixed-use ($34.3M)
January 8th Memorial ($2.3M)

Summer, 2019
Hampton Inn, Home2 Suites at Cathedral Square (75 & 123 keys)
TCC Arena improvements ($2.2M)
75 Broadway (12 stories)
Chroma mixed-use




RECENTLY COMPLETED


December, 2018

UA Hillenbrand Aquatic Center improvements - $13.25M project that enlarged and replaced the main swimming pool and other infrastructure.
Design Professional: Architekton. Contractor: CORE Construction.
http://www.pdc.arizona.edu/project/18-9388, https://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcats/hillenbrand-pool-s-million-renovation-huge-for-swimming-program-coach/article_83fad965-d88f-5a7a-8876-07584e81cf09.html

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7880/45693507145_b379360d13_b.jpg
(courtesy: UA)



The Westerner/West Point Apartments (10 E. Broadway Blvd.) - renovation/expansion of existing 54k s.f. downtown office building with offices and retail, plus a six-story addition with 50 low-income apartments for seniors. Owner/developer: COPE Properties. Architect: Carhuff + Cueva. Contractor: Canyon Building & Design.
Apartments completed; completion of office interiors expected in Summer, 2019.
https://www.kaykayrealty.com/west-point-apartments/

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/860/42950904205_1c73785667_b.jpg
(courtesy: Downtown Tucson Partnership)




The Marist on Cathedral Square (SEC of Broadway Blvd. & Church Ave.) - $22M, seven-story, downtown apartment building with 75 units for low-income seniors on the site of the former Catholic Pastoral Center. Architect: Poster Frost Mirto. Contractor: Tofel Dent Construction.
https://www.fsl.org/maristtucson/

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4817/31193864907_aa3627ee7e_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4890/44774733405_141a366acb_z.jpg
(courtesy: Tofel Dent Construction)



September, 2018

Arizona Stadium - east renovations - $25.5M of renovations to east side of stadium, including ground-level concourse, student seating area and southeast entrance.
Architects: JE Dunn w/ Populous & Swaim. Contractor: JE Dunn Construction.
http://www.pdc.arizona.edu/project/16-9330 Time-lapse construction video (south view, 57 sec.): http://www.pdc.arizona.edu/file/movies/16-9330-S.mp4

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1972/45091160732_3d115f3da8_z.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1904/45687426601_1d25e8e46d_z.jpg
(courtesy: UA)



June, 2018

Seventh Avenue Commons (529 N. 7th Ave.) - $14M housing project with 50 affordable units and a community building/clubhouse utilizing an existing 12k s.f. warehouse/office building and a new three-story structure. Developers: Gardner Capital Development, Neighborhood Housing Solutions. Architect: Biltform Architects. Contractor: Kitchell Construction.
http://7thavenuecommons.com/, https://realestatedaily-news.com/tucson-streetcar-draws-affordable-housing-developers/

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1751/41799253994_4a0fcea913_z.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1749/27651486307_4b1a858b6f_z.jpg
views looking SW (left) and NW (right)
(courtesy: apartments.com)



April, 2018

MSA Annex (NEC of Avenida del Convento & Cushing St.) - $12M nearby expansion of Mercado San Agustín with 20k s.f. for 13 retailers and restaurants in modified shipping containers plus a 500-seat outdoor performance venue on 1.5 acres. Developer: The Gadsden Co. Architect: Paul Weiner.
http://tucson.com/thisistucson/todo/new-shopping-market-made-of-shipping-containers-opens-friday-at/article_6cb24008-4e33-11e8-a416-ff14a74ecb92.html, https://mercadodistrict.com/annex/

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/902/42268215802_aedb6440d0_b.jpg https://farm1.staticflickr.com/942/29946487958_ac555495a0_z.jpg

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1765/28376714067_a5d93a354a_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4547/24967159558_3d54b2a2b3_z.jpg
(site plan: The Gadsden Co.; photos: Zac Ziegler, Rio Nuevo, Jackie Tran)



January, 2018

UA Bioscience Research Laboratories (NEC of Helen St. & Cherry Ave.) - $107.5M, four-story, 150k s.f. building with translational research laboratories, imaging facilities and clinic to support interdisciplinary research. Architect: Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects. Contractor: DPR Construction.
http://www.pdc.arizona.edu/Project/12-9134

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4903/44308052530_22017079b4_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4865/46124427081_1882883020.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4829/45400578824_7f88c95c7d_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4828/31185313597_c253cd3521_z.jpg
(courtesy: UA)





UNDER CONSTRUCTION


City Park (20-60 E. Congress St.) - $27.5M mixed-use downtown TOD project adds a new five-story building between the renovated Indian Trading Post and Chase Annex buildings. Hexagon Mining now occupies floors 3-5 of the new building as its North American HQ; food hall/restaurant and retail tenants on first floor and bowling alley/entertainment tenants on second floor to be open by January, 2019. Developer: Bourn Companies. Architects: Rob Paulus, SBBL Architects. Contractor: Canyon Building & Design. Estimated completion in early 2019.
Design architect: Secrest Architecture LLC
https://www.downtowntucson.org/2017/03/city-park-breaks-ground/, http://www.bourncompanies.com/projects/city-park/, https://hexagonmining.com/resources/press-releases/hexagon-opens-new-mining-headquarters-in-tucson-arizona

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1962/45687508181_539d72c016_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4885/31199481317_6ca25699bd.jpg
exterior view looking west (L) and east (R) along Congress St.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4876/31815137188_4219941da2_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4893/46138558561_56b2a075c5_z.jpg
Hexagon Mining lobby and corner office
(courtesy: J Kaiser Workspaces, Bourn Companies)




UA Health Sciences Innovation Building (Mabel St., E. of Cherry Ave.) - $165M, 226k s.f., nine-story tower for trans-disciplinary collaborations and interactions between health professionals, students, and faculty in medicine, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Architect: CO Architects. Contractor: Kitchell Construction.
Construction timeline: June, 2016 - January, 2019.
http://www.pdc.arizona.edu/Project/13-9193, http://www.wildcat.arizona.edu/article/2016/07/ua-to-add-health-sciences-building-and-a-parking-garage-to-campus-with-future-construction-projects
Webcam: http://www.pdc.arizona.edu/Project/13-9193?tab=camera

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4238/34666366954_2a8f02ee6b_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4341/36481345716_534bb642c6_b.jpg
renderings looking northwest (L) and northeast (R)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4839/32733815258_0744ea85ac_b.jpg
construction photos: looking southwest - January 4
(courtesy: UA)




UA Athletic Facilities improvements - $66M to renovate/construct the four facilities below, plus a $1.9M remodel and addition of McKale Center locker rooms.
http://arizonawildcats.com/sports/2017/10/26/capital-campaign.aspx, http://www.kvoa.com/story/37802226/ua-introduces-pictures-of-capital-projects


Hillenbrand Aquatic Center improvements - $13.25M (COMPLETED - SEE ABOVE)


Arizona Stadium - east renovations - $25.5M (COMPLETED - SEE ABOVE)


Cole & Jeannie Davis Sports Center - $16.3M, 45k s.f. indoor practice facility for football and other sports. Architects: BWS, HOK. Contractor: M.A. Mortenson Company.
Construction timeline: April, 2018 - February, 2019.
http://www.pdc.arizona.edu/project/18-9390, https://uanews.arizona.edu/story/cole-and-jeannie-davis-commit-8m-construction-indoor-sports-center-ua

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4836/43988573400_3d936ef80f_b.jpg https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7906/47373994801_cfe5090471_z.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4836/46607844011_0be382b7e4_b.jpg
construction photo: January 4
(courtesy: UA)



Hillenbrand Softball Stadium renovations - $8M of improvements to existing softball stadium. Design Professional: Swaim Associates. Contractor: Concord General Contracting.
Projected construction timeline: June, 2018 - February, 2019.
http://www.pdc.arizona.edu/project/17-9382

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7924/47321055842_7f7064f04a_z.jpg https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7849/47321060512_f232549f95_z.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4812/45693514455_afaa2b9ff4_b.jpg
construction photo - January 4
(courtesy: UA)




West End Station (855 W. Congress St.) - $12M, four-story complex in the Mercado District with 70 low-income and affordable apartments plus ground-floor retail.
Developers: Gorman & Company, The Gadsden Co. Architect: Gorman & Company. Contractor: Tofel Dent Construction. Expected completion in early 2019.
http://cem-az.com/gorman-company-inc-selects-rainbow-housing-as-service-provider-for-one-of-the-first-section-811-multifamily-housing-developments-in-arizona/, http://tucson.com/business/work-on-downtown-area-housing-gets-underway-in-tucson/article_16cf826b-8878-5829-acbd-2b040ed42355.html, https://mercadodistrict.com/housing/

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7897/45693500985_710513d168_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4427/36242742111_88a0039e52.jpg
construction photo - December 5
(site plan: The Gadsden Co.; photo: Tofel Dent Construction)




The Landing (NWC of Irvington Rd. & I-19) - 600k s.f. mixed-use with retail, office and hotels on 63 acres in SW Tucson, just north of the Spectrum Mall. Developer: Bourn Companies.
Phase I with 220k s.f. expected to open in 2018; complete build out by 2020.
http://tucson.com/business/new-shopping-center-coming-to-life-on-tucson-s-south/article_71f0949f-e54e-5d0b-8739-7b5404f1ed8e.html, https://realestatedaily-news.com/irvington-commercial-center-meets-tucson-mayor-council-unanimous-approval/, http://www.bourncompanies.com/projects/landing/

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4216/34698015283_b90679b25f_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4918/31199469147_94377d5471_b.jpg
site plan; construction progress, Hobby Lobby - November 25
(courtesy: Bourn Companies)




Cathedral Square redevelopment (various parcels near Catholic cathedral on Stone Ave.) - nearly $40M to redevelop several of the Catholic diocese's downtown properties:
1. $800k restoration of the 1916 Our Lady's Chapel on Ochoa St. (COMPLETED);
2. The Marist on Cathedral Square(COMPLETED - SEE ABOVE);
3. Marist College restoration/adaptive reuse (SEE BELOW);
4. Diocesan Complex (SEE BELOW);
http://tucson.com/news/local/tucson-s-marist-college-gets-a-facelift-and-a-new/article_2431a047-b08d-55b8-a2da-4a271b7c2e30.html, http://www.newvisiononline.org/2016/diocese-announces-plans-for-cathedral-square-renovation-of-older-buildings-agreement-with-the-foundation-for-senior-living-to-restore-marist-college/, http://tucson.com/business/what-s-going-up-downtown-cathedral-getting-neighboring-event-center/article_b8b27026-6999-5348-af6a-d76a97f31f2a.html


