Tucson Development Thread

[kaneui]

^You must be referring to the proposed "Passages of Tucson" along I-10--a huge mixed-use development of 400 acres, possibly to include 6M sq. ft. when completely built out by 2020. It was announced a few years back, but not much activity since then, so I'm guessing they're still in the early pre-planning stages. And with the current state of the economy, I doubt if much will be happening with it for awhile.

Here's their website link: http://www.passagesoftucson.com/

[kaneui]

It appears Portland developer Williams & Dame may have lost interest in further redeveloping downtown Tucson. After pulling out from consideration to build on a 14-acre site west of I-10 last year, they have now withdrawn from the team that plans to develop the east end of downtown. (To their credit, they did finish the one of the few major downtown projects last year: the redevelopment of the MLK apartments, now known as One North Fifth.)


Downtown development still on despite partner pullout
After partner pulls out, 'What we want to show is activity'

by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
02.06.2009

Even with Williams & Dame Development no longer part of the Downtown Tucson Development Co., the 20-year vision to redevelop much of the east half of downtown remains in place. The Portland, Ore., developer recently parted ways with partners Scott Stiteler and Jim Campbell after financier Stiteler and Williams & Dame "were not able to come to agreement on our role in the company moving forward," Williams & Dame said in a statement.
"It purely had to do with the economics of the situation," company manager Campbell said. "Is it smart to spend spend $2 million on planning (in this economic climate)?"

Campbell said the company is pressing forward to show results on the Rialto Block, owned by Stiteler and Don Martin; the neighboring city-owned Rialto Theatre; and getting the Skrappy's youth entitlement center into a new home as soon as next week. "The big difference as of yesterday (Wednesday) is the discussion of planning," Campbell said. "The focus is on sticks and bricks instead of paper. What we want to show is activity and progress."

Williams & Dame served as the team's planner and had completed about 90 percent of the conceptual plan due to the city by late April. This will include plans, sketches, photographs and text that describes an overall vision for the 75-acre area that includes the Warehouse Arts District up to Sixth Street and the Congress Street Entertainment District. Stiteler, who quietly negotiated a pre-development agreement with the city, is the company's financial arm. He also is half-owner of the Rialto Block and majority owner of the One North Fifth Apartments and three storefronts on Congress Street across from One North Fifth. Williams and Dame and Tucson-based Peach Properties remain minority owners of One North Fifth, but otherwise the Portland developer no longer has active projects in Tucson.

Williams & Dame had taken the lead in discussions with the Warehouse Arts Management Organization, which the company wanted to help renovate warehouses along Toole Avenue. Stiteler has assumed direct relations with WAMO and met with the warehouse group Thursday, Campbell said. The company in the pre-development agreement committed to giving WAMO $2.5 million to assess and rehabilitate the two dozen state-owned warehouses that are occupied by artists. But a stall in negotiations between the state transportation department and the city to transfer ownership to the city has put WAMO on the company's back burner. "It makes no sense to assess the warehouses now," Campbell said. "When ADOT got pushed off, the whole warehouse thing was put on hold." Campbell said WAMO has to plan for three contingencies: the city acquiring all the warehouse, some of them, or none of them.

City Councilwoman Regina Romero said the council on Tuesday will consider releasing $65,000 to WAMO to start a business management plan. The money will come from the city trust fund funded by rents warehouse tenants pay. Romero met on Wednesday with Stiteler; Campbell; WAMO President Marvin Shaver; Jaret Barr, an assistant to the city manager; and C.T. Revere, chief of staff to Councilwoman Nina Trasoff. "I feel much more comfortable," Romero said. "They are still very committed to WAMO, still very committed to Skrappy's and still very committed to the Rialto Block. They still want the arts district to flourish." Williams & Dame was a signatory to the pre-development agreement. Barr was not sure how that would affect the document, adding that it was a precursor to a formal development agreement that will likely be done in summer.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Williams & Dame Statement:

"It has been a privilege for Williams & Dame Development to support the City of Tucson's vision for the revitalization of Downtown. We are particularly proud of our work on the first successful mixed use development in downtown Tucson, One North Fifth, for which Williams & Dame Development secured a $6.1 million note representing 75 percent of the project's financing. At this time, however, we have decided to discontinue further participation in the Downtown Tucson Development (Company). While we had an agreement with our partners about compensation, we were not able to come to agreement on our role in the company moving forward. We remain optimistic about the future of Tucson and are grateful for the chance we've had to make a positive difference in the community. "

[kaneui]

It looks like Greg Shelko and Glenn Lyons couldn't convince state legislators that Rio Nuevo deserves continued funding. But city officials haven't seemed too worried until now--in fact, City Manager Mike Hein has previously stated that the legislature would preserve Rio Nuevo's TIF to avoid possible litigation. However, in light of the state's budgetary crisis, that would now seem a rather minor concern.


Rio Nuevo may lose funding on July 1
By Daniel Scarpinato
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
02.12.2009

PHOENIX — Funding for Tucson's Rio Nuevo Downtown redevelopment project could be gone by July 1. Skeptical members of the Senate Finance Committee said they didn't get the answers they wanted from Rio Nuevo's project director at a hearing Wednesday. Some said not only did Rio Nuevo Director Greg Shelko fail to outline how the city has spent $60 million in state money, but they said the project seems to have drifted from its original purpose.

As the state faces a $2.4 billion shortfall next year, several committee members said they are interested in possibly cutting off the state dollars to avoid deeper cuts to K-12 education and state agencies when the new fiscal year begins July 1. An estimated $600 million in state money would flow to Rio Nuevo over the 22-year life of the project. "When you come down here, you better have your 'A' game, because we are doing a lot of things we don't want to do," said Sen. Jim Waring, R-Phoenix, the committee chairman. "I just think we had to pull teeth to get answers. "I thought that presentation hurt them a little bit today — I really do," Waring added Some members said they'd like to see the funding cut off next year to help balance the state budget, especially after renewed concerns about a lack of accountability.

