Tucson Development Thread

[andrewsaturn]

Originally Posted by Patrick S

In another possible boneheaded move by the city. They're currently paying to renovate the Ronstadt Transit Center, only to possibly swap some, or all, of the property.

Ronstadt Transit Center may be swapped for Painted Hills parcel
PROPOSED PAINTED HILLS DEAL WORRIES BUS RIDERS
Becky Pallack and Darren DaRonco Arizona Daily Star

City officials are discussing swapping the Ronstadt Transit Center and up to two other downtown properties to the owners of a scenic 284-parcel in the Painted Hills area to block development there.
For months, the city has been negotiating with the Dallas Police and Fire Employee Pension Fund on a deal that would eventually have the city ceding the Painted Hills property to Pima County in exchange for $3.6 million.
Bus riders and local activists fear monied interests could take away a vital transit hub many poor and working-class people rely on.
City and county officials confirmed the transit center is included in the discussions, but said the talks are preliminary.
"It is a property that is being looked at," said Mayor Jonathan Rothschild. "But nothing is confirmed."
Rothschild said that although the pension fund wants to develop the property, its plans would not jeopardize the entire transit center, only the south side along Congress Street.
"We are not looking at the entire property by any means," he said. "What's been made clear to me from our transit people is that we can take part of that frontage and preserve the functionality of the transit center and leave (it) in its basic location."
New development would result in the transit center being shifted slightly north, taking up some land on Pennington Street, according to Nicole Ewing-Gavin, an assistant to City Manager Richard Miranda.
Ewing-Gavin said there are still many properties on the table, and issues such as what to do about parking in that area still need to be resolved before final decisions are made.
She said options could be presented to the City Council in November.
The county has wanted the Painted Hills property since 1997, when it was made part of that year's open-space bond program. But the county was outbid in 2006 when the Dallas pension fund bought the property for $27 million.
County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry said the Painted Hills property would become a part of Tucson Mountain Park and preserved as is with passive trails.
The county would then try to buy additional land to link Painted Hills to the rest of Tucson Mountain Park.
Not everyone's on board
Activist Brian Flagg of the Tucson Bus Riders Union organized a rally at the Ronstadt Center Monday to protest the plans.
"We feel the city has oftentimes not been transparent in their dealings," Flagg said. "The Ronstadt Center is really important to bus riders. It's the hub that gets them to jobs, to home, to clinic visits, everything. It's a lifeline."
He said the only acceptable changes to the transit center are improvements to make it easier on the people who use it.
Councilwoman Regina Romero said she would never support removing the Ronstadt Center from downtown. She said the city was forced into negotiations by legal fights with the pension fund and threats from the Legislature to change the law to force the city to provide water to Painted Hills to enable its development.
"That's the only reason we're negotiating," Romero said.
She said city land shouldn't be the only downtown land on the table.
"If the Dallas pension fund is interested in downtown land, the county also has downtown land," she said. "We shouldn't just be looking at the Ronstadt Center. We should be considering all of the county and city land as well."
County Supervisor Richard Elías said he wants to see Painted Hills preserved, but he added that Flagg makes good sense about the bus terminal downtown.
"We need to be talking about how to improve Ronstadt, not how to get rid of it," Elías said.
Barbie Urias, a spokeswoman for the Tucson Bus Riders Union, fears the settlement could mean the city gets rid of the center, which she said is something downtown developers have wanted.
Councilwoman Karin Uhlich said she wants no backroom deals on the transit center.
"This is an important place in Tucson, and I promise you if there are negotiations affecting it, those will happen in full light of day," Uhlich said.
Gary Coleman, a daily bus rider, said it would be wrong for the city to sell Ronstadt because it's a main access point to downtown.
"People come downtown, take the bus, socialize, and it's a good thing," he said.
"The Ronstadt Center is really important to bus riders. It's the hub that gets them to jobs, to home, to clinic visits, everything. It's a lifeline."
Brian Flagg,
transit activist

The thing is, thousands of dollars is being spent on improving Ronstadt right now. It is money wasted if it is redeveloped. However, everyone agrees that the area is a prime spot, not only for office space or whatever, but for the many people who use it as a transfer station. With that being said, I would like to see that property be redeveloped. The people who frequent the station think that it will be moved out of downtown but that is obviously not the case. The protestors should work with the developers and maybe come up with a plan that has a new and improved transit center that is still in downtown.