Marist College restoration/adaptive reuse (SEC of Ochoa St. & Church Ave.) - $3M project to convert the three-story adobe 1915 Marist College building to eight low-income senior apartments and a community center. Consulting Architect: Poster Frost Mirto. Contractor: Tofel Dent Construction. Expected completion in early 2019.
Video of Marist College renovation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sprFEaYwZ0s

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1944/45140621361_bb284db39a_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4803/31193873947_b8796d7614_z.jpg
exterior; community center on first floor - November 8
(courtesy: Downtown Tucson Partnership, Rio Nuevo)



Diocesan Complex (SWC of Ochoa St. & Stone Ave.) - $12M, four-story building for offices, meeting space, and 500-seat conference center to replace the former Cathedral Hall.
Architect: Poster Frost Mirto. Contractor: Diversified Design & Construction. Projected completion in early 2019.
http://www.constructionreporter.com/cgblog/270/Tucson-s-Historic-Cathedral-Square-to-See-Major-Renovations, http://tucson.com/news/photos-st-augustine-cathedral-bandshell-is-moved/collection_64aa095e-4628-11e7-b8ad-4bc442370f9b.html#8

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4845/31829283328_fa45831ff6_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4811/46082981532_7805685c44_b.jpg
rendering; construction progress - November
(rendering: The Architecture Company; photo: Rio Nuevo)




Caterpillar Tucson Mining Center (875 W. Cushing St.) - $50M, three-story, 150k s.f. office building and parking structure on 7.8 acres to accommodate 600+ employees of Caterpillar's Surface Mining & Technology Division. (City of Tucson to extend Avenida del Convento south of Cushing St. for project's main entrance.)
Owner/developer: Rio Nuevo. Architects: SmithGroupJJR, WSM. Contractor: Sundt Construction. Estimated completion by March, 2019.
http://tucson.com/business/take-a-peek-at-design-for-caterpillar-s-building-near/article_00259bcb-d291-504d-8ef8-a4807111c0d3.html, http://www.tucsonlocalmedia.com/news/article_ae4453b0-58f5-11e6-8d5a-efd8def75bf4.html, https://tucson.com/business/caterpillar-s-new-tucson-mining-center-is-coming-along/article_c045ac2c-d378-5a06-bad3-5e637f335b4e.html, http://www.sundt.com/media/blog/2017/10/18/caterpillar-applies-advanced-contracting-and-design-principles-for-new-headquarters/

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4435/35676504213_5eb18d902c_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4415/35676505293_9d34ac582f_b.jpg
renderings looking southwest (L) and northeast (R)

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4278/35529483315_93a3a928ae.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1954/31817130268_e245ebfb3d_b.jpg
site map; construction progress - mid-October
(renderings: Smith Group JJR; site map: Arizona Daily Star; photo: A.E. Araiza)




Banner - University Medical Center Tucson expansion/renovation (1501 N. Campbell Ave.) - $400M project to include 75k s.f. of renovations and 670k s.f. of additions to the medical center/hospital built in 1971, including a new nine-story hospital tower with 204 beds, a 18.6k s.f. central utility plant and 730 spaces of parking on 4 acres.
Owner: Banner Health Systems. Architects: Shepley Bulfinch, GLHN. Contractors: Sundt, DPR.
Expected facility opening: April 1, 2019.
http://www.bumct-expansion.com/index.html, http://www.dpr.com/projects/banner-university-medical-center-tucson, http://www.sundt.com/media/news-room/sundtdpr-joint-venture-tops-out-banner-university-medical-center-tucson/
Webcam (main entrance, N. parking lot): https://public.workzonecam.com/projects/dprconstruction/bumct/bumcttowerexpansion/archive?archiveId=Home

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4262/35121137550_d7c1d78fe9_b.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4217/35507817025_e2006f8628_z.jpg
rendering; aerial of medical campus

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1862/29472023197_b7e74d5e43_z.jpg https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7807/45884392614_1553e0b5f2.jpg
construction progress (north elevation): August; main entrance, new north parking lot - January 4
(renders: Shepley Bulfinch; photos: Kelly Presnell, workzonecam.com)




UA Honors Village (btw. Adams & Mabel Sts., and Park & Santa Rita Aves.) - $137M mixed-use project on three city blocks with buildings up to six stories, including a 1,035-bed dorm, 25k s.f. academic space, 15k s.f. dining facility, 41k s.f. recreation center, 370-stall, four-story parking garage and 322 spaces of surface parking.
Developer: American Campus Communities. Architect: STG Architects. Contractor: Okland Construction. Expected completion: July, 2019.
http://tucson.com/news/local/regents-approve-ua-s-m-honors-college-complex/article_7c946411-4a40-5bda-bdd7-ec1f34653cf8.html, http://www.wildcat.arizona.edu/article/2017/04/community-concerned-about-trust-and-credibility-of-ua-in-development-of-new-honors-complex, http://www.pdc.arizona.edu/project/18-9395
Webcam: http://www.pdc.arizona.edu/project/18-9395?tab=camera

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4436/37372001472_d86f4738ac_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4600/39395859011_2478f331df_z.jpg
render showing block of Fremont Ave. converted to a pedestrian mall; aerial render

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4877/46555770302_bc8f814a96_b.jpg
construction progress - January 4
(courtesy: UA)




Aspire (950 N. Tyndall Ave.) - 12-story, 148-unit/505-bed student housing tower with rooftop pool and two levels of underground parking.
Developer: The Dinerstein Companies. Architect: Gensler. Contractor: TDC Construction. Estimated completion by August, 2019.
http://tucson.com/business/work-is-underway-on-the-newest-student-housing-high-rise/article_16dfe057-2ed2-5116-b1af-d42abf10fa3e.html, http://www.liveaspiretucson.com/
Virtual tour video: https://www.liveaspiretucson.com/#foobox-1/0/g9U66bxbuD4

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4477/37996145161_71d5d705c9_b.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4240/35529481765_78d37d8649_z.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4907/31666591507_d2388b9274.jpg
construction progress - December 13
(renders: Gensler; photo: Aspire Tucson)




The Mark (block bordered by Park Ave., Broadway Blvd., Tyndall Ave. and 10th St.) - 154-unit/595-bed student housing complex on a 3.5-acre city block, with one eight-story and two four-story buildings, plus a five-level parking structure. Developer: Landmark Properties. Architect: Dwell Design Studios. Contractor: UEB. Expected completion: August, 2019.
https://tucson.com/business/construction-resumes-at-tucson-student-housing-project-following-massive-fire/article_08950d4f-7320-5f18-837a-0ccc6e3f54e9.html, https://realestatedaily-news.com/mark-tucson-student-housing-land-sale-closes-broadway-park-4-6-million/
Webcam: https://ueb.net/webcam31.html

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1928/45651205842_1aae23bb61_z.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1903/44295266505_3626d9f6b0_z.jpg
renderings looking northwest (L) and west (R)

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4872/31666614847_3ae3a64a2d_b.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4282/34698020733_284c6dcedd_z.jpg
construction photo (looking east from Tyndall Ave.) - January 4
(renderings: Landmark Properties; photo: UEB; site plan: Humphreys & Partners)




Hub Speedway (SWC of Speedway Blvd. & Tyndall Ave.) - four-story student housing complex on .67-acre site with 57 units/183 beds, 6,430 s.f. ground-floor retail, underground parking and rooftop pool. Developer: Core Spaces. Architect: Antunovich Associates. Expected completion: August, 2019.
http://tucson.com/business/a-new-exclusive-student-housing-complex-is-coming-to-tucson/article_db03cfe1-c984-5736-9ca3-b752d99058e8.html, https://corespaces.com/project/hub-campus-tucson-speedway/
Virtual tour video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2RzdJ11buc&t=8s

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1882/43716442225_c90f296b72_z.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1856/43716446405_62669753ba_z.jpg
(courtesy: Antunovich Associates)




GEICO Regional Office Building (near 36th St. and MLK Jr. Way) - three-story, 200k s.f. office building on 20 acres at The Bridges complex will provide space for an additional 700 GEICO employees in Tucson. Developer: Bourn Companies. Contractor: Renaissance Companies. Expected completion by late 2019.
https://realestatedaily-news.com/bourn-closing-on-master-plan-site-at-the-bridges-starts-geico-building/, http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/local/report/010918_bridges_geico/new-tucson-office-geico-add-hundreds-car-insurance-jobs/, https://tucson.com/business/tucson-construction-geico-regional-office-apartments-and-a-new-stem/article_96290032-1aa5-5936-af40-39cd68d719bc.html
1:35 min. construction video from Aug. 31: https://renaissancecos.app.box.com/s/w04om64rihojnhfa0u2s95ib1hixhirq

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1962/31289178258_7a7457cbdb_b.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4868/45705194131_352beee98a_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4870/44308623200_bb0d530a45_b.jpg
site plan of The Bridges with project location; construction progress: November
(render, site plan: Bourn Companies, Sun Corridor; photo: A.E. Araiza)




Casino del Sol expansion (5655 W. Valencia Rd.) - additions to include a new six-story, 151-key hotel with pool on 2.2 acres, a 90-space RV park and a 9,600 s.f. expansion of the existing conference center. Developer: Pascua Yaqui Tribe. Architect: Cuningham Group. Contractor: McCarthy Building.
Construction completion expected in late 2019.
http://lodgingmagazine.com/pascua-yaqui-tribe-breaks-ground-151-room-hotel-casino-del-sol/, https://www.casinodelsol.com/expansion

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/859/29981863338_06b2ea2c7c_z.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1837/28914811967_054afb950f_z.jpg
renderings of hotel exterior and lobby

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/938/28914821287_58106deb24_z.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1817/42947793715_bbf2b831ce_b.jpg
render of conference center expansion; site plan
(courtesy: Casino del Sol)




Downtown Clifton Hotel expansion (485 S. Stone Ave.) - $4.5M addition of six one- and two-story structures for 20 new units, retail space and a pool. Architect: Repp + McLain. Expected completion in late 2019.
https://tucson.com/business/what-s-going-up-vintage-hotel-in-downtown-tucson-adding/article_ade8244f-fbd8-54c3-8f3b-06e763febb66.html, https://downtowntucsonhotel.com/expansion2019/

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4280/35121143010_0ee415ef29_b.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4279/34666341874_fffd5f8a6b.jpg
(courtesy: Repp + McLain)




