A possible new 11 floor tower might be coming, which for Tucson is quite significant haha
Student housing could fill Downtown’s eastern end
By Teya Vitu
A pair of proposals for University of Arizona student housing could redefine the eastern end of Downtown, now dominated by Hotel Congress and the Rialto Theatre and Rialto Block.
Oasis Tucson’s Jim Campbell and Peach Properties’ Ron Schwabe could both be selected by UA to build student housing towers to the east and south of the Rialto Theatre. They were among five submittals to a UA request for proposals for 300 to 1,200 housing units along the proposed streetcar route or near the university.
More than one proposal could be picked, but any announcement could be delayed for a couple months as the university’s budgeting process must be completed to determine if this project will move ahead, project manager J.T. Fey said.
Campbell, in partnership with Capstone Development, wants to build an 11-story tower with 550-600 beds for students on the city parking lot next to the Rialto Theatre (the former Greyhound terminal site). That proposal also calls for another 150 student beds in a three-story structure atop the Plaza Centro Garage now under construction.
“We’re waiting on the University of Arizona,” Campbell said. “We put a lot of our eggs in the student housing. If the UA deal falls apart, we can potential put 72 apartments in three stories on top of the Plaza Centro Garage.”
Schwabe has a vacant lot at the southeast corner of Broadway and Fifth Avenue, where he proposes three stories of student housing above a four-story parking garage. There would be 148 units with 360 beds, Schwabe said.