[Ted Lyons]

Originally Posted by andrewsaturn

The thing is, thousands of dollars is being spent on improving Ronstadt right now. It is money wasted if it is redeveloped. However, everyone agrees that the area is a prime spot, not only for office space or whatever, but for the many people who use it as a transfer station. With that being said, I would like to see that property be redeveloped. The people who frequent the station think that it will be moved out of downtown but that is obviously not the case. The protestors should work with the developers and maybe come up with a plan that has a new and improved transit center that is still in downtown.

It's not money wasted if the improvements are calculated into the price when it's swapped. As it is, Ronstadt is a waste of frontage on Congress and, as the article just barely suggests, the point is not to remove it altogether but to push it north a bit.

There's a triangular piece of property abutting Pennington, Toole, and Sixth that's used for a parking lot now. If the city were to obtain that piece of property and use it to make up for the lost space on Congress, that would be a major plus for downtown. Bus riders wouldn't be pushed out, the city would be able to maintain hundreds of acres of open space, and more development would be enabled on Congress.

EDIT - Looking at Google Maps - http://goo.gl/maps/o0QuK - the land lost by shifting the transit center north into the parking lot would be negligible.

[Anqrew]

i posted a map a long long time ago, i have no idea what page it is on. But it includes shifting the center north, making it occupy that triangle parking lot and eliminating pennington st. then the bottom portion of the lot had commercial buildings.

To be honest i would love the transit center to be entirely eliminated and moved somewhere else, but it does seem like bad timing since theyre renovating it right now...

[southtucsonboy77]

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/23/health/gallery/cleanest-air-cities-2012/index.html?hpt=hp_t3

Another nice honor...CNN ranked Tucson #5.

[southtucsonboy77]

Originally Posted by Anqrew

i posted a map a long long time ago, i have no idea what page it is on. But it includes shifting the center north, making it occupy that triangle parking lot and eliminating pennington st. then the bottom portion of the lot had commercial buildings.

To be honest i would love the transit center to be entirely eliminated and moved somewhere else, but it does seem like bad timing since theyre renovating it right now...

If I was a planner (better yet, a key decision-maker) with the City and we were brainstorming sites to move the transit center, I would throw the idea out there (if you look at RTA's Downtown Links project map you can visually see where I'm going) to move it to the new realigned intersection of Stone and 6th St...you can actually merge two pretty decent sized parcels together where the current 6th St. splits them...or my #2 would be the completely vacant and extremely under-utilized (formerly known) El Mirador site. I know the "Warehouse-Arts" District would have fits, but at first glance, to me anyway, that would be a good downtown-fringe location. (BTW, I put the Dr. Evil quotations on the Warehouse-Arts because...although I've tried to join the bandwagon...I can't logically sympathize with the idea that the real estate is being utilized at its best use...and that their master plan has downtown's and the region's best interests. Just an opinion.)

[Schaeffa]

Long time reader here, but I finally felt like I had something to contribute you all didn't already know.

Originally Posted by Ted Lyons

There's a triangular piece of property abutting Pennington, Toole, and Sixth that's used for a parking lot now. If the city were to obtain that piece of property and use it to make up for the lost space on Congress, that would be a major plus for downtown. Bus riders wouldn't be pushed out, the city would be able to maintain hundreds of acres of open space, and more development would be enabled on Congress.

That triangular parking lot is already owned by the city. I work in the MacArthur Building right behind the Ronstadt Center and that's our 'private' parking lot. We have an agreement with ParkWise and essentially rent the lot from them for our use. They take money out of each paycheck for us to park there and everything. I'm not sure if it's a year-long contract or anything like that, but I bet they could just move our rented spaces to the Pennington Garage or something if/when the bus station takes over that parcel.

[Ted Lyons]

Originally Posted by Schaeffa

Long time reader here, but I finally felt like I had something to contribute you all didn't already know.



That triangular parking lot is already owned by the city. I work in the MacArthur Building right behind the Ronstadt Center and that's our 'private' parking lot. We have an agreement with ParkWise and essentially rent the lot from them for our use. They take money out of each paycheck for us to park there and everything. I'm not sure if it's a year-long contract or anything like that, but I bet they could just move our rented spaces to the Pennington Garage or something if/when the bus station takes over that parcel.

Wow. That would be easier than I thought.