UA College of Pharmacy Skaggs Building renovation/addition - $26M to add two additional floors for research labs, with another smaller addition for the Pharmacy Museum collection; some parts of existing building to be renovated. Design: GLHN Architects. Contractor: DPR Construction.
Construction timeline: September, 2018 - November, 2019.
http://www.pdc.arizona.edu/project/17-9362 Webcam: http://www.pdc.arizona.edu/project/17-9362?tab=camera

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1966/31344137538_480e155c8f_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1937/44496013734_5a625c4f86_z.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4874/39643493683_7809062417_z.jpg
construction progress - January 4
(renderings: GLHN Architects; photo: UA)




RendezVous Urban Flats (NWC of Broadway Blvd. & Stone Ave.) - six-story, 122k s.f. downtown apartment building with 100 units over 4200 s.f. ground-floor retail.
Owner/developer: Aerie Development. Architects: The Davis Experience, Swaim & Associates. Contractor: UEB. Expected completon: late 2019.
http://tucson.com/business/tucson/tucson-s-tallest-building-to-get-a-little-sister-not/article_748edca0-7374-54af-941a-bf4e2e31d893.html, https://realestatedaily-news.com/tucson-may-see-latest-downtown-housing-project-rendezvous-urban-flats-as-early-as-next-year/
Fly-through video: https://vimeo.com/230965535

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1950/44424222004_eca4224769_b.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1956/30207601627_4c7d6dc196_z.jpg
renderings: Stone Ave. elevation, lobby

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7906/46657957734_d7d514dc0c_z.jpg https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7923/47373842371_a377f03aa9_z.jpg
view from Congress St.; site plan
(courtesy: Aerie Development)




The Trinity (SEC of 4th Ave. & University Blvd.) - mixed-use TOD featuring a four-story, 54k s.f. building with 58 market-rate apartments and a three-story, 25k s.f. office building, both with ground-floor retail on Trinity Presbyterian Church site. Developers: R&R Development/Bourn Companies. Architect: Rob Paulus.
Phase I (three-story office building) to be completed by year-end 2019.
https://realestatedaily-news.com/new-health-center-healthon-university-at-the-trinity-announced-for-west-university-neighborhood/?utm_source=MadMimi&utm_medium=email&utm_content=We+do+the+Research+-+You+do+the+Deals%21&utm_campaign=20180907_m147058681_We+Do+The+Research+-+You+Do+The+Deals%21&utm_term=New+Health+Center+HealthOn+University+at+The+Trinity+Announced+for+West+University+Neighborhood, http://tucson.com/business/of-major-apartment-projects-on-tucson-s-fourth-avenue-goes/article_d198dbc9-860a-56ef-b8ff-565b2035c924.html, http://robpaulus.com/projects/trinity-mixed-use/, https://realestatedaily-news.com/the-trinity-mixed-use-project-ready-to-begin-construction-this-fall/

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4723/39356307704_bd341bf6d2_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4744/28287638779_b9f4be1792_z.jpg
west elevation of building on 4th Ave.; three-story office building on University Blvd.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4646/38520205125_4bcb6729f8_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4616/28287643929_97a2e05b36_b.jpg
site plan; nite render along 4th Ave.
(courtesy: Rob Paulus)




Historic Pima County Courthouse renovation/adaptive reuse (115 N. Church Ave.) - $25M to renovate the 87k s.f., three-story, 1929 former courthouse with the UA Gem & Mineral Museum occupying the basement and ground floor, a Southern Arizona Heritage & Visitor Center also on the ground floor, with the second and third floors occupied by Visit Tucson and various Pima County administrative offices. Also included will be three or four public auditoriums.
Consulting Architects: Poster Frost Mirto, Ralph Applebaum Associates. Contractors: Barker-Morrissey, Oden Construction, Kittle Design & Construction.
$7.4M of tenant improvements underway on upper floors to be occupied by January, 2019; UA Museum, Visitor Center and Jan. 8 Memorial on ground floor to open by January, 2020.
http://www.tucsonsentinel.com/opinion/report/040618_huckelberry_courthouse/huckelberry-preserving-iconic-courthouse-through-adaptive-reuse/, https://webcms.pima.gov/UserFiles/Servers/Server_6/File/Government/Administration/CHHmemosFor%20Web/2018/August/Southern%20Arizona%20Heritage%20and%20Visitor%20Center.pdf, http://gemandmineralmuseum.arizona.edu/

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/798/40903401752_cde1356332.jpg
(courtesy: Pima County)




Kino Sports Complex South (S. of I-10 and Kino Sports Complex) - proposed sports and soccer complex on 167 acres purchased by Pima County in 2014 to include up to 20 sports fields, stadium, splash pad and playground, concessions, hotels and restaurants. Developer: Pima County. Contractor: Haydon Building Corp.
Status: $26M Phase I (12 natural grass fields, 20 pickleball courts, concessions, locker rooms, restrooms, parking lots) to be completed in early 2020; Phase 2 on parcels A-E (see site plan below) with hotels, office, commercial and other sports facilities to be sold and developed through public-private partnerships.
https://tucson.com/news/local/new-top-of-the-line-sports-facility-expected-to-generate/article_d03ac73b-c4ea-539f-be49-769662ecaf07.html, http://webcms.pima.gov/cms/One.aspx?portalId=169&pageId=461193

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4427/36551646252_6eb51dfa6f_b.jpg

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7910/45898334264_66ccf5890c_b.jpg
(rendering: The Planning Center; site plan: Pima County)




The Monier (160 S. Avenida del Convento) - $35M, four-story building with 122 market-rate apartments over 13k s.f. ground-floor retail and underground parking ($2.4M loan to be provided by Rio Nuevo). Developers: The Gadsden Co., Holualoa Cos. Architect: Moule & Polyzoides. Contractor: Lloyd Construction. Expected completion in 2020.
https://tucson.com/business/apartment-retail-project-is-close-to-breaking-ground-west-of/article_35bc3f6f-a498-52d3-83e7-0f6dca917cad.html, http://tiboaz.biz/2018/08/28/rio-nuevo-the-monier-building-moves-forward-armory-park-upgrades-in-the-future/, https://rionuevo.org/project/monier-mixed-use-project/

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7842/40408242163_9eed632976_b.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4864/46168662231_bab407d064_z.jpg
rendering; site photo

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1880/29537419047_909f5025c1_b.jpg
(courtesy: The Gadsden Co., Downtown Tucson Partnership)




The Flin (SWC of Broadway Blvd. & Church Ave.) - $42.2M, six-story complex with 243 market-rate apartments and 4,500 s.f. of restaurant/retail to replace La Placita Village, a 200k s.f. downtown office/retail center built in 1973. Developer: HSL Properties. Architect: Eglin + Bresler. Contractor: Tofel Dent Construction.
Expected completion: late 2020.
https://theflin.com/, http://tucson.com/news/local/la-placita-pedestrian-bridge-to-be-demolished-this-weekend/article_8476fbfe-883b-5677-ba1c-1d1d6d278c86.html

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/861/29946654838_219dba3ed1_z.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1773/29946659858_027a741afc_z.jpg

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/933/29946668508_7385b6d2a5_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4845/46607835471_469e96200d_z.jpg
render looking N along Stone Ave.; construction photo: January 3
(renderings: HSL Properties; photo: Tofel Dent Construction)





PROPOSED


UA Student Success District - $71M, two-phase project to integrate and revitalize student services in four adjacent central campus buildings: Main Library, Science and Engineering Library, Bear Down Gym, and a new Student Services Building; will also include site development improvements.
Design: Poster Frost Mirto. Contractor: Sundt. Construction timeline: January, 2019 - June, 2021.
https://launchpad.arizona.edu/, http://www.pdc.arizona.edu/project/17-9381

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4602/39735610692_2d0b2ff671_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4630/39735615352_16ea8de655_z.jpg
(courtesy: UA)




El Presidio Park/January 8th Memorial (160 W. Alameda St.) - $10M renovation of downtown's El Presidio Park incorporating a memorial for the shooting victims of January 8, 2011, which included former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. Architect: Chee Salette Architecture.
Status: construction of scaled-back $2.3M January 8th Memorial to begin in Spring, 2019 and be completed by Jan. 8, 2020.
http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/37778172/january-8th-memorial-plans-scaled-back-as-donations-fall-short, http://www.tucsonsmemorial.org/

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4288/35407323231_08327355bd_z.jpg https://farm1.staticflickr.com/911/41343236454_c24c78fb01_z.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4206/35121133230_dd98b05887_z.jpg https://farm1.staticflickr.com/961/41343227984_a4f857b301_z.jpg
preliminary renderings
(courtesy: CSAO)




TCC DoubleTree Hotel (NWC of Cushing St. & Church Ave.) - $24M, 170-key, six-story hotel proposed for the southeast corner of the Tucson Convention Center.
Developer: Caliber Hospitality. Architect: Swaim Associates.
Status: Rio Nuevo in discussions with developer to include a four-level parking garage; expected construction start in early 2019.
https://tucson.com/business/new-hotel-projects-closer-to-coming-to-downtown-tucson/article_79978ea8-f8a4-530f-b97c-ee251866cbbb.html, https://rionuevo.org/project/tcc-hotel-caliber-group/

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7883/46416487244_70c600cb09_z.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1928/31830183968_4d49cf8ca6_b.jpg
exterior, lobby renderings

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1834/43101118254_0bfb23b7af_z.jpg https://farm1.staticflickr.com/856/43769155772_e75c2baf42_z.jpg
site plan; project site photo
(site plan, photo: Rio Nuevo; renderings: Caliber Hospitality)




75 Broadway (N. side of Broadway Blvd., between Scott & 6th Aves.) - previous 20-story proposal has been downsized to 12 stories with 150k s.f. office space on floors 8-12, 40k s.f. retail/restaurants on floors 1-2 and 350 parking spaces on levels 3-7.
Developers: JE Dunn/Bog Creek Development, Dabdoub/Schwabe. Architect: Swaim & Associates. Contractor: JE Dunn Construction.
Status: developer has signed a sublease with Rio Nuevo and is now soliciting tenants; projected start in 2019.
http://properties.cbre.us/75-broadway/index.html, https://tucson.com/business/planned-downtown-tucson-building-scaled-down-from-to-stories/article_6e573234-3f7c-56a9-b30b-952b5de97a26.html

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7855/33275010918_2d8dacb566_z.jpg https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7863/33275009548_b778473200_z.jpg
(courtesy: CBRE)