Shelko said pulling the state dollars would spell disaster for Rio Nuevo. "If they want to sink Tucson, I suppose that's a choice," Shelko said. "Where would we have the ability to do these kinds of things? We wouldn't." In his testimony, Shelko painted a bright picture of Downtown and argued that it just needs more time, pointing to projects in other cities that have taken 30 years to succeed. "Downtown is not going to grow in five years; it's not going to grow overnight," Shelko said. "It's going to take a long time."

But senators were not impressed by the city's list of Downtown accomplishments, which included a planned city-court complex and a Burger King. And Shelko had trouble citing specific dollar figures the committee requested. "What we've done is allowed this entity to take state dollars at their will, and of course the people of Tucson are going to vote for it because it's not their money," said Sen. Ken Cheuvront, D-Phoenix. The committee took no action, but city officials could find themselves in a position of having to better defend Rio Nuevo. The GOP committee members, in a position to negotiate the budget, are likely to discuss their impressions with colleagues in a Republican caucus meeting today. "My concern with Rio Nuevo has been that's it's very difficult to get a straight answer on anything," said Sen. Barbara Leff, R-Paradise Valley. "If the city of Tucson wants to use its own sales-tax revenue and put it into Downtown projects, they should be able to do that, but I think the state general fund money should be returned."

Rio Nuevo is funded through a tax incentive financing district that redirects state sales tax dollars to Tucson for use in the district. Originally approved by voters in 1999, lawmakers extended it in 2006. But the project and its organizers have faced criticism over the years for what's been perceived as a lack of progress. A Star investigation last October, referenced by several committee members, found that of the $63 million in taxpayer dollars spent over the past 10 years, much of the money has gone to plan projects that stalled, including studies, consultants and public relations. Shelko questioned the "motives" of the Star for running that story and said the city has made all its expenses public, even though it stalled releasing documents to the Star for months.

At times sarcastic, lawmakers grilled Shelko on projects that never developed. In particular, they questioned studying the construction of a Rainbow Bridge over Interstate 10 that would house the University of Arizona science center. "So, you were going to build a building that was a bridge that sat on top of the freeway?" said Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu. "It was a very unique concept," Shelko responded. "Unfortunately it costs somewhere well over $300 million and it was an infeasible project." Laughing, Waring asked: "So, Mr. Shelko, just to be clear, you spent $9 million and have built nothing? It's a yes or no." "Right," Shelko replied. In actuality, $13 million was spent studying the science center.

Glenn Lyons, CEO of the Downtown Tucson Partnership, testified he was pleased legislators extended the district in 2006 and that continuing it is important to private-sector growth. "I'm pleased you're pleased," Warring said. "You may be the only one in the state." Shelko said after the meeting that the mistake the city made was in "managing the public's expectations." And he said he was "proud" of progress so far. "We'd all like a do-over on some things," he said. "I don't think, in a general sense, that the city has mismanaged Rio Nuevo."

[BrandonJXN]

To help start some sort of conversation, how would YOU fix downtown Tucson? Please be detailed.

[Locofresh55]

My main thing that I would focus on would be the area around the hotel congress. I know they are trying to get the rialto block set up all nice but you can definitely get some clubs and bars that can really get bumpin out there. Also I would look at making La Placita a real entertainment district just like the Riverwalk in San Antonio. THey have a bunch of 3 story clubs and restaurants....why not do that for La Placita. I like what they are doing with the mercado district with menlo park but when you have a freeway and cheap motels separating a mercado district from downtown....it's just not right IMO. I would have loved to have put the mercado district east of I-10 and maybe just focus on putting a bunch of nice hotels and maybe a shopping center like Rivercenter in San Antonio where the mercado district is now. My only concern now is whether this Sheraton hotel will get built and if it will stay above 25 stories.

[Locofresh55]

Also, I know there was a plan awhile back to add 8 stories to the Hotel Arizona.....that is something I would do as well......that and the 44 Broadway project were two of the projects I was looking forward too...damn economy.

[kaneui]

Originally Posted by ThreeHundred

To help start some sort of conversation, how would YOU fix downtown Tucson? Please be detailed.

This is an abbreviated answer in lieu of a much longer and and complete version about the possibility of a functional, thriving downtown in Tucson. But rather than provide a lot of specifics, I would like to offer more of an overview of downtown redevelopment challenges.

In a more perfect development world, municipalities and their citizens hopefully create a viable, sustainable vision of what they want and then provide the necessary incentives for private enterprise to come in and build most of it, which generally includes government providing the adequate infrastructure needed to encourage and support those projects. (Many cities have also felt it necessary to initially build certain civic projects themselves to further entice private development, such as convention centers, hotels, arenas, and the like...but I digress.)

Tucson was handed yet another opportunity to redevelop its downtown with the creation of the Rio Nuevo TIF district, whose success would have gone a long way toward soothing local residents' bitter feelings over the disastrous downtown redevelopment effort attempted in the 60's and early 70's. However, for a number of reasons, it looks like this latest opportunity could also go down in flames. Before I am labeled as just another naysayer, consider the following:

1. Rio Nuevo's unorthodox TIF structuring and subsequent mismanagement may have doomed its chance for success. By having TIF funds funneled from El Con and Park Place malls--areas that are not part of the redevelopment focus--the city had no incentive to actually get things moving in the right direction (for a detailed explanation of why, read this blog entry: http://tucsongrowup.com/2009/02/16/r...ity-of-tucson/). Furthermore, the city's embarrassing lack of progress with Rio Nuevo over the past several years has put any further funding from the state at risk, thus potentially killing the project just when things were poised to take off.

