The AZ Daily Star did publish an article a few weeks back about Vinoly's legal problems with his projects in other cities, so Tucsonans are probably now even more skittish about plunking down $350M for his proposed "science center bridge", particularly with only $100M committed to date.
Frankly, as Tucson doesn't have sufficient funds to keep up with its current transportation and other infrastructure needs (thanks to all the surrounding unincorporated development), I doubt that $350M will ever get allocated and/or raised for such a project, as iconic and worthwhile as it may be, even if state funding for Rio Nuevo gets extended for another 20-30 years. And with the current spiraling of construction costs, it could be much more than that by the time construction begins.
I think half of that price (in the $175M range) should be feasible and sufficient to build a worthy, defining structure for Tucson's redeveloping city center, considering the city's immediate and future budgetary demands. Otherwise, a half-finished megabucks project such as this, mired in never-ending litigation, would be the death knell for Rio Nuevo and a rejuvenated downtown.
Last edited by kaneui; Jan 13, 2006 at 8:24 AM.
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