Hotel Arizona renovation (181 W. Broadway Blvd.) - $20M renovation of downtown 13-story former Hotel Arizona as a 309-key, Hilton-branded convention hotel; Rio Nuevo to take title of the property and provide sales tax rebates and site-specific tax payments through 2025. Developer: HSL Properties. Architect: Swaim & Associates.
Status: developer seeking GPLET approval from the city; projected start in early 2019.
http://tucson.com/business/downtown-tucson-s-former-hotel-arizona-could-reopen-by/article_87dbabda-af93-5a6d-8d35-82121cc46917.html, http://rionuevo.org/rio-nuevo-advances-three-downtown-hotel-projects-including-hotel-arizona/

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4389/36713198276_e9b32a74de_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4356/36842771281_f13e38d0c1_z.jpg

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4400/36842775471_4a37a2e3e6_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4427/36590525682_80d32c9173_z.jpg
(renders: HSL Properties; photo: A.E. Araiza)




Graduate Tucson & The Collective at Main Gate (SEC of Tyndall Ave. & Second St.) - revised plan of previously proposed hotel with mixed-use TOD in a 14-story tower to include a 165-key Graduate Hotel, 238 market-rate apartments and 6k s.f. ground-floor retail/restaurant space adjoining a public plaza.
Developers: Marshall Foundation, Core Tucson Main Gate LLC. Architect: Antunovich Associates.
Status: expected construction timeline: early 2019 to late 2020.
http://www.maingatesquare.com/graduatetucson/, https://tucson.com/business/story-hotel-apartments-going-up-near-university-of-arizona/article_44876b2c-dcbb-5ac6-8750-6fc1a128bc39.html

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7827/46650032114_59c49dd193_z.jpg https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7833/40407763923_fc79f4c3f4_z.jpg
renders of project (looking northwest) and public plaza

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7921/46458351795_14f5ef4c81_z.jpg https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7917/40407891183_f59462d4eb.jpg https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7852/33497204378_023f2b7f20.jpg
renders looking southeast, aerial view; site plan
(courtesy: Antunovich Associates)




44 E. Broadway mixed-use (44 E. Broadway & E. Jackson St.) - $34.3M project to include the rehab of over 6k s.f. of ground-floor retail in existing building and construction of two new buildings (next to 44 E. Broadway and connecting across Jackson St.) with 18k s.f. of ground-floor retail, three levels of parking, and 61 s.f. of office on top floors.
Developers: Ron Schwabe, Marcel Dabdoub.
Status: Rio Nuevo has approved sales tax incentives; build-out of ground-floor retail in existing building continues; construction of two new buildings to begin in 2019.
http://rionuevo.org/rio-nuevo-board-approves-34m-mixed-use-project-on-broadway-and-celebrates-its-10-year-extension/, https://rionuevo.org/project/44-e-broadway/

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1835/42046292530_8d3bb29cd2_z.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1838/43855071441_c3b0e466a3.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1773/29985352768_10d1c878c8.jpg
preliminary sketches
(courtesy: Rio Nuevo)




Hampton Inn, Home2 Suites at Cathedral Square (141 S. Stone Ave.) - six-story downtown complex across from St. Augustine Cathedral with a 75-key Hampton Inn and a 123-key, extended-stay Home2 Suites. Developer: Fayth Hospitality Group.
Status: Rio Nuevo approved 25-year GPLET lease and up to $7.5M in tax rebates; projected construction timeline: June, 2019 - late 2020.
https://tucson.com/business/new-hotel-projects-closer-to-coming-to-downtown-tucson/article_79978ea8-f8a4-530f-b97c-ee251866cbbb.html, https://rionuevo.org/project/hilton-hotel-at-cathedral-square/

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1947/43883319970_e9560db299_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4857/30760498817_132a33b1ed_z.jpg
(courtesy: Fayth Hospitality Group)




Tucson Convention Center renovations (260 S. Church Ave.) - upwards of $50M for renovations to the 1971 facility as outlined below. Developer/Owner: Rio Nuevo.
Status: $2.2M approved by Rio Nuevo to replace the ice plant and floor of the TCC Arena in Summer, 2019; the board is seeking architect designs and bids for remaining improvements:
- Convention Center/Exhibit Halls/Meeting Rooms/Ballroom - $7.7M
- Music Hall - $7.6M
- Leo Rich Theater - $2.7M
- Eckbo Plaza - $11M
- Arena - $4.3M
(The city of Tucson will pay to repair/replace all HVAC systems, estimated at $3.4M)
https://realestatedaily-news.com/rio-nuevo-moves-ahead-with-50-million-tcc-renovation/, https://rionuevo.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/TCC-CIP.pdf




Chroma (SWC of E. Speedway Blvd. & N. Camino Miramonte) - proposed midtown mixed-use project includes a six-story tower with residential/office/retail, a three-story residential building and a one-story retail building. Developer: SMDSK Encanto LLC. Architect: BWS Architects.
Status: possible construction start in mid-2019.
http://tiboaz.biz/2018/09/24/a-look-at-chroma-mixed-use-development-planned-for-midtown/

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1914/30204610427_57ca9b397f_z.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1955/31269220448_0d4a79ef5f_b.jpg
(courtesy: Chroma)




Speedway Campbell Gateway (NWC of Speedway Blvd. & Campbell Ave.) - proposed $300M redevelopment of a 2.5-acre site near the eastern terminus of the Sun Link streetcar as a TOD complex with a 20-story tower plus two 10-story sections; project may have up to 420k s.f., including retail/restaurants, grocery, office/medical, residential or hotel, and parking.
Developer: Richard Shenkarow and partners. Architect: Rick Joy Architects.
Status: project rezoning approved in June; final design now underway. Possible construction start in 2019.
https://www.speedwaycampbellgateway.com/, https://realestatedaily-news.com/shenkarows-20-story-speedway-and-campbell-gateway-gets-nod-of-approval/

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4358/35612777544_a999fd9db8_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4341/35612785034_5edfe8d0b8_z.jpg
preliminary renderings
(courtesy: Rick Joy Architects)




Volvo site redevelopment (S. side of Broadway Blvd., between Tyndall & Park Aves.) - adaptive reuse project of up to $24M to include retail, restaurant and possibly hotel components (will include $2.1M investment from Rio Nuevo). Owner/Developer: Sloane McFarland.
https://rionuevo.org/rio-nuevo-agrees-to-participate-%ef%bb%bfin-volvo-site-project/

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7859/45706820685_fc569431cf_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4812/39655919393_7b26f428c7_z.jpg
early rendering and current site photo
(courtesy: Rio Nuevo)




Hotel Euclid/Residence Inn (NEC of Euclid Ave. & 4th St.) - six-story, 140-key hotel with 8,500 s.f. ground-floor retail and 97-space parking plenum.
Developer: 7one4 Tucson LLC. Architect: Vint & Associates.
Status: city approved the demolition of four dilapidated, historic structures onsite prior to project construction; final design still under review.
http://tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/police-back-at-tusd-can-t-ask-immigration-status/article_64bb3529-d5a0-54f9-886e-b82994f5a4aa.html, https://www.tucsonaz.gov/files/pdsd/boards-committees-commissions/Hotel_Euclid_Revisions_Package_2.pdf

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4205/35468463556_44ee743532_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4848/46133708521_03760f6138_z.jpg
(site map: Arizona Daily Star; rendering: Vint & Associates)




The Bautista (N. of Cushing St., W. of Santa Cruz River) - a mixed-use TOD project to include 294 market-rate apartments and 20k s.f. retail in three-, four- and five-story buildings, featuring cooling towers in the surrounding courtyards. Developers: The Gadsden Co., Aerie Development. Architects: Moule & Polyzoides, Swaim Associates.
Status: in planning and design stage.
http://tiboaz.biz/2018/08/21/a-look-at-the-bautista-mixed-use-development-planned-for-west-downtown/

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1874/42602023990_9097429344_z.jpg
(courtesy: Moule & Polyzoides)




Downtown Links (btw. Broadway Blvd. & I-10) - $85M project to connect Barraza-Aviation Parkway from Broadway Blvd. to I-10 with a 1.3-mile, four-lane roadway north of the Union Pacific railroad tracks, providing alternate access to and around downtown by foot, bike, vehicle, and public transit.
Phase 1 - 8th St. drainage - $7.4M (COMPLETED - May, 2012)
Phase 2 - St. Mary's section (I-10 to Church Ave.) - $7.3M (COMPLETED - April, 2014)
Phase 3 - Reconstruction of the Tucson Arroyo culvert from 6th Ave. to 10th Ave.; construction of a new 6th St. alignment, railroad underpass, and 9th Ave. Deck Plaza; construction of the new four-lane Links roadway (the Maclovio Barraza Parkway), 6th Ave. bridge, and a shared-use pathway from 6th St. to Broadway Blvd.
Status: after design changes, $39M final phase is being rebid, with contractor selection by April and construction start by year-end 2019.
http://www.downtownlinks.info/, http://tucson.com/news/local/road-runner-contractor-bids-for-downtown-links-project-way-over/article_1b16d509-3275-50f5-bff0-9bed693881e9.html, http://tucson.com/news/local/residents-worry-dunbar-spring-park-plan-in-peril-after-tucson/article_778025ab-40c8-598e-ab1d-8b25b4305c79.html

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4029/34814049714_7027324932_b.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4278/34666350764_cf7af1d44b.jpg
site map, 9th Ave. Deck Plaza renderings

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4266/35121135990_ef66db6b9d_z.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4206/34697997803_bd1bddde36_z.jpg
(courtesy: city of Tucson)




The Ronstadt (NEC of 6th Ave. & Congress St.) - $127M, multi-modal transit/mixed-use project on 4.7 acres downtown with a 12-story and three 7-story buildings, including a 128-key hotel, 256 housing units, 50k s.f. office, 62k s.f. retail/restaurants, 450-space parking garage, linear transit mall and public market.
Developers: Peach Properties, 5/NorthFifth. Architect: Swaim Associates. Contractor: Ryan Companies.
Status: project awaiting FTA approval.
http://tucson.com/news/local/peach-wins-ronstadt-center-redevelopment-project/article_3c687306-26f2-56ab-a233-4d0ec10a2f12.html, http://www.tucsonaz.gov/integrated-planning/ronstadt-transit-center-joint-development, http://peachprops.com/news/the-ronstadt/