2. As mentioned in numerous earlier posts, the following are some of the factors that continue to work against the creation of a thriving, urban downtown in Tucson:

a. An inadequate urban transit system, poorly ranked school districts, and a lack of corporate or regional headquarters. Tall office towers do not get filled and cultural institutions do not prosper without an educated and well-paid workforce, and elite companies require certain civic amenities in order to attract and retain workers, thereby encouraging them to "put down roots" in the area and support their local communities. You might call it a chicken-and-egg dilemma, but for now, Tucson doesn't deliver the goods.

b. A lack of leadership at the city and county levels to create a vision for downtown and a viable plan for achieving it. The inability and/or unwillingness of elected officials to creating any clear and focused direction for downtown, coupled with numerous botched dealings on such issues as development agreements and consistent incentives, as well as a labyrinthine approval process, have undoubtedly turned away a number of capable and experienced developers (to witness, the Williams & Dame saga).

c. A low-wage economy based mostly on continued development of cheap desert acreage into low-density single-family housing and strip malls. Allowing the sprawl machine to dominate the development agenda for numerous decades is now exacting a heavy toll on cities such as Tucson and Phoenix, whose efforts to revive their downtowns and increase urban density face numerous hurdles. Adding insult to injury are the landowners/speculators who are allowed to scrape their prime inner city real estate clean and leave it, awaiting the next development boom for a price they can't refuse (Don Bourn or Joe Pinsonneault, anyone?).

It's all rather sad to contemplate, really, since downtown Tucson does have potential: many historic buildings still standing; enough quirky, narrow streets that would contribute to a more urban, pedestrian vibe; and a tangible, Southwestern sense of place reflected in its Native American and Spanish architecture and heritage. Although there are no easy answers to remedy downtown's ills, Rio Nuevo could possibly be salvaged; indeed, it's the only significant project on the drawing board that could substantially transform downtown in the near future. However, if it ends up on the legislature's chopping block, the slight forward momentum we've recently witnessed downtown could disappear for a long, long time. But even if Rio Nuevo survives, the underlying challenges mentioned above must be corrected for Tucson's core to truly grow and thrive.

[kaneui]

With state budget cuts forcing the UofA to suspend work on the proposed Science Center/AZ State Museum west of I-10, the city council has followed suit, redirecting the December bond money towards more "revenue-generating" projects (i.e., the convention center upgrade and new hotel)--probably a necessary move to keep the annual gem show from leaving downtown.

In light of Rio Nuevo's precarious funding situation, it remains to be seen whether all this last-minute activity is a positive sign, or ultimately just more rearranging of chairs on the Titanic.


Science Center project in limbo
By Rob O'Dell and Aaron Mackey
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
02.19.2009

Work was suspended Wednesday on the proposed University of Arizona Science Center on the West Side — a project seen for years as the centerpiece of Tucson's Rio Nuevo redevelopment district. The University of Arizona, which has spent more than $13 million on four different plans for the center, is "suspending" work on the project due to the economic crisis. While asserting the university still wants to build the Science Center someday, University President Robert Shelton said the school cannot afford to burn the cash it would take to get the center ready for construction this year. "We couldn't continue" to spend that kind of money, Shelton said. "We need this hiatus for a while." He said the soonest the project could get restarted is early next year, and even that would mean six more months of planning before any possible construction.

City Council members said they still support the project. Councilwoman Nina Trasoff said the partnership between the UA and the city is strong, adding, "This is merely a slowing down of the timetable." Councilwoman Regina Romero said she wants an update in one year to see if the project can move forward. The cost of the Science Center, pitched to voters in 1999 as a $30 million item, ballooned to $350 million with the proposed addition of a Rainbow Bridge across Interstate 10 before settling back down to about a $130 million joint development with the Arizona State Museum.

In December, an Arizona Daily Star investigation reported the UA has already spent nearly $13 million on the Science Center, including millions for a Rainbow Bridge design that has since been scrapped. The expenses were mocked during a hearing on Rio Nuevo in front of the Senate Finance Committee last week, especially the Rainbow Bridge. Sen. Jonathan Paton, a Tucson Republican, said legislators' concerns were about the spending and lack of progress on the Science Center, adding that, as a result, many from the Phoenix area want to kill Rio Nuevo.

When the Rainbow Bridge plan was dropped, the city agreed to pay half of the UA's bills, which now total more than $13 million. But there are questions about the bills. Finance Director Frank Abeyta sent an e-mail to Stacie Bird in the City Manager's Office ordering her to stop all payments to the UA the day he unexpectedly quit last month, just two months after he took the job. Bird said she also questioned the expenditures because no other Rio Nuevo project was allowed to spend money in a similar fashion. Rio Nuevo Director Greg Shelko said the city has paid about $5.7 million to the UA, and will pay the rest it owes, per the agreement. City Manager Mike Hein said about $1.3 million in payments to the UA are on his desk, adding he expects to pay all the UA's bills to be a good partner with the university.

The UA couldn't say how much the city owes it. In addition to stopping design work, Shelton said the UA will cut the money going toward developing exhibits from $150,000 to $50,000. UA officials couldn't provide figures Wednesday on exactly how much money would be saved by the move. As part of a larger effort to absorb about $78 million in state cuts since last summer, the UA decided to stop work on the facility after finishing the architectural phase, said Leslie Tolbert, UA vice president for research. Tolbert added that the decision was not in response to the Legislature's criticisms.

Halting the project will force the UA to lay off some employees and move a few others around. Tolbert didn't know how many positions would be affected. The UA has announced a series of cuts in recent weeks, including closing the Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium when classes end this spring, scaling back hours at the Arizona State Museum and UA Museum of Art, shutting off all water fountains on campus and forgoing landscaping around the UA Mall.

Developer Jerry Dixon, who is developing several projects on the West Side near the Science Center, said Wednesday's announcement could be the first step toward the UA killing the project, although he added the UA probably will build something on the land. As a result of the UA's move and the slowing economy, he said he will slow construction of his mixed-use project on the West Side. "The Science Center was an asset to us," Dixon said. "It's not a positive."



Rio Nuevo bond money shifted again
By Rob O'Dell
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
02.19.2009

Rio Nuevo has changed course again. The City Council voted 6-0 Wednesday to redirect money from its recent bond sale to projects "like" revamping the Tucson Convention Center and a new convention hotel. About $58 million from the December bond sale had been designated for museums and historic re-creation on the west side of the Santa Cruz River and on Downtown infrastructure. But the council now wants more of the money to go to projects that will help generate sales taxes that will add future revenue to the Rio Nuevo tax- increment financing district. About $10 million of the $58 million is already designated for the TCC and hotel projects. Another $9 million is owed to the state for a freeway-underpass-widening project.