[ppdd]

Originally Posted by Schaeffa

Long time reader here, but I finally felt like I had something to contribute you all didn't already know.


That triangular parking lot is already owned by the city. I work in the MacArthur Building right behind the Ronstadt Center and that's our 'private' parking lot. We have an agreement with ParkWise and essentially rent the lot from them for our use. They take money out of each paycheck for us to park there and everything. I'm not sure if it's a year-long contract or anything like that, but I bet they could just move our rented spaces to the Pennington Garage or something if/when the bus station takes over that parcel.

I thought this was the case - Madden folks parks there via a city arrangement.

[aznate27]

Found this online, the bottom is 22nd St. with Kino going over. There is construction that has started at that intersection. From the dates listed in the image, maybe they've started??

[Ritarancher]

Now that Obama has been reelected can we ensure another 1billion in downtown revitalization ?

[Anqrew]

2 floors taller already

[kaneui]

With no original plans to assist them in a rehab and upgrade of UA's Old Main built in 1891, Sundt Construction will rely on the architectural team and extensive research for the $13.5M project, with an expected completion by April, 2014:



(photo: Otis Blank)


Rehab of UA’s Old Main balances structural repair, preservation
By Roger Yohem
Inside Tucson Business
October 26, 2012

As the contractor to renovate historic Old Main on the University of Arizona campus, Sundt Construction is anxious to apply its rehabilitation and preservation expertise to the 121-year-old icon. “It’s still very early in the evaluation process, finding out what’s wrong and right structurally with the building,” said Kurt Wadlington, senior project director for Sundt. “We have to be sensitive to the building’s existing condition to come up with a plan to restore it. Clearly, we want to get back Old Main’s historic character. It has to be brought up to today’s building codes,” he added. “We’ll have to find that balance between the two: preservation and structural repair.”

Built on a $38,000 budget, Old Main was the first building on campus. When the UA opened on Oct. 1, 1891, with 32 students, Old Main housed the university’s classrooms, library, offices and sleeping quarters. San Xavier Mission, built about 100 years earlier, is the only building in Arizona older than Old Main. In 1938, Old Main “was condemned because the university didn’t have the funds for upkeep,” said Wadlington. In stepped the U.S. Navy to save it from demolition. During World War II, the Navy needed space and converted it into a training school. “Then after the war, the Navy became our client to get it back in shape,” Wadlington said. Under that $20,000 contract, Sundt fixed exterior walls, replaced failing roof trusses, patched and re-finished interior walls, and made various other repairs. The university then reclaimed Old Main as a functional building. In 1972, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. From 2006 to 2008, another $4.6 million was spent in partial upgrades, mostly on the first floor.

No original plans

From this point forward, Sundt will be working without the benefit of any early construction drawings. Wadlington said there are no original plans to be found. Although the building’s intended new use is still to be determined, several structural issues already have been identified. The building and surrounding porch are on separate foundations. To minimize heat gain during the summer, the main building was set about six feet below ground level. As the footings have settled, the porch has pulled away. “It’s not a dangerous situation, we have to figure out what the problem is. There is evidence of underground water issues we’ll have to deal with. Likely, the roof isn’t draining far enough away from the foundation. Maybe there is a plumbing leak,” explained Wadlington. “We’ll have to investigate the source of the moisture.” Old Main’s eight downspouts dump roof water close to building’s exterior. If poor drainage is the problem, it’s probable that sections of the porch would have to be rebuilt. Sundt would salvage as much of the original floor as possible.


For full article: http://www.insidetucsonbusiness.com/...a4bcf887a.html

[edcan]

Fantasticating thread! Keep it up folks! I enjoyed the vintage photos of "before" and "after" as well… amazing to see what Tucson was like when I was growing up!

[Ritarancher]

I was snooping around on some websites, looking for a sign of any new skyscrapers in Tucson and I found this.
http://tucsoncitizen.com/morgue/tag/teya-vitu/page/10/
In this page, there is a part about the 1South Church twin. I found this

“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.

If the foundation work and elevator shafts are already complete then I see no reason for the next developer that comes to town to overlook this property. I would like a set of unique twins, born decades apart.