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4205/35468168086_2deb174ba5_z.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4208/35121141560_fbca254149.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4285/35121537160_993318ac5f_b.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4242/35340396352_bd70e41c66_b.jpg
(courtesy: Swaim Associates)




Union on Sixth (S. side of 6th St. between 4th & 5th Aves.) - proposed 254-unit apartment complex from 3-7 stories with 7,500 s.f. ground-floor retail and 180 parking spaces.
Developer: EdR.
Status: initial review committee approved design with some conditions in August; possible demolitions within 12 months and construction start by late 2019.
https://www.tucsonweekly.com/tucson/tight-corner/Content?oid=19927528, http://tucson.com/business/planned-high-rise-on-tucson-s-fourth-avenue-pits-nostalgia/article_7208e937-ebc6-5464-8112-48c28e655072.html, http://tiboaz.biz/2018/08/07/an-updated-look-at-the-union-on-sixth-mixed-use-development/

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1819/30135611998_723904007e_z.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1774/30135620228_39401aa811_z.jpg
renders of SWC at 4th Ave. & 6th St. (L) and 6th St. elevation (R)

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/940/44004301011_b35da41e11_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4651/40542692002_12e6bd2d86_z.jpg
render of SEC at 6th St. and 5th Ave.; site plan
(courtesy: EdR)




Partners on Fourth mixed-use (NWC of 4th Ave. & E. 9th St.) - proposed mixed-use TOD project with building heights stair-stepping from 30' on 4th Ave. to possibly 160' (14 stories) along E. Stevens Ave.; will include ground-floor retail, commercial office space and market-rate apartments. Developer: Partners on Fourth.
Status: rezoning approved by the city; developer continuing to have community meetings for further project input.
http://www.kvoa.com/story/36991705/multi-family-housing-and-commercial-space-proposed-on-4th-avenues-southern-end, https://www.tucsonaz.gov/sirepub/viewdoc.aspx?cabinet=Permits&docid=4203167

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/907/27043375977_8e3cfd503a_b.jpg
preliminary concept plan
(courtesy: Partners on Fourth)




Speedway & Euclid student housing (NWC of E. Speedway Blvd. & N. Euclid Ave.) - proposed student housing complex in five-story buildings with 163 units/500 beds, including underground parking and ground-floor retail. Developer: Peak Campus. Architect: Ayers Saint Gross.
Status: in planning stages--project needing a Planned Area Development (PAD) and an amendment to the University Area Plan.
http://tiboaz.biz/2018/04/02/a-look-at-the-proposed-student-housing-development-at-speedway-euclid/, http://www.kvoa.com/story/36936595/residents-of-historic-feldmans-neighborhood-opposed-to-student-housing-project

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/975/28042599278_09086e97bb_z.jpg https://farm1.staticflickr.com/955/28042604808_965fbddd63_z.jpg
(courtesy: Ayers Saint Gross)




Arena Site project (E. side of I-10, btw. Congress St. and Cushing St.) - $100M+ downtown mixed-use, transit-oriented development on 17 acres: 140-key hotel and 96 apartments--each on four floors in separate buildings above four-level parking podiums with ground-floor retail; 120k s.f. exhibit hall and parking garage connected to the Tucson Convention Center, and a 60k s.f. visual arts center on the north end of the site. Owner/Developer: Nor-Generations.
Status: per their agreement with Rio Nuevo, Nor-Gen has until Sept., 2020 (42 months after the Greyhound relocation) to spend at least $10M on the site or face penalties of up to $2.5M.
http://tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/rio-nuevo-buying-vacant-lot-to-build-new-greyhound-station/article_7f0e8a87-6d73-507f-8849-cb9876a56cfd.html, http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Rio-Nuevo-Advances-.html?soid=1111935938066&aid=sSIzKSOB1Dc

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4215/34666700584_03ab5d157d_b.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4277/35121509900_fca1967607.jpg

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4237/35340395792_67d68f723c_z.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4239/34698025223_882f0d33db_z.jpg
Nor-Gen's preliminary site plan and renderings, site photo looking southwest
(courtesy: Nor-Gen; photo: Becky Pallack)




Benedictine Monastery redevelopment/adaptive re-use (800 N. Country Club Rd.) - proposed redevelopment of historic seven-acre property to include 250 new luxury apartments in a U-shaped building of 3, 4 and 5 stories to surround the original structure built in 1940, plus a 4-level parking structure; monastery to receive historical status and adapted for another use yet to be determined. Developer: Ross Rulney. Architect: Poster Frost Mirto.
Status: city has begun historic designation process to preserve monastery; developer has agreed to a 55' maximum height for new buildings, and is seeking a Planned Area Development (PAD).
http://tucson.com/business/plan-unveiled-for--story-apartments-beside-benedictine-monastery/article_9a348811-ea8c-5eaa-8f13-a3f4e8164477.html http://tucson.com/news/local/city-council-starts-historic-designation-process-in-bid-to-save/article_09d654cd-020c-55c1-a884-8701fd30d343.html, https://tucson.com/business/community-weighs-in-on-best-uses-for-tucson-s-iconic/article_6d3aaa22-d950-5a70-b787-379d7ab8be7d.html

https://farm1.staticflickr.com/895/27408490728_fb227c9789_z.jpg https://farm1.staticflickr.com/878/27408496778_20171febc1_z.jpg
earlier renderings with taller structures

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1953/44422609394_ce1da2ca39_z.jpg https://farm1.staticflickr.com/818/39472023820_61d3a007d8_z.jpg
(renders: Poster Frost Mirto; site plan: Steve Kozachik; photo: Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation)




UA Applied Research Building (SWC of E. Helen St. & N. Highland Ave.) - $50M, 60k s.f.multi-story building to be adjacent to the Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering Building, consolidating numerous strategic, interdisciplinary research programs in one location.
Status: RFQ process for design/build teams underway;: expected construction timeline: May, 2020 - July, 2021.
https://tucson.com/news/local/two-new-ua-buildings-totaling-m-up-for-approval-by/article_1478a25f-76da-59ea-bbb2-c33169e0b47f.html, https://public.azregents.edu/Shared%20Documents/11-01-2018-FINAL-Finance-Capital-Resources-CMT-Binder.pdf



UA Grand Challenges Research Building - $135.1M, 150k s.f., 10-story building (8 stories above grade) just south of the Meinel Optical Sciences Building to be an interdisciplinary research facility in close proximity to other research entities with the overall theme of tackling critical problems at the edge of human endeavor.
Status: project in pre-planning phase; expected construction timeline: May, 2021 - November, 2023.
https://tucson.com/news/local/two-new-ua-buildings-totaling-m-up-for-approval-by/article_1478a25f-76da-59ea-bbb2-c33169e0b47f.html, http://www.pdc.arizona.edu/project/18-9384




Mercado District (west of I-10, btw. Congress St. and Cushing St.) - 32 acres for mixed-use TOD including single- and multi-family housing, retail, restaurants and parking garages.
Owner: Rio Nuevo, The Gadsden Co. and others. Developers: The Gadsden Co., Gorman & Company, Aerie Development.
Completed:
Mercado San Agustín - 15k s.f. retail/restaurant complex and public market (May, 2011)
Sentinel Plaza: six-story building with 143 apartments for low-income seniors - developed by Senior Housing Group (July, 2012)
MSA Annex: 20k s.f. of retail/restaurants, 500-seat performance venue (April, 2018 - SEE ABOVE)
Under construction:
West End Station: 70 affordable apartments/retail (SEE ABOVE)
The Monier (south of Mercado San Agustin) - 122 market-rate apartments, 13k s.f. retail (SEE ABOVE)
Future projects:
The Bautista (south of Sentinel Plaza) - 294-unit apartment complex with 20k s.f. of retail (SEE ABOVE)
The West Abbey (next to West End Station) - proposed 104 market-rate apartments, 18k s.f. retail
Menlo Park Commons (south of West End Station): 33k s.f. retail with a 500-space parking garage
Menlo Park Rowhouses (west of Mercado San Agustin) - nine rowhouses with underground parking (SEE BELOW)
101 Linda Ave. (west of Sentinel Plaza) - build-to-suit development site for lease, possibly commercial office http://www.suncorridorinc.com/SunCorridor/media/Sun-Corridor/Documents/Sites%20and%20Data/Mission-District-brochure.pdf?ext=.pdf

http://tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/with-city-out-of-gadsden-deal-rio-nuevo-will-expand/article_645f4732-d089-5064-a624-eb197286b3ef.html, http://tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/major-projects-set-west-of-downtown-tucson/article_07d1f09a-32ea-590c-887a-f8a4fbf75c9e.html

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1900/43565723455_a86b9b7775_b.jpg
(courtesy: Rio Nuevo)




The Bridges (N. of I-10 btw. Kino Parkway & Park Ave., acreage west of Park Ave.) - 350-acre infill project on former site of Tucson Downtown Airport to include:
- UA Tech Park at The Bridges (65 acres, 3.2M s.f. mixed-use project with housing, R&D facilities, offices, hotel and conference center - SEE BELOW)
- Tucson Marketplace at The Bridges (115 acres, 1M+ s.f. regional retail power center - SEE BELOW)
- Corporate employment center, multi-family housing and community park (Bourn Companies to develop 112 acres (outlined in yellow), including a new 200k s.f. office building on 20 acres for GEICO by the end of 2019 - SEE ABOVE)
- additional parks and open space (55 acres)
Developers: Eastbourne Investments, Ltd., Retail West Properties, Genesis Tucson South, Bourn Companies
https://azbigmedia.com/geico-plans-expansion-bridges-tucson/, https://realestatedaily-news.com/bourn-closing-on-master-plan-site-at-the-bridges-starts-geico-building/

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4697/39571420892_c492c4c337_b.jpg
aerial site plan
(courtesy: azbigmedia.com)


Tucson Marketplace at The Bridges (N. of I-10 btw. Kino Parkway & Park Ave.) - 1M+ s.f. regional retail power center on 114 acres.
Developers: Eastbourne Investments, Ltd., Retail West Properties, Genesis Tucson South.
Status: project over 60% built with Costco, Walmart, Century Theatres and Dave & Busters as anchor tenants; build-out of remaining pads is ongoing.
https://images2.loopnet.com/d2/wCprY3Apqg1iIv-VoSqzqu4ncIuxL4uH259DQcdBuOs/document.pdf, http://optimuscdg.com/projects/tucson-marketplace/, https://realestatedaily-news.com/planet-fitness-century-theatre-dave-busters-enter-tucson-marketplace-bridges/, http://tucson.com/business/local-neighbors-help-develop-vacant-eyesore-into-tucson-marketplace/article_88dcacff-19a5-5fa9-8d81-4248887b4ba4.html

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4501/38163521776_fbe26cca84.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4285/35535116905_0f868a190f.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4287/35340390022_c59bb49aba.jpg
2017 aerial photo with retail outline; signage
(site plans, photos: Retail West, AZ Daily Star)


UA Tech Park at The Bridges (SWC of 36th St. & Kino Parkway) - 65-acre research park for an eventual 3.2M s.f. buildout including office, hotel, conference center, and rental housing.
Status: The Boyer Company has been chosen to develop the 20-acre Technology Precinct, with the Innovation and Technology Complex (ITC) as the initial project, and the first building to be $40M, four-story, 120k s.f. ($20M to be funded by the UA).
https://techparks.arizona.edu/parks/the-bridges/planning-development, https://realestatedaily-news.com/bourn-and-boyer-cos-two-new-development-partners-at-tucsons-ua-tech-park/

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4663/26192412118_43590a0027_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4702/26192419548_b1ba894e22.jpg
site plan; aerial rendering looking north

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4254/35535133865_948515ac9e_z.jpg https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4752/40065574131_4c3216dcfc.jpg
Innovation & Technology Complex South render ; ITC North and South buildings
(courtesy: UA)




Sonoran Corridor Highway (from I-10/Rita Rd. to I-19 near Pima Mine Rd.) - $600M, 16-mile auxiliary interstate highway to connect two of the region's high-tech employment zones, create a southern entrance to Tucson International Airport, and improve access for southern metro residents to central and eastside employment centers.
Status: the Tier 1 EIS initiated in May, 2017 continues in order to identify Selected Corridor Alternatives, after which environmental studies will be done for each as part of Tier 2; $30M still needed for planning, design, ROW acquisitions and initial construction.
https://www.insidetucsonbusiness.com/news/transportation-officials-work-to-connect-i--and-i-/article_eb473aa2-cd92-11e8-8143-a73a6b375d69.html, https://www.azdot.gov/planning/transportation-studies/sonoran-corridor-tier-1-environmental-impact-statement/overview

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4266/35121131710_e72158ea20_z.jpg
preliminary corridor route
(courtesy: Pima County)





ON HOLD


Mercado Rowhouses (876-894 W. Paseo de los Zanjeros) - $3.8M for nine rowhouses with underground parking just west of Mercado San Agustín. Developer: The Gadsden Cos.
Status: final plat approved; construction timeline unknown.

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4288/34698016543_8aae445074.jpg https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1848/43696481704_4e6f11157a_b.jpg
(site plan: city of Tucson; render: Cushman & Wakefield)




Block 175 development (bordered by Franklin & Council Sts., Church & Court Aves.) - two-acre downtown city block currently used as a parking lot to be developed as a mixed-use project with 138 affordable housing units. Owner: Industrial Development Authority of Tucson. Architect: RAH architects.
Status: IDA has put the block up for sale.
https://www.insidetucsonbusiness.com/construction_real_estate/recent-real-estate-transactions-across-pima-county/article_6378bf4a-52fb-11e8-8e64-2b2e53a575ed.html, http://tucson.com/news/local/downtown-tucson-parking-lots-ripe-for-development/article_41474ea8-d7ee-515c-8c9e-2f94b13ad2f6.html

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4259/35507797455_bbfd48b003_z.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4283/34666355934_16fdcf3833_z.jpg
preliminary renderings

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4259/35468509286_73f02b34c7.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4282/35468469226_4365c9e630_z.jpg
map; site photo looking northwest
(renders: RAH architects; map, photo: Arizona Daily Star)




22nd Street View (NEC of I-10 and 22nd St.) - $15M, 150k s.f., three-story building on 6.5 acres, with a 50k s.f. third-floor exhibit hall above 86 business condos on the first two floors, primarily for Mineral & Gem Show exhibitors. Developer: Eons Expos. Architect: Rob Paulus.
Status: project postponed 2-3 years, possibly to be reconfigured as a two-story structure.
http://tiboaz.biz/2016/01/12/62nd-tucson-gem-and-mineral-show-back-for-another-year-project-update/, http://22ndstreetview.com/, http://tucson.com/news/local/columnists/steller/steller-why-doesn-t-tucson-have-permanent-gem-show-spaces/article_4b3ed757-b6f8-5d9f-be9c-fcb39f9b4e21.html

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4261/35535102675_daf7250f37_z.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4206/35535103295_eaac7de2fc_z.jpg
(courtesy: Rob Paulus)




The Armory (246 E. Broadway Blvd.) -proposed five-story building with 170 market-rate apartments over two levels of parking and ground-floor retail.
Owner/developer: Peach Properties.
Status: preliminary discussions with other parties to develop the property.
http://www.downtowntucson.org/2012/07/peach-properties-bear-fruit-all-over-downtown/

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4239/35468463856_8c0a225927_z.jpg https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4207/34666340794_9f1336b870_b.jpg
early rendering; site photo looking northeast
(render: Peach Properties; photo: herbertliving.com)

[kaneui]

^I have compiled a partial list of metro Tucson projects in the prior post--any corrections or additions, just let me know.

[Anqrew]

Here are some U of A projects
http://www.fdc.arizona.edu/maps/map_main.cfm
(numbers 5&6 on map are the ones i mentioned)


Under Construction

STUDENT RECREATION CENTER EXPANSION
http://www.fdc.arizona.edu/projects/05-8634/Watercolor_6th%20Street%20View.jpg

Planned

TYNDALL/SIXTH STREET RESIDENCE HALLS
http://www.fdc.arizona.edu/projects/07-8770/T_SW%20corner%20COMP.jpg

HIGHLAND/SIXTH STREET RESIDENCE HALLS
http://www.fdc.arizona.edu/projects/07-8770/H_sixth%20street%20view%20COMP.jpg

also the Grant Road Widening project is adding an extra lane in each direction plus frontage roads for neighborhoods, bus pullouts and more.
http://www.grantroad.info/

[kaneui]

The UofA announces a design update meeting on the proposed Science Center/Arizona State Museum project:


The University of Arizona will be presenting a design progress update on the University of Arizona Science Center (UASC) and Arizona State Museum (ASM) project, which is part of the City of Tucson's downtown redevelopment project. UASC will be a new state-of-the-art science based center connecting the expertise generated at the UA with the community. The new Arizona State Museum facility will provide easy access for the community and visitors to its unparalleled collections of Southwestern art and archaeology.

The design team previously provided a project overview and encouraged written comments during the City’s Tucson Origins Open House at the TCC on October 24, 2007. These comments have been incorporated into the design, which will be presented by the University of Arizona project team and Rafael Vinoly Architects. The presentation will include an update on progress related to the project site and context, the emerging building design, and the exciting exhibit concepts being developed for the facility. Please plan to join us.

The University of Arizona Science Center and Arizona State Museum Design Presentation

6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 14, 2009

The University of Arizona University Services Annex (USA) Building 220 W. 6th St., Conference Room 104

Free parking

[kaneui]

Here are some U of A projects
http://www.fdc.arizona.edu/maps/map_main.cfm
(numbers 5&6 on map are the ones i mentioned)


also the Grant Road Widening project is adding an extra lane in each direction plus frontage roads for neighborhoods, bus pullouts and more.
http://www.grantroad.info/


Thanks for the suggestions--I'll review the UofA's capital projects, particularly the ones recently approved by the Board of Regents (although funding is currently being withheld by some legislative committee).

I hesitate to list many of the Regional Transportation Authority's dozens of projects in their 20-year, $2.1B plan, although the Grant Rd. widening is one of the largest. Perhaps I'll add a link to their website if anyone wants further details.

[Don B.]

Good update on the Tucson projects.

--don

[kaneui]

Two recently completed UofA buildings made an AIA list of Arizona's greatest architectural achievements:


The Meinel Optical Sciences Building and the Stevie Eller Dance Theatre also reflect the university's efforts in more sustainable construction
By Jeff Harrison, University Communications
January 9, 2008

It’s not just about red bricks any more. Two buildings at The University of Arizona are included in a short list of the most noteworthy structures in the state. The Meinel Optical Sciences Building and the Stevie Eller Dance Theatre, both recent additions to the UA campus, were included among Arizona’s 18 Greatest Architectural Achievements. The list was compiled and announced recently by the Arizona chapter of the American Institute of Architects, in conjunction with the national AIA’s 150th anniversary. Following a thread that connects the 18 finalists was a bit difficult, said Peter Dourlein, associate director of UA Facilities Design and Construction, who accepted the AIA awards in Phoenix.

The winners straddled the architectural spectrum, including Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, the 1,200-year-old White House Anasazi pueblo in Canyon de Chelly, Kierland Commons, an upscale commercial and residential project in Scottsdale, and the Spanish colonial San Xavier del Bac Mission near Tucson. More importantly, said Dourlein, the new buildings are a signal that the UA is moving beyond a century of red brick construction to building with more sustainable materials and practices.

Eller and Meinel, he said, likely made the Arizona AIA list because they already are award-winning buildings. The Stevie Eller Dance Theatre is both a performance site and a teaching studio for the School of Dance. The Meinel Building is the second addition to the College of Optical Sciences, originally was built in 1970. “Eller is all about movement,” Dourlein said of the dance facility. “It captures movement and embodies the whole idea of movement. The columns outside are dancing, and the skin of the building is turned inside out as it goes into the performance hall.” The alternating large and small columns, he said, represent male and female dancers. The building's exterior uses brick, color, copper and rusted steel. “People recognize that it’s good architecture, different and exciting and still sympathetic to its location,” Dourlein said.

Meinel, the first building in southern Arizona to win a national AIA award, uses its copper skin to shield its concrete sides from the sun. As the weather warms, ventilation created by air rising in the space between the skin and the walls helps to moderate the building's temperature. A glass facade on the north side lets in natural light. Interior light comes from three narrow light shafts, a paean to camera obscura, the first camera. Each shaft of light enters through the roof and stops at one floor, where a second hole lets in light to the floor below it, serving both floors with natural light, and adding the visual effect of the light shafts themselves.

The new campus architecture also reflects the new economics of construction, with higher costs for labor and materials. New buildings also incorporate the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design guidelines established by the U.S. Green Building Council. “We’ve actually looked back at buildings we did 15, 20 years ago and applied today’s LEED standards to them and did a calculation to see if they would qualify. With some exceptions, they all did,” Dourlein said. “There are some materials and practices used now that were not available back then.”