Details of what projects will get more money, or lose funding — or even when the city will have the new plan ready — were not available, other than the money should go toward infrastructure and revenue- and job-generating projects. City Manager Mike Hein said the city staff will come back with a plan "as soon as possible," but he also said he didn't want to be locked into a timeline. He said the projects that will now be funded with the bond proceeds or other Rio Nuevo sales taxes are also unknown at this point, although he said the council was clear that money should flow to the TCC and a new hotel. But even the $58 million in bond money isn't enough to complete the hotel, and likely couldn't fund the completed upgrades of the TCC as well.

Rio Nuevo Director Greg Shelko said that the city is in the first phase of pre-construction for the hotel and that construction could start in March 2010. Construction on a new entrance to the TCC needed to accommodate the hotel could be under way earlier, he said. One reason for the council focus on the hotel and convention center was talk of the main gem show from the Tucson Gem, Mineral & Fossil Showcase leaving town. Mayor Bob Walkup said the council would do "everything it takes to be sure we keep the Gem and Mineral Show." Councilwoman Nina Trasoff said the plans for the hotel call for its window glass to change colors during different times of the day so the windows will look like different gems and minerals.

The council made no mention of state legislative threats to take the money away. The council also criticized a Sunday Arizona Daily Star story that estimated it will cost taxpayers $10 million more in interest because the city went to the bond market in December, when interest rates were highly volatile and other communities were postponing bond sales. Shawn Dralle, the city's bond adviser, said the markets were so chaotic toward the end of 2008 that no one could predict future interest rates. To look back in hindsight at the sale eight weeks later is "disingenuous," Dralle said. Star Managing Editor Therese Hayt said the newspaper stands by its story. "They went into the market when it was sky-high. Taxpayers are now on the hook for all that interest, which is not in the taxpayers' interest," she said.

[kaneui]

Let's hope the next arena design will be more attractive than the "tortoise shell" proposal from the last go-round. (Whether or not this arena has a remote chance of getting funded and built is anyone's guess...)




Arenas in Miami and Columbus, OH designed by 360 Architecture
(photos: Marc Averette, Derek Jensen)


Tucson Arena designer chosen
by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
02.20.2009

The city of Tucson expects to sign a contract next week for the designer of the American Airlines Arena in Miami and and the Sprint Center in Kansas City to design the new $130 million Tucson Arena. The city is in exclusive negotiations with 360 Architecture of Kansas City, Mo., after selecting them from a short list of three national architecture firms with arena backgrounds, said Tommy Obermaier, interim director of the Tucson Convention Center. "Their body of work and the local team they assembled elevated them to the top," Obermaier said. Tucson-based Swaim Associates, an architecture firm, will work with 360, Obermaier said. Obermaier said the contract dollar amount will not be disclosed until the contract is signed.

360 Architecture and the city are still negotiating the precise time line for architecture services, but Obermaier anticipates starting construction on the 10,000- to 12,000-seat arena with about 10 to 12 luxury boxes in about one year. 360 will start from scratch with the architectural look of the arena. The tortoise shell design from a couple of years ago was scrapped, Obermaier said. George Heinlein, principal at 360 Architecture, doesn't have a look in mind yet. "We come into it with no preconceived ideas," Heinlein said. "We're looking for something rooted in the Tucson environment." Heinlein has familiarity with Tucson because his daughter is a student at the University of Arizona. "(The new arena) has the opportunity to be part of a terrific new downtown environment and be an iconic building by itself," Heinlein said.

The new arena would be near a new 24-story, 525-room TCC hotel and revamped convention center. The intended location for the new Tucson Arena is just south of Congress Street immediately east of Interstate 10. Heinlein singles out the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, home of the Columbus Blue Jackets of the National Hockey League, as a particularly significant project for 360 out of the three dozen sports facilities the firm has designed. 360 was also involved in designing residential developments, an office building and a stadium near the arena and master planned the whole project. "It's been the benchmark for how to put an arena in a downtown," Heinlein said.

In Tucson, 360 so far is only involved in the arena, but Heinlein welcomes future opportunity to collaborate with other private sector developers in the TCC area. "We'd love to help them shape it," he said. 360 Architecture will be responsible for the architectural designs; structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering; electrical systems; collaborating with a food services consultant; and meeting the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, Obermaier said. 360 Architects designed the American Airlines Arena, home of the Miami Heat in the National Basketball Association; the Sprint Center in Kansas City, which will first and second round games in the NCAA basketball tournament; stadium renovations for the University of Oklahoma and University of Nebraska; Cisco Field, home of the Oakland Athletics baseball team; and the Mizzou Arena at the University of Missouri.

[somethingfast]

it still makes me scratch my head -- 10-12k seats???? wtf? that's .5-3k more than the current arena. what a bunch of freakin' buffoons...

[kaneui]

The Wingate by Wyndham, which recently opened at 11075 N. Oracle Rd.
in Oro Valley, brings the number of existing hotels to three.
(photo: Jim Davis)


Good news in Oro Valley: Hotels popping up all over
By Lourdes Medrano
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
02.20.2009

If current trends are any indication, Oro Valley could experience significant growth in hotel development in the coming years. The 104-room Wingate by Wyndham Hotel opened recently at 11075 N. Oracle Road in Steam Pump Village, bringing to three the number of hotels in town. Plans are in the works to build at least another four. "That's a good thing," said Sarah More, the town's planning and zoning director. In essence, developers are discovering Oro Valley is the kind of place where hotels can succeed, she said. "They're just seeing that the market is here," said More, alluding to a growing base of biotech companies that increasingly bring in travelers who need nearby lodging.