[Ritarancher]

Now that every hospital in the city, with the exception of Saint Joseph's and St. Mary's, has expanded or has plans to expand, I'm feeling pretty good about our growth and development of our area. (TMC: Diamond Children Center, UPH; 3 new buildings, TMC, new wing and "tower", Northwest Medical; 50 million dollar expansion)

Hospital coming to Green Valley
Facility to benefit ER patients, nearby Sahuarita; '14 opening set
Stephanie Innes Arizona Daily Star

Residents of the Green Valley and Sahuarita area will at long last get a hospital and an emergency room, TMC says.

Tucson Medical Center officials announced plans Thursday to build a $52 million, 32-bed hospital in Green Valley that is expected to open in 2014.

Some 50,000 people live in the Green Valley and Sahuarita area south of Tucson.

TMC said it had entered a "memorandum of understanding" to develop and operate the hospital with Scottsdale-based McDowell Enterprises.

Though TMC is nonprofit, the new Green Valley hospital will be for-profit. TMC has entered the agreement through its subsidiary, Saguaro Medical Holdings.

Officials say it's too early in the process to know specifics of the financing, including how much TMC will invest. They are also not saying how big the hospital will be aside from a bed count.

The hospital will give Green Valley and nearby Sahuarita residents their first emergency room. Residents must now travel about 30 minutes by car when they need an ER. The Carondelet Health Network had previously talked about opening a hospital in Sahuarita, but those plans were shelved during the recession.

"We moved here in 1995 and it's been talked about ever since then. It's something we felt we needed for a long time," said Stan Riddle, president of the Green Valley Council. "We are very pleased. We just hope it comes to fruition. There are still obstacles."

McDowell Enterprises specializes in the development of medical and office buildings. The family-owned company's completed projects include the 67,000-square-foot Gateway Medical Campus in Gilbert and the 60,000- square-foot Price Warner Commerce Center in Tempe.

Pima County Supervisor Ray Carroll has been working on the project with McDowell for almost 2 1/2 years, said Tom Ward, manager of Carroll's Green Valley-Sahuarita office. Ward praised McDowell for involving Carroll and the Green Valley Council from the beginning.

Ward said the planned hospital's location - just off of Interstate 19 by the Canoa Ranch exit - will be convenient, particularly because Canoa Ranch is expected to add 2,500 new homes in the next few years.

McDowell spokesman Frank Thomson said the hospital and accompanying medical offices will sit on 22 acres of property that McDowell expects to acquire from Fairfield Canoa Ranch.

The project is expected to create nearly 1,000 indirect and direct jobs.

The hospital plans include a cardiac catheterization lab, four operating rooms, on-site radiological imaging labs, 26 inpatient private rooms, a six-bed intensive care unit and medical office space. Officials say they will build with the ability to expand the facility as the community grows.

"The most important fact is that after many years, citizens will have their own hospital," Ward said. "Right now it takes 30 minutes to get to a hospital in Tucson. Once this is built, in essence, people will be five minutes away by ambulance."

He added that retirees, who form a large part of the Green Valley population, are a "very good market for hospitals."

A recent community needs assessment completed by Tucson's nonprofit hospitals identified Green Valley as a medically underserved area. Recent additions of urgent-care clinics and a rotating specialty clinic have been positive steps for the area, but without a hospital, there was still a gap in services.




"We are thrilled to be in this process with TMC. This is one of those rare development opportunities that can truly improve the quality of life for the residents of Green Valley," McDowell Enterprises Chief Executive Officer Jim McDowell said in a news release.

TMC officials say their electronic medical records program as well as their policies and quality measures will be part of the new hospital's operations.

"Our operational expertise and investment would complement that of McDowell Enterprises, which has more than 35 years of experience developing specialized facilities including hospitals and medical offices," Judy Rich, president and chief executive officer of TMC, said in a news release.

TMC spokeswoman Julia Strange said the hospital has been interested in serving the Green Valley area for several years.

http://azstarnet.com/news/science/he...a0cbd42e9.html

[kaneui]

With numerous matches scheduled before the Desert Diamond Cup being held from February 13-23, Tucson is taking its place as the designated western hub for MLS preseason training. (Before the matches, the county has committed to add more bleachers to the North Field #5, home of the FC Tucson team):


Kino Sports Complex to host nine Major League Soccer matches before Desert Diamond Cup
by Pima County News
Nov. 01, 2012

Seven Major League Soccer teams will be playing nine friendly matches, or friendlies, at Kino Sports Complex from Jan. 29 to Feb. 8, thanks to the efforts of FC Tucson. The Desert Friendlies presented by FC Tucson will be open to the public and lead up to the FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup later in February. Five of the teams – Colorado Rapids, Houston Dynamo, Portland Timbers, San Jose Earthquakes and Sporting Kansas City – will be training in Tucson. Two more teams that are also playing in the Desert Diamond Cup – New England Revolution and Seattle Sounders – will also play in the friendly matches.