The new, post-red-brick architecture also sets the bar higher for the University and the community. One example Dourlein points to is the recently completed addition to the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, which he calls a laboratory for sustainability, with a green roof, shade, sun, photovoltaics and rain capture. Buildings, he said, have to be fun and creative, and still fit a budget and construction timetable. The Eller Dance Theatre “is a great piece of work for $9 million. Unheard of and a good deal, and one of the last bid projects given to the lowest bidder rather than on qualifications.

“That’s up to the design team, but the UA has done a great job of leading the design teams, directing and describing what we want to accomplish,” he said. “All of our project managers on these projects are architects or engineers. That’s our purpose. They could be facilitators or administrators, but they’re not. We want architects and engineers because we want them to have that kind of influence and have a bigger picture of the campus fabric. “Buildings have to do more than be a space; they have to inspire people,” Dourlein said. “The Stevie Eller Dance Theatre is a great recruitment tool. The School of Dance is getting great faculty and students because they want to come here, and not just because of the teaching. It’s also because of the great facility.”

The other buildings named to the list of the 18 All-time Greatest Architectural Achievements in Arizona are:

* Arcosanti, Cordes Junction
* Arizona Biltmore Hotel, Phoenix
* ASU Biodesign Institute, Tempe
* Burton Barr Central Library, Phoenix
* Chapel of the Holy Cross, Sedona
* Hoover Dam, Northwest Arizona
* Kierland Commons, Scottsdale
* Luhrs Tower, Phoenix
* Optima Camelview Village, Scottsdale
* Orpheum Theatre, Phoenix
* Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix
* Phoenix First Assembly Prayer Pavilion of Light, Phoenix
* San Xavier del Bac Mission, Tucson
* Taliesin West, Scottsdale
* Univision Channel 33, Phoenix
* White House Ruin, Canyon de Chelly



http://uanews.org/node/17519

[kaneui]

Let's see...initially, the new arena operator was to be selected before the end of 2008, then it was mid-January, now it's mid-February--typical of Rio Nuevo's glacially-slow pace. However, with the state legislature threatening to yank funding for lack of progress, maybe the city will finally get moving:


TCC may pick operator for planned arena by mid-Feb.
by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
01.09.2009

Tucson Convention Center officials meet Friday with the two finalists who want to operate the $130-million Tucson Arena planned for the south side of Congress Street just east of Interstate 10. An operator should be selected by mid-February, at about the same time a design-build team will be announced for the 12,500-seat arena, said Tommy Obermaier, TCC interim director.

Also, Obermaier received 10 proposals from "every one of the largest, most prestigious" arena builders, but the city's procurement code does not allow him to disclose publicly who submitted proposals until the project is awarded. Those 10 proposals were trimmed Wednesday to a short list of three design-build teams. Obermaier will meet with the three teams Jan. 29 and expects to pick a team by mid-February with design work potentially starting by the end of February. He estimates design work will take 18 months and construction will take 18 months. He's shooting to open the arena in fall 2012.

The design-build team will work with established parameters such as 12,500 seats, 22 suites, an ice floor to accommodate hockey and facilities to handle modern-day touring events such as rock concerts and circuses, and to do it all with $130 million in Rio Nuevo bond funds. The arena operator will collaborate with the design team to make sure the design is functional, Obermaier said.

[kaneui]

The housing slump, the lending credit crunch and a dispute over a public easement have derailed one of metro Tucson's high-end residential developments, where lot prices started at $1.25M:



http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/SaguaroRanchview.jpg
Some construction is under way at Saguaro Ranch in the Tortolita Mountains northwest of Tucson, but that is more the exception right now given the luxury project's financial difficulties. Some properties face foreclosure, and a trustee notice, the first step in the foreclosure process, has been filed for Saguaro Ranch's office.
(photo: Jim Davis)



Luxury-home project is now a tunnel to nowhere
By Josh Brodesky
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
01.11.2009

Saguaro Ranch pitched itself as the most-exclusive luxury development to ever hit Southern Arizona. But as the housing market has plummeted, triggering a deep recession, Saguaro Ranch appears to be no different from many other recent housing developments: unfinished and facing financial trouble. A trustee notice, the first step in the foreclosure process, has been filed for Saguaro Ranch's office, which sits just outside the development near West Moore Road and North Thornydale about 20 miles northwest of Downtown Tucson. The development's Web site, www.saguaroranch.net, is down. And the developer has been working to refinance a $50 million development loan that was to mature in December, court documents show.

Set in the pristine Tortolita Mountains in the town of Marana, Saguaro Ranch was supposed to be the next big thing: a development so exclusive its residents would come and go through a 676-foot-long tunnel that developer Stephen Phinny had blasted through a mountain. Lots alone started at $1.25 million, and plans called for 180 home sites on 1,035 acres. Homes would average around $3.5 million. But the development has been slow to take off. There are only a few homes there, and a handful of properties face foreclosure, including one owned by former pro hockey star Paul Ranheim.

Although Saguaro Ranch garnered plenty of excitement a few years ago when it was first taking shape, most of the attention it has received lately is for its dispute over whether the public can use an easement that cuts through the exclusive development and connects nearby residents to Pima County's Tortolita Mountain Park. Neither Phinny nor attorneys representing Saguaro Ranch responded to interview requests made by phone, e-mail and in a visit to the development's office. "It was such an audacious project when you think about it. Just the fact that they put in a tunnel to make the grand entrance," Marana Town Attorney Frank Cassidy said. "I was surprised that there were financial issues. It seemed like it was a very well-capitalized project up front. Any project which has a tunnel as its main feature gives you the impression of a project that is very well-capitalized."

Financial difficulties
Back in January 2006, Saguaro Ranch received a $50 million loan from New Jersey-based Kennedy Funding, a private lender, to develop its second and third phases, as well as a guest ranch and resort amenities. Phinny, the grandson of Daniel F. Gerber, founder of the Gerber Products Co., had already poured $50 million into Saguaro Ranch, having acquired the land in 2000. "This is the best residential subdivision we have seen, not just in Arizona or in the Southwest, but the entire country," a Kennedy Funding press release announcing the loan said.

A number of high-end builders were looking to get in on the ground floor. Custom-home builder Paul Hubble, of Living Spaces, said he considered buying a lot in Saguaro Ranch a few years ago but couldn't work out a deal with Phinny. Lots were either being sold for $1 million each, or in packs of six at a lower rate. It was too much risk for a small custom builder, but Hubble said he was tempted to buy a lot at the time because of Saguaro Ranch's reputation. "It would put you on the map for a custom builder in Tucson," Hubble said.

Since that time a few houses, including Phinny's, and the upscale McClintock's Restaurant have been built, but Saguaro Ranch has yet to develop its second or third phases, much less the resort amenities originally promised. Meanwhile, Phinny's divorce documents show the $50 million loan was set to mature last month, and he was working to have it refinanced with another lender. "Every lender thus far has required Stephen to personally guarantee its loans, and the contemplated new lender is no exception," reads an e-mail, included in the court file, that was sent in August by Joe Tarver, in-house counsel for Saguaro Ranch. "Up to now, none of the lenders has required Stephen to pledge his ownership interest in Saguaro Ranch, but it's conceivable that some lender in the future might require him to do so."

Court documents also show that the slowdown, coupled with the emergence of other upscale Marana developments, particularly the Ritz-Carlton, Dove Mountain, took a toll on the development. "Stephen has recently had to borrow and advance substantial sums to Saguaro Ranch, and especially in 2008, given the slowdown in sales in light of the slump in the real estate market," Tarver wrote in an e-mail in the court file. Messages left with Tarver for comment were not returned. And in an affidavit from October 2007, Saguaro Ranch's controller, William Romancho, said Phinny was concerned about competition from the nearby Stone Canyon development and the Ritz-Carlton possibly undercutting the luxury market in a tough recession. While the conventional wisdom is that a certain level of wealth is recession-proof, statistics from the Tucson Association of Realtors suggest the recession affected the luxury- home market. In November, there were 358 homes listed for at least a million dollars and four sold. But in November 2006, when the market was strong, there were 293 homes listed for at least a million dollars and 10 sold.

Environmental lure
One of the big draws for Saguaro Ranch was its homes would have nominal environmental impact, and the few houses that have been built there blend seamlessly into the desert landscape. "I just thought it was really awesome," said Marana Mayor Ed Honea. "It's so respectful. It's not a golf community, so they are not going in and clearing a bunch of land." Indeed, in a 2004 Arizona Daily Star article, Phinny talked about requiring workers to take a 40-minute class on responsible development and how any construction workers who relocated a Gila monster would receive framed photos of themselves with the lizard. "You get one of these big, burly guys driving a truck. He sees a desert tortoise and gets out and moves him," Phinny said at the time. "That won't happen in too many places, but it will happen here." To show the workers he appreciated their efforts, Phinny said he made lunch for them each week. "So we fix some lunch and talk to them about what's going on and where the project is heading," Phinny said in 2004. "If they know I'll go the extra mile for them, they'll do that for me."

But all of the alleged unpaid bills with contractors have left a much different impression on Paul Amanti, owner of Amanti Electric Co., who filed a mechanic's lien in October for $28,133 for work he says he did on McClintock's Restaurant. "It's all lip service. It's all PR because they want to sell lots. They want to sell real estate. On the other hand they are screwing all the guys up there who are making this thing happen," Amanti said. "These guys don't care about the Tucson subcontractors."

An exclusive community
While Saguaro Ranch is set in pristine desert, the values of the homes and the financing behind the project are tied to its exclusivity, which is why Saguaro Ranch's dispute over a public easement that cuts through it is so crucial to the development's future. It's hard to market your community as exclusive if the public can just walk right through it. The easement — a rocky dirt road that officials say was used for utilities — essentially curves around the development like a horseshoe, at times cutting through parts of Saguaro Ranch while connecting nearby homes to Pima County's Tortolita Mountain Park. Phinny wants the road to be private, saying it now leads to a private development and no longer serves a public purpose. But nearby residents, who have long used the road as a walking and horseback-riding path, say it should remain open to the public.

The dispute, which is being worked out in court, has gotten ugly as Saguaro Ranch workers have placed boulders at entryways to the road and recently parked a backhoe at one end of the easement to keep out the public. "No trespassing" signs have been placed along the road, including at the entrance to the Tortolita Mountain Park, which is county property. McClintock's Restaurant and the development's septic have been built over the easement, too. Theresa Chamberlain, a nearby resident who walks the dirt road regularly and owns 20 adjacent acres, sued Saguaro Ranch over the easement, and her attorney Brian Laird said documents show Saguaro Ranch knew the easement was public but went ahead with development anyway. "I believe the law is very clear on that matter. Those buildings (McClintock's and the septic) have to be torn down. There is no other remedy." Laird said.