The Sunway Hotel Group plans to open the Marriott Springhill Suites early next year and the Hilton Homewood Suites after that, said company CEO Donald Culbertson. The two hotels, each with about 120 rooms, will be at the northeast corner of North Oracle Road and East Linda Vista Boulevard in El Corredor commercial development. Sunway's research studies show Oro Valley as an effective market for lodging, said Barry Brautman, company president. "There is sufficient demand for the hotels," he said.

Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort, at 10000 N. Oracle Road, is Oro Valley's oldest hotel, with more than 400 rooms. The 89-room Holiday Inn Express opened next at 10150 N. Oracle Road. Other hotels chains that are considering building in Oro Valley include Embassy Suites and Hampton Inn, More said. There's been speculation about other hotels coming into town, but her department has yet to see specific proposals, she said. Any new hotels would add revenue to town coffers through Oro Valley's 6 percent bed tax, which is a tax on temporary lodgings. The tax brings in more than $1.1 million annually, said Stacey Lemos, town finance director. Under a special agreement with Oro Valley that ends in 2010, El Conquistador gets 2 percent of the town's 6 percent bed tax collected at the resort.

Any new hotels would have to pay the full 6 percent because a unanimous Town Council repealed such economic incentives in December 2007. The policy that allows the resort to share the bed tax was adopted in 1999 to lure the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co. LLC, which opted to build in Marana, Mayor Paul Loomis said.

Hotels: old, new, planned
• Two new hotels are expected to open in Oro Valley next year: the Marriott Springhill Suites and the Hilton Homewood Suites, at North Oracle Road and East Linda Vista Boulevard.
• The Wingate by Wyndham recently opened at 11075 N. Oracle Road, bringing to three the number of existing hotels.
• The other two hotels in Oro Valley are the Hilton Tucson El Conquistador Golf & Tennis Resort, at 10000 N. Oracle Road, and the Holiday Inn Express, at 10150 N. Oracle Road.

[kaneui]

Rillito Park Race Track
(photo: Nicholas Smith)


Rillito track brings in millions, but still set to close
By Nicholas Smith
Inside Tucson Business
February 20, 2009

Horse racing will soon join the list of activities that no longer call Tucson home. The 25-year lease the Rillito Park Race Track has with Pima County will end at the beginning of next year, after that, horse racing will bide its time until the facility at North First Avenue at the Rillito River is raised for soccer fields. This, despite the fact that horse racing generates millions of dollars for the region’s economy. A long-range plan to establish a site for an 18-field, regional soccer tournament awaits the Rillito property. Until the money can be raised through a bond election, horse racing would be allowed to continue operation, albeit for an unspecified amount of time and a higher lease with the county. “It would be extended on an annual basis until soccer can actually get going,” said Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry. “It’s unlikely soccer will replace the facilities for probably, my guess is three to four years.” The county-owned land the facility sits on already has several soccer fields and is estimated to be worth $2.6 million. The new soccer park would cost anywhere from $12 million to $18 million to build, Huckelberry estimates.

Beyond its historical significance, the 66-year-old racetrack made up a significant portion of the state’s horseracing. From 1972 to 1982, there were 2,503 races which accounted for 45 percent of all quarter horse racing in the state. During that time, nearly $2.8 million in prize money was awarded, or 36 percent of what was given out in Arizona. Today, the park contributes least $3.3 million through races alone, according to a conservative metric used by the University of Arizona’s Racetrack Management Program to estimate a racetrack’s economic impact.

A 2001 report by the university estimated the state’s horse racing industry generates $108 million in expenditures. Rillito General Manager Pat White said the benefit to the region extends beyond the profit the track makes. “We do know that there is an increase in a lot of phases of economy here in Tucson: the feed stores, the restaurants, the horsemen that all come to work here, we have 100 employees,” she said. “So there’s just a lot of ways that it does help Tucson even though they don’t want to think so.”

Former county supervisor Ed Moore said the situation amounts to the departure of yet another tourist attraction. “Attendance at the track is very close to what the White Sox had. It’s been a very successful season this year,” Moore said. “We can’t afford to give away another popular spectator sport.” Last year, the average Spring Training attendance of the White Sox was 5,820 per game. The Diamondbacks and Rockies had attendances of 7,393 and 5,182, respectively. Not counting the final weekend (Feb. 21-22) of racing, the Rillito track drew an average crowd of 5,400 for the previous nine days. White estimates the track will have taken in more than $100,000 in bets by the end of the two-month season.

Moore helped bring racing back to Rillito in the mid-1980s after the track closed at the beginning of the decade and also sat on the committee that ultimately decided on the soccer facility plan in 2006. He recognized the need for such a facility, but wondered why the county chose this particular spot instead of somewhere with vacant land. Huckelberry listed numerous reasons why the Rillito Race Track was the ideal location for a regional soccer park. “County-owned property, centrally located and it is probably better utilization, meaning that more use per capita by broader diversity of people,” he said, adding that a new location for horseracing will be found once the park is built.

The Rillito track is notable in horseracing history because it marks the birthplace of organized quarter horse racing, which is done with a smaller, faster breed of horses on a straight track. The 3/8-mile chute was built in 1943, replacing an earlier horseracing track near the Tack Room restaurant. In 1953, an oval was added to accommodate thoroughbred racing. While the chute is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the rest of the 88-acre site is not, something Moore is working towards. “It’s a major part of Tucson history from the 40s to the 60s,” he said.

Getting a building or structure on the historical registry is a just an honorary designation and does not prevent demolition. The 91-year-old Fourth Avenue Underpass, for example, was also on the national registry but was demolished in June 2007 to make room for an expanded underpass. The county itself is not behind the effort, but is expected to comment on the matter before the end of the month, Huckelberry said, adding that the county purchased the nearby house of the man who originally built and ran the track, with the idea of turning it into a museum of sorts on Tucson’s history of horseracing.

Rillito’s eventual closure may seem like a drop in the bucket on the national scale, but the impact would be felt more on the local level. “Not to have that presence in Tucson anymore would be a pretty big thing,” said Trey Buck, executive director of racing at the American Quarter Horse Association. “It’s where we got our start with pari-mutuel racing and a lot of things that the industry uses today were developed then. From the historical standpoint it would be big. Just from an Arizona racing standpoint it would be a pretty big deal. You’ve got Turf Paradise and you’ve got Yavapai (Downs in Prescott Valley) who have pretty good meets, but there’s nothing really going on right now for the quarter horses.”

The closure won’t overtly affect the Race Track Management Program, but having the track nearby was convenient. “From the historical perspective it does have a lot of connection. It’s not a lab, but it’s a good place for students to get experience,” said program director Doug Reed. “The quarter horse is special in the southwest obviously, so the students, even if they come from other parts of the world, learn about quarter horse racing.”

[kaneui]

With a total estimated cost of $163M, the plan is to fund the streetcar with $88M from the RTA and $75M from the feds. Of the federal funds, a $25M grant has already been approved (which this article failed to note), with another $2M approved last week. If the rest can be cobbled together from other sources, hopefully this modest 4-mile starter route will support the planned Mercado District projects and even more TOD through downtown.


Downtown streetcar project appears on track
By Andrea Kelly
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
03.02.2009

Tucson's modern streetcar, heavily dependent on a huge infusion of federal cash, is on schedule and should be on the tracks on time, economic crisis and government-funding crunch notwithstanding. The city may have to scrape together the needed $75 million from several federal sources, but the money looks to be coming, according to those involved with the project. Planning has been under way for years for a streetcar to run from University Medical Center, through the University of Arizona, over to North Fourth Avenue and into the west side of Downtown. It should be ready to ride by April 2011, said Fran LaSala, assistant to the city manager.

It's unclear how much the project could receive in federal infrastructure stimulus funding. But the city is hoping to also tap into a mix of earmarks in the federal budget and Federal Transit Administration grants to fill that $75 million hole, said Shellie Ginn, a project coordinator for the Tucson Transportation Department. "I don't have any doubt that we're going to get it," Ginn said. Last week, the House approved a budget that included a $2 million earmark for the project. Voters approved $88 million in Regional Transportation Authority funds for the project, for which, Ginn said, the city will probably sell bonds to get the money quicker, "so that we can continue to keep our schedule of being in operation by 2011."

The city may start moving utilities under the street for a different project in May and could begin laying streetcar track at the same time, LaSala said. "The plan was to do the infrastructure first, and the streetcar second. But why rip up the street twice?" LaSala said. LaSala stressed the utility relocation and updating will be paid for by Rio Nuevo bond funds, while the streetcar, which involves installing tracks into the street surface, along with adding the overhead electrical lines, will be paid for with RTA and federal transit funds.

The streetcar project will be done in three phases. The track in the Downtown area is one section, set to begin construction this year. The track north and east of the Fourth Avenue underpass and into the university area is another section, which is likely to be ready for construction by the end of this year or early 2010. The maintenance and storage facilities for the streetcars is the third section of the $163 million project. The streetcar cannot begin running until all three components are done, but if they're being built by separate crews at the same time, the work can go more quickly, LaSala said.

One federal funding source the city is pursuing is the New Starts program, which provides money to build new transit projects or expand existing transit lines. The program requires a municipality to pay for at least 20 percent of a project, and the New Start program can provide up to 80 percent of the project budget. Tucson is asking for about 46 percent of the funding from the federal government, clearly less than the 80 percent allowed and also below the standard request of about 50 percent, said Jeffrey Arndt, research scientist for the Texas Transportation Institute. "With these larger, capital-intensive type projects like an electrified rail system, the way that transit systems across America have made their proposals more attractive is by overmatching," Arndt said. "The reason people did that is because there's a lot of competition" for the funding, Arndt said.

Another aspect of the city's project that may make it more attractive to the Federal Transit Administration is that the rest of the project budget comes from a voter-approved sales tax, Arndt said. Congressman Raúl Grijalva, a Democrat, said he hopes the city continues to pursue several funding sources for the project. Earmarks went down by 40 percent this year compared with last year's budget, he said, and he anticipates they will continue to be smaller each year. With several funding sources to pursue, "we've got a leg up in that this project has been ongoing a long time," Grijalva said. "We're in good shape because we have good arguments," Grijalva said, since the project will help reduce pollution, uses electricity instead of petroleum and can encourage infill and new development.

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, another Democrat, said the project is a top priority for Tucson. The new light rail line that opened in Phoenix in December has experienced higher-than-predicted ridership, which proves Westerners can embrace mass transit, she said. The project could help with the city's Downtown revitalization, making Tucson a "more livable community," Giffords said. She said she would do all she could to help get Federal Transit funding for the city. "These mass transit systems make sense as something we should continue to invest in," she said. The city also says the project will bring people to the urban core areas the streetcar will serve. "I think (with) the newness of the streetcar, people will come Downtown just for that," LaSala said.

[somethingfast]

Yay, a streetcar for Tucson! Yay!............

[BrandonJXN]

I'm actually excited.

[BrandonJXN]

And to answer my own question regarding what I would do to Tucson. Keep in mind I've only been in Tucson since October (originally from LA). And I'm using Google maps if you want to see exactly where I would plan things.

-Repave all streets.

- Alone Toole from 9th to 4th, I would convert (and construct) wherehouses and turn them into lofts. Similar in style to the Barn Lofts in downtown Los Angeles.

-Throughout downtown, I would create 7-10 story masonry buildings and turn them into lofts and condos.

- Across the freeway on Congress and Grande, that huge plot of land (right under A Mountain), I would create a village similar in style to La Encantada but for low to mid income families.

- From 25th Street north to Congress alongside the freeway, I would create a very large park.

- Expand TCC so it covers the entire lot it's on.

- On the lot bounded by Franklin, Counsil, and Church, I would build a modernm cube like courthouse. Like so.

- Expand the Rialto along 5th.

[kaneui]

Last chance to have your say on TCC hotel
by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
03.06.2009

The final comment session for the design of a new hotel at the Tucson Convention Center is set for 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Monday in the TCC Turquoise Ballroom, 260 S. Church Ave. Attendees will see the completed conceptual design for a 525-room, 23-story hotel with adjoining towers featuring different looks on the southern and northern facades. The design incorporated suggestions from earlier public forums asking for a bold design, said Tommy Obermaier, TCC's interim director. DLR Group architects chose to employ boldness more for details than for the structure's shape: two adjoining cigarette packs, partially set on stilts to allow the porte-cochere to pass under one tower. The south tower bears different shades of burnt ochre evocative of the desert, and the north tower has glass and metal panels in pewter and silvery gray with the intention of reflecting the changing daylight throughout, DLR architect Gary Worthy said.

Even though the conceptual design is essentially done, public comments may still be incorporated, Obermaier said. "This is the community's last opportunity to have input in this very important project," Obermaier said. "Then (DLR) can get into the design aspect and tell us how much it's going to cost." The design has to fit a $150 million budget set by the City Council. Obermaier intends to have a design and cost estimate ready for the council in early September. The hotel construction will be funded by a bond backed by anticipated hotel revenue. This bond would not involve Rio Nuevo tax increment financing, which is backed by sales tax revenue.

The forum is hosted by Garfield Traub Development, the developer of the hotel; Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, which owns the Sheraton brand; Turner Construction; Sundt Construction; and the DLR Group. Obermaier will meet Monday with the design teams for the TCC hotel, the Tucson Arena and the streetcar to coordinate all three efforts. Representatives for the arena and streetcar teams may be at the public meeting for the hotel design, Obermaier said.

[kaneui]

Affordable housing planned Downtown
By Brian J. Pedersen
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
March 6, 2009

A local non-profit agency is hoping to team up with the city to build an affordable-housing project on a piece of land wedged between a Downtown hotel and the freeway. The Primavera Foundation is working with the Downtown Tucson Partnership to try to broker a deal with city officials to donate or sell for far below market value 1.6 acres the city owns southeast of West St. Mary's Road and the westbound Interstate 10 frontage road, Primavera Executive Director Peggy Hutchison said. "We're looking to see if, through this partnership, we can put our assets together and see if we can make this happen, even in this economic difficult time," Hutchison said. "I've talked with several City Council members, and there's a feeling that they really would like to see affordable housing Downtown." The land could hold as many as 25 multifamily housing units, Hutchison said. "We think it's a great concept," said Jaret Barr, assistant to City Manager Mike Hein. "We have a larger affordable-housing strategy for the city that this fits into."

Discussions between Primavera and the Downtown Tucson Partnership began about a year ago for the organizations to collaborate on a housing project, Downtown Tucson Partnership CEO Glenn Lyons said. That led to talks with the City Manager's Office, which identified the proposed site on a triangle of land adjacent to the InnSuites Tucson City Center, 475 N. Granada Ave. The land is made up mostly of abandoned right of way that once held a frontage road exit ramp, Lyons said. "This is one of those pieces that's hard to build on," Lyons said. "It doesn't work for many projects, but for a town house project, you can stick an 'L' on it. You don't get good land for free, but it's one that we can work with."

Whether the land will be free is up to the City Council, Barr said. "We've asked for it either to be free or (sold) for a nominal value," Lyons said. Barr said his office is putting together a resolution to take to the City Council for an upcoming meeting. He said discussions on any sort of price for the land would likely occur during a study session. While work still has to be done to secure funding for the project, Lyons said the key is getting control of the land. Doing that, he said, can make the various grants that Primavera would apply for that much easier to obtain. "To compete (for grants), you really need to have access or control of a site," Lyons said. Development costs are estimated at about $3 million, Lyons said. The project would likely take a year to build, he said.

As the plan moves forward, Hutchison said, Primavera will meet with neighboring land-owners about the prospect of an affordable-housing project in the area. "We like to work really closely with neighborhoods," Hutchison said. Rich Hendrix, general manager for InnSuites Tucson City Center, said his hotel is in favor of any development that enhances the neighborhood. He said he looks forward to being involved in discussions regarding the affordable-housing project. "We certainly would want to have a voice in what is going on," Hendrix said.

[kaneui]

With their dismal track record, city officials will have to beg the legislature to keep the Rio Nuevo gravy train going, probably with significant legislative oversight from here on out:


Politicos hammer city over Rio Nuevo
GOP legislators seek ways to halt project's shared taxes

By Daniel Scarpinato
ARIZONA DAILY STAR
03.11.2009

PHOENIX — Tucson can't be trusted with any more money for Downtown's Rio Nuevo project, a group of key Republican state lawmakers said Tuesday. A month after city officials testified in front of the Senate Finance Committee, Republican lawmakers discussed ways to break a deal that lets the city keep a share of state sales taxes for Downtown redevelopment — dollars that would otherwise end up in the state treasury. That move, in effect, would doom a planned hotel, arena and Convention Center expansion.

But some Tucson Republicans are looking to persuade their GOP colleagues to let the funding continue if it's tied to greater legislative oversight and public accounting. Phoenix Republican Sen. Jim Waring, who chairs the Finance Committee, says he's open to the idea — though he's still waiting for city officials to explain to him why they should be trusted. Rio Nuevo, formed in 1999 by the Legislature and Tucson voters, has gotten $60 million from the tax, and is estimated to grab nearly $600 million by 2025. But it has spent or obligated about $200 million, including bond sales and future interest.

Some powerful Republican lawmakers, citing what they called a "underwhelming" presentation last month by Tucson and a general lack of progress Downtown, want to yank the money, except for cash the city owes on existing bonds. In the short term, that would pump about $10 million into the state general fund as lawmakers face billions in budget deficits over the next several years. On Tuesday, lawmakers blasted Tucson, using some of their harshest language ever. Some called for a complete elimination of Rio Nuevo funding. "The city government in Tucson is dysfunctional in almost every dimension," said Sen. John Huppenthal, R-Chandler. "And the idea that we would trust them, even in some reconfigured state, with $500 million to advance the economic growth of Arizona, I would find astonishing."

Waring told fellow Republicans that Rio Nuevo Director Greg Shelko didn't further his cause at last month's hearing. "It was a really underwhelming performance; I can't emphasize that enough," Waring told a group that included Senate President Bob Burns and Appropriations Chairman Russell Pearce, who will be putting the budget together. "It was really, really ugly. … It was about as bad a performance as you're going to see down here. They really didn't articulate what it is that's happening." Even local lawmakers were critical. Sen. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, said, "Quite, frankly, as a Tucsonan, I was embarrassed."

But Paton also said the hearing was a wake-up call for city officials, who are now focusing on the plans for the Convention Center, hotel and arena as signs of progress. "I had been telling them they had problems with the Legislature," Paton said. "I don't think they really took that seriously. I think they started talking it pretty seriously after that hearing. Paton, who is sponsoring legislation that would make Rio Nuevo's spending accessible online, said that public accounting and "more legislative involvement" would be better than killing all funding. He suggested an oversight committee comprised of Tucson business leaders — those without a stake in the project — to serve as a watchdog over Rio Nuevo. He said the committee would need real authority.

The city's lobbyists, meanwhile, are revamping their message after bipartisan criticism of last month's testimony. At a presentation Tuesday near the Capitol, organized by Rep. Frank Antenori, R-Tucson, Tucson lawmakers were briefed by the private developers hired by Tucson. The idea, Antenori said, is for Tucson legislators to have information so they can defend Rio Nuevo. Jason Baran, a lobbyist for the city, said similar presentations are happening privately with legislative leaders. He said the city is focused on continued funding, realizing that might mean legislative changes.

The key to Rio Nuevo's future could rest in the ability of Tucson Republicans — Antenori, Paton and Sen. Al Melvin in particular — to convince their colleagues the project is worthy. Melvin, vice chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has the ear of Pearce. Melvin indicated Tuesday he wants to keep the funding in place with Paton's legislative changes. "All these things, if we can incorporate them, hopefully we'll get it on the right track," Melvin said. In what he himself calls a "twist of fate," Antenori, a long-time critic of the project, has taken the lead defending Rio Nuevo to House leadership. He wants to retain all funding. "I don't want to kill Rio Nuevo," Antenori said. "As much I'd like to do it for spite to the City Council, the reality is the business impact is far more important. We have to save it." Some Democrats who were present at Antenori's meeting with developers bristled at the idea of further legislative involvement. But Paton and others say that's the only way to keep the project from dying.

And Rep. Nancy Young Wright, D-Oro Valley, says she wants to see more oversight, too. Young Wright said her constituents regularly complain about Rio Nuevo. "I think people are anxious for results," she said. "I think the city does need to switch gears." Meanwhile, Waring, who may set the tone on Rio Nuevo's funding, says he still needs to be convinced. "It's hard to trust those same people to take a long-term, 500-something-million-dollar deal over 20 years when we've had eight, nine years of this drivel!" Waring said. "I would think the city of Tucson and the folks from Tucson would need to make some serious effort — not what we saw last month — to tell us how they are going to change radically in the very near future."

DID YOU KNOW
Even if the Legislature cuts off Rio Nuevo funding at the $200 million already obligated by the project, that's still 2 1/2 times the $80 million in state taxes voters were originally told would go into the Downtown redevelopment effort — an amount city officials thought in 1999 would be enough to stimulate construction of an aquarium, several museums and a historic re-creation.

[kaneui]

In addition to Madden Media's headquarters relocation to the historic 1907 MacArthur Building on Toole Ave. this summer, another business has moved 37 employees into a renovated downtown building:



The Hittinger Building's original 1901 neoclassical facade was restored in 2002, replacing a drab 1940s look.
(photo: Teya Vitu)



Downtown move thrills firm workers
The 37 staffers get room to 'breathe,' walk

by TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
03.11.2009

A major local apartment management firm has brought a buzz to the core of downtown since moving into the restored 1901 Hittinger Building, 120 E. Congress St. The 37 employees at the headquarters office for Morrison, Ekre & Bart Management Services have staked out several downtown haunts since moving in at the end of December. "I bet if you go next door to the Grill, they will say their revenue went up $100 a week since we moved in," co-owner Melanie Morrison said. "We had Café 54 cater a lunch for us last week. That was great. I think Subway's probably benefitted quite a bit." Grill manager Karlen Ross said of MEB, "Any new business downtown is more than welcome."

MEB workers quickly embraced the urban transit mode: walking - whether to an eatery, the bank, lawyers to handle receiverships or just for the sake of walking. "It's really nice that a lot of places are walking distance," said Luz Bruscini, an MEB district manager. "I really love not having to get in a car to go somewhere. I really like Subway." MEB staffers also find their way to On a Roll, the sushi restaurant that opened last year a block to the west. "They're great," On a Roll owner Dominic Moreno said. "They're in here maybe two, three times a week. All the ladies are awesome over there. They always come in a group. They add some liveliness. They create the buzz."

MEB has 600 employees scattered across Tucson and Phoenix. Apartment and district managers often venture to the headquarters. "We keep an extra parking pass for them," Morrison said. "We keep a roll of quarters at the front desk." MEB and HSL Properties are the two leading apartment management companies in Tucson. MEB manages (but does not own) 37 apartment complexes in Tucson with about 8,500 units (20,000 units, including Phoenix and elsewhere in Arizona). HSL Properties owns and manages 29 complexes in Tucson with 7,655 units.

MEB moved from an old 5,000-square-foot house with several small rooms at 1039 N. Sixth Ave. near Speedway Boulevard into the 11,400-square-foot, three-story Hittinger Building, which gives everybody their own space. At the old location, Morrison shared her office with two others. Now she has an office to herself with a 15-foot high window and a view of the mountains. Morrison looked for a bigger office for about year and had an offer in for an Alvernon Way office before buying the Hittinger Building for about $1.1 million plus $650,000 for tenant improvements. "We love the building. We didn't just want to be in a bland office building," Morrison said. