After buying the property from the city for $100, given permission to tear down the historic Pusch building, and then sitting on the vacant land for 18 months, Bourn Properties is now asking Tucson for an additional $4.3M in incentives to redevelop the downtown "Thrifty block," a request that has outraged certain downtown interests and City Council members:
rendering of The Post on Congress,
the "Thrifty block" redevelopment project
Bourn's Downtown wish list is criticized
By Rob O'Dell
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
2.19.2006
The developer who pressed the city to tear down a 100-year-old Downtown building, and then let property sit vacant for 18 months, now is asking the city for $4.3 million more in help to build something there.
Bourn Properties, which bought most of the block of East Congress Street from the city for $100, sent a list to the city this month outlining $4.3 million in potential public contributions to the project. That total doesn't include savings from a 10-year property tax abatement that's also on its list.
The list includes: building sidewalks, utility hookups and public parking; waiving taxes on construction, building permit fees and impact fees; reducing or eliminating sales taxes on retail; abating county real estate taxes for 10 years; and potentially waiving requirements for on-site loading and commercial on-site parking.
Bourn Properties said it was simply a list of potential ways the city could help out. Some city officials said the negotiations are still in their infancy. But that didn't stop the outrage from those who had opposed the Bourn project from the start.
Downtown lawyer Roy Martin, a staunch opponent of tearing down the 19th-century Pusch building built by pioneer rancher George Pusch, said it was "unreal" that Bourn was asking for more. He questioned why the city would give millions of dollars on top of providing the land at virtually no cost, granting permission to quickly tear down the building and then paying for the demolition and debris removal. The city paid $500,000 for work on the block, according to the Rio Nuevo office. "It's absolutely outrageous," Martin said.
In response to a growing storm of public outrage, Bourn said in June 2004 it would do everything it could to preserve the building. But after receiving approval of its plan from the City Council, the building was quickly reduced to rubble by that September. "They said it was urgent that the property had to come down immediately," Martin said. "They said it was vital and had to be done."
It has been a vacant block ever since, and Councilman Jose Ibarra, a Democrat, said that 18 months of inactivity should have the city reassessing its agreement with Bourn. "It's beyond frustration," Ibarra said. "We were asked to hurry on all aspects of this project. Now 18 months later it's the same vacant lot."
He said it was "totally inappropriate" for Bourn to ask for more money, adding that maybe "it's time to give an opportunity to someone who can put this project together."
The city and Bourn were supposed to come up with a final development agreement in January for the development of 61 loft condos built over a row of shops and restaurants, reaching up eight stories valued at about $23 million. The block, situated between Scott and Stone avenues, once included the Thrifty Drug Store, Fields' Jewelers, Little Cafe Poca Cosa and the Pusch building that was last used by a restaurant called Talk of the Town.
Oscar Turner, Bourn's project manager, said the list isn't a demand, but "a laundry list of things the city could wish to participate in." "What we're trying to do is make sure we get the best possible project," he said.
A potential agreement with the city will be discussed Thursday at a meeting of the City Council's Rio Nuevo subcommittee, said Councilwoman Nina Trasoff, a Democrat. Trasoff said she wants to work in good faith with Bourn, and said she's willing to be flexible, but not $4.3 million worth of flexible. "He's had this property for 18 months now," she said. "I hope he can pull it off but … the bottom line is we have to move forward on that block."
City Manager Mike Hein said it's clear the City Council wants closure on that empty Downtown block, and said he is interested in moving ahead on some of the Downtown Rio Nuevo promises that have been "dangling" for years. Still, he said, requests such as Bourn's aren't unusual for developers. "It's a bullet-point list of wishes," Hein said. "I wouldn't even characterize it as an ask right now."
Republican Mayor Bob Walkup agreed, saying the request wasn't surprising and that the issue will be sorted out by the city staff and the council.
THE WISH LIST
● Public incentives requested by Bourn Properties for Downtown Thrifty block:
- Sidewalk construction, landscaping, construction of retail storefronts, utility hookups, restoration of Indian Trading Post facade and construction of one level of public parking: $2.4 million.
- Reduce tax on construction and fees for building permit, and eliminate impact fees: $950,000.
- Reduce or eliminate sales tax on retail: $80,000 a year for 10 years.
- Eliminate or reduce county taxes and fees: $855,000.
- Abate county real estate taxes for 10 years: no price listed.
- Grant variances or expedite process for property rezoning, on-site loading requirements and on-site commercial parking requirements.
Total: $4.3 million
"It's beyond frustration. We were asked to hurry on all aspects of this project. Now 18 months later it's the same vacant lot."
Jose Ibarra
Democratic councilman