While the dispute over the easement plays out in court, Marana's Town Council will decide whether to abandon the public's right to it — a point that Laird said could also end up in appeals court for some time. Marana town officials are optimistic Saguaro Ranch will come together in the end. "I still have hope that it will work," said Cassidy, the town attorney. "That once Saguaro Ranch gets past some of these issues, that it will actually take off because it is such a remarkable development."

[kaneui]

Two apartment buildings, five and six stories, will be built above the Depot Plaza garage once it is finished in June:



http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/DepotPlaza-garage.jpg
This huge hole near the Ronstadt Transit Center will become the Depot Plaza underground
parking garage when construction is completed, which is expected to be in June.
(photo: Xavier Gallegos)


Big hole east of Ronstadt Transit Center starting to take shape
by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
01.12.2009

The 30-foot-deep hole east of the Ronstadt Transit Center, 215 E. Congress St., is starting to take shape as the Depot Plaza garage, especially since a 180-foot crane appeared on site Dec. 29. The crane is delivering concrete for the garage foundation work at and will stay in place as construction starts in June on the new Martin Luther King Jr. Apartments, said Fran LaSala, assistant to City Manager Mike Hein.

Ground was broken at the end of June for the 281-space, two-level garage. Work so far has entailed digging the 242-by-246-foot hole and drilling nearly 100 concrete pylons 70 feet into the ground to provide the foundation for the garage and two high-rises that will be built atop the garage, LaSala said. In about two weeks, concrete sprayed with pressurized hoses - a process called shotcrete - will be applied to the outer walls, he said. As soon as the garage is finished, the city Community Services Department plans to start building the new MLK Apartments on top of the west end of the garage. The six-story 68-unit public housing tower will be for low-income elderly and the disabled. "We go vertical right away on the new MLK. We need to be done by September 2010," said Ann Vargas, the department's project supervisor.

Also, Williams & Dame Development/Peach Properties intends to build a five-story, 60- to 80-unit apartment structure atop the east end of the garage as soon as the parking structure is done. But that start date potentially could change, said Ron Schwabe, owner of Peach Properties. Williams & Dame/Peach is part of the new Downtown Tucson Development Co., which also includes financier Scott Stiteler, a co-owner with Don Martin of the Rialto Block, and developer Jim Campbell, who wants to develop a Plaza Centro retail-dining complex just east of the Rialto Theatre. This group is negotiating a development agreement with the city to develop 75 downtown acres, which could change plans for Depot Plaza, Schwabe said.

[kaneui]

On May 1, a narrower, more pedestrian-friendly Scott Avenue will debut, featuring new lighting, parking, wide sidewalks, benches, trees and potted plants--all courtesy of Rio Nuevo:


http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/ScottAveimprovements.jpg
Drawings show streetscapes for Scott Avenue. They are by Wheat Scarf Associates, landscape architects.
(photo: Xavier Gallegos)


Sidewalk work begins downtown for tree-lined pedestrian haven
by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
01.12.2009

Sidewalks will be torn up this week on Scott Avenue south of Congress Street as the demolition phase continues to convert the downtown street into a tree-lined pedestrian haven. The street leading to the Temple of Music and Art has been largely blocked off to vehicle traffic since early December as Archer Western Contractors has been ripping up the street to replace the water line, said Fran LaSala, assistant to City Manager Mike Hein.

The new street surface will narrow from 48 feet curb to curb to 31 to 40 feet, depending on how much parking goes in each stretch of street, LaSala said. Conversely, the sidewalk area will be widened from a width varying from 6 to 10 feet to about 25 feet. The pedestrian band will include an 8-foot-wide sidewalk, flanked on both sides by eight- to 10-foot strips of trees and potted plants along with period light posts lighting the way and occasional benches allowing for rests. "There will be continuous shading up and down the street (from Broadway to the Temple)," said Lisa Ribes, designer at Wheat Scharf Associates, the Tucson landscape architecture firm that designed the new Scott Avenue streetscape. In a few places, the sidewalk will widen to 25 feet to form gathering places or little plazas, LaSala said.

The $4.1 million streetscape work, funded by Rio Nuevo tax increment financing, should be finished by May 1. Archer Western will then move to Congress and Broadway to rip up those streets to move and replace utilities lines and install streetcar tracks from Fifth Avenue to Interstate 10. "We should get steel in the ground by midsummer," said Doug Post, Archer Western's senior project manager. The Congress/Broadway and Scott work are both part of a $37 million downtown infrastructure project.

[kaneui]

With no new freeways in the RTA's plan, Tucson will be widening numerous major arterials across the city, including this five-year, $166M expansion of Grant Road:


City OKs alignment for $166M Grant Road widening
Move comes despite negative comments at council meeting

by B. POOLE
Tucson Citizen
01.14.2009

The City Council approved the footprint of a sweeping widening of Grant Road on Tuesday despite the objection of many who live and work along the busy east-west artery. After a public hearing during which most of a dozen or so people spoke against the project, the council approved the alignment 6-1. The details of the project, including how much land property owners may lose, will be developed in the design phase that now starts. Only Ward 5 Councilman Steve Leal voted against the alignment, citing his fear that deciding might be premature based on the opposition. "Once you do this you can never go back," Leal said before the vote.

Construction is scheduled to begin in 2013 and last five years on the $166 million Regional Transportation Authority project, which is due for total completion in 2026. The work will take Grant Road from two lanes to three in each direction from Oracle Road to Swan Road. The current alignment is not the same as previous attempts to widen Grant, said city Transportation Department Director Jim Glock. "This project differs from previous projects in that listening was the first step," he said.

The project has been vetted in scores of public meetings and focus groups, neighborhood by neighborhood along the length of the proposed work. Every affected property owner has been offered individual meetings with planners. Glock called the amount of public input "unprecedented." Ward 6 Councilwoman Nina Trasoff agreed. "I've never seen a process like this that was so open and so inclusive," she said.

John Wakefield, owner of Artistry in Glass, 3423 E. Grant, believes the project will drive rents out of reach for small businesses because torn-down storefronts would be replaced by new buildings with higher rent. "It's going to cause carnage in the small-business community. These businesses are not going to be able to survive," he told the council. Wakefield's property will be taken for the project. He will retire rather than try to reopen, he said.

Construction will happen in stages along the project, meaning the impact on property owners also will come in stages. The project now goes to engineers, who over the next six months will draw detailed plans, allowing property owners to see exactly how much of their land the widening will swallow. Most property acquisition will start in 2010, though property owners can apply for quicker buyouts for medical, financial or other hardship, Glock said.

[kaneui]

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a228/kaneui/FoxTheatre.jpg
The Fox Theatre, touted as the crown jewel of Downtown
revitalization, reopened New Year's Eve 2005.
(photo: James S. Wood)



City assumes operation of cash-strapped Fox Theatre
By Rob O'Dell
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
01.15.2009

The city has taken over the day-to-day operation of the Fox Theatre after its foundation board laid off all its employees this week to stave off shutting down because the theater is nearly out of money. City officials say they have not "taken over" the Fox, which has been touted as the crown jewel of the Rio Nuevo Downtown revitalization effort. Instead, the city will "loan" workers to keep the theater open, after the Fox's employees' last day, on Feb. 9. There is no timeline for how long the city will run the theater. But officials insist the Fox Theatre Foundation will resume control after it creates a better fundraising operation.

"Yesterday the executive committee (of the Fox) decided to let go all of its employees," Rich Singer, the interim director of the Fox, said Wednesday. "We're throwing some staffers over there temporarily to keep the doors open." Singer said this was a "stopgap" measure to keep the theater open so sometime in the future the foundation can run it again. He said the theater would have completely run out of money and shut down in six weeks without intervention because it was almost out of cash. The theater has two full-time and four part-time employees.

Singer said there will be little to no cost to taxpayers to pick up those positions because the Tucson Convention Center employees assigned to the Fox will still be able to do their regular jobs as well. Singer himself was already on loan from the TCC, moved there in November to replace the two theater directors who quit in the space of six months.

Fox Theatre Foundation Board President Ellie Patterson did not return phone calls Wednesday. Singer suggested three or fewer city employees could run the theater on show nights, with the city's concession company overseeing the concessions and giving the city a cut of the profits. "A good portion of those positions are salaried, so the cost is nothing," Singer said.

It's important the city not take actual possession of the theater because part of the money for the restoration came from $2.6 million in tax credits from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which the city would have to repay immediately. Cities are not eligible to benefit from the credits. Singer said laying off the foundation employees gives the foundation a financial buffer to be able to cover its next installment toward repaying the credits. The tax credits "still exist, and all the companies involved in the tax credits still exist," he said.

Councilwoman Nina Trasoff, who chairs the council's Rio Nuevo subcommittee, emphatically denied the city is taking over. She said the Fox board is in the process of rebuilding itself and its fundraising ability. She also stressed that it was the foundation's board that made the decision to lay off the employees. But she could not answer whether the board would have laid off the employees had the city not offered to loan replacements to keep the theater open.

The move to take over the day-to-day operations of the Fox could not come at worse time for the city, said in-fill developer Richard Studwell, a longtime critic of Rio Nuevo. Studwell noted that the Legislature is poised to suspend or cancel Rio Nuevo's half-billion-dollar tax increment financing district because of a huge state budget deficit and Rio Nuevo's lack of progress. He said the city's all-but-takeover of one of Rio Nuevo's most trumpeted projects won't reflect well at the Legislature. Trasoff, however, insisted the city running the Fox's operations is not a blow to Downtown or Rio Nuevo. "The Fox will stay open. If the Fox would be closing, that would be a blow," Trasoff said.

The financial situation that forced the city's takeover of operations also raises questions about how the foundation will repay the $5.6 million loan the city gave to the Fox Theatre in 2005 to help finish renovations and get the theater open. The theater foundation board requested the loan after its fundraising efforts fell flat. Rio Nuevo also gave $3.5 million as a grant to help repair and refurbish the theater.

Bruce Ash, a local landowner who is also a Rio Nuevo critic, said the Fox never booked enough acts to be able to repay the city loan. He said it's disingenuous to tell taxpayers they aren't now footing the bills for the Fox Theatre's operation and loans. "It seems as though there was never a chance of that loan being paid back," Ash said. "What a shame."