Tucson Development Thread

[kaneui]

Here's a local developer committed to Tucson's downtown revitalization:


Builder unveils downtown redevelopment plan

By Philip S. Moore
Inside Tucson Business
Monday, Dec 19, 2005

Developer John Wesley Miller believes one person can make a difference, and for downtown Tucson, he wants to be that person.

Miller has jumped into the speculative city center redevelopment frenzy with the purchase and proposed redevelopment of the McLellan Building, on Congress Street at Scott Avenue. Builder of the 90-plus-home Armory Park del Sol infill project as well as other housing developments around Tucson, he announced plans to transform the site of the former discount store into a four-level, 33,000-square-foot, office, retail and restaurant complex.

At a Dec. 14 press conference, with Mayor Bob Walkup present, Miller unveiled plans for the site, a block west of Stone Avenue. After Armory Park del Sol, he said a commercial redevelopment was the logical next step. “I’m committed to downtown. I grew up here in Tucson and I used to order a hamburger at the lunch counter, right here in this building. So, this is about more than making money. It’s about revitalizing downtown again.”

He said it is intended to become a focus for retail and entertainment, providing new commercial office space, less than a block from the new Pennington Street Garage, and give the downtown a place for people to go in the evenings.

Miller said he will be moving his company’s offices to the building and he has a tentative commitment from another business for 18,000 square feet of office space, surrounding an atrium entrance facing Scott Avenue. “We’re reserving the Congress Street side for retail that will attract people downtown.”

He said, “There might be a grocery store, or art galleries or a restaurant. Opportunities are open. Mostly, we’re listening because we want what’s best for downtown.”

Miller is also promoting the redevelopment as the city’s first LEED (Leadership in Energy Efficient Design) platinum-rated commercial development, through the Green Building Council. “This will be the most energy efficient building in the community,” he said.

John Wesley Miller Companies will be the general contractor of the project, which is scheduled to begin in January. No architect has been chosen, but structural engineers Richard Ebeltoft and Al Nichols have been retained to develop the reconstruction plan and LEED certification.

Also speaking at the conference, Walkup said, “This is a really big deal. This is a major investment in downtown and other major projects are either starting as we speak or just around the corner.”

The mayor said Miller’s project, in conjunction with the other planned developments in downtown, “will make the heart of the city an instant Mecca.”