All the matches will be played at the Kino Sports Complex’s North Field #5, north of Ajo Way. “Not only will the teams enjoy themselves, but soccer fans in Tucson are going to love the up close view of professional soccer,” said FC Tucson co-managing member and general manager Jon Pearlman. “There will be limited seats, but those who come will be just a few feet from the sidelines. They will get to experience a match closer than they ever could at an MLS stadium and it’s going to be very affordable for the entire family.”

Tickets will go on sale in November. The match schedule is:

Tuesday, Jan. 29
11 a.m. Portland Timbers vs. Colorado Rapids
3 p.m. Sporting KC vs. Houston Dynamo
6 p.m. San Jose Earthquakes vs. New England Revolution

Thursday, Jan. 31
6 p.m. Houston Dynamo vs. Colorado Rapids

Friday, Feb. 1
6 p.m. Sporting KC vs. Portland Timbers

Saturday, Feb. 2
11 a.m. San Jose Earthquakes vs. Houston Dynamo
6 p.m. Colorado Rapids vs. TBA

Tuesday, Feb. 5
11 a.m. Seattle Sounders vs. Portland Timbers

Friday, Feb. 8
11 a.m. FC Tucson vs. Portland Timbers

New York Red Bulls and Real Salt Lake will join New England Revolution and Seattle Sounders in the double-header, round-robin Desert Diamond Cup at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium on Feb. 13, 17, 20 and 23.


http://tucsoncitizen.com/pima-county...t-diamond-cup/

[Patrick S]

The 18 month Houghton Rd. widening from Irvington to Valencia should have just started at the end of October (I was at Golf Links and Houghton last weekend and there were road construction signs south of the intersection). Here's a link to the COT's website for the project. The Broadway to 22nd St. section is scheduled to start by the end of winter.

Also, I found this 5 year transportation plan on the COT's website too. I just found it today so I haven't had a chance yet to read through it.

[Ted Lyons]

Whole Foods in moving mode

http://azstarnet.com/business/local/...4a7ac3053.html

Whole Foods Market at 7133 N. Oracle Road will close Dec. 31 and move to a location on East River Road in January, a representative from the grocery chain said.

The store will reopen at 5555 E. River Road, at the northeast corner of River and North Craycroft roads, in mid-January.

. . .

The Tucson area's only other Whole Foods is at 3360 E. Speedway, although Shenkarow said he's working with Whole Foods on building another Tucson store at a "central strategic location servicing the University of Arizona and the surrounding neighborhoods with direct access to the new light-rail system."

This. Would. Be. Huge. If I had to guess, I'd say they're looking at becoming part of a mixed use project somewhere in the overlay district or downtown. Either location would be amazing and would serve as a major spur for nearby development.

[aznate27]

Originally Posted by Ted Lyons

Whole Foods in moving mode

http://azstarnet.com/business/local/...4a7ac3053.html



This. Would. Be. Huge. If I had to guess, I'd say they're looking at becoming part of a mixed use project somewhere in the overlay district or downtown. Either location would be amazing and would serve as a major spur for nearby development.

If you look at the bottom floor of the Unisorce Energy Building downtown, the empty retail space facing Broadway looks like a large enough space for a Trader Joes or Whole Foods. I think that would be a great location for either chain.

Also I drove by Broadway and Stone on my way home from work the other day and noticed they started construction on the seven story mixed used project going there.

I work in Catalina and on my way home driving down Oracle Rd, you can clearly see Level towering over the university area!

[Ted Lyons]

Originally Posted by aznate27

If you look at the bottom floor of the Unisorce Energy Building downtown, the empty retail space facing Broadway looks like a large enough space for a Trader Joes or Whole Foods. I think that would be a great location for either chain.

There's only 11,000 square feet in the Unisource building which is way too small for a Whole Foods. The Oracle store that they're going to tear down in order to expand is 16,000 square feet. Although they're going to rebuild that location as a 32,000 square foot store, that's already smaller than most of the new stores they're constructing right now which are closer to 50,000 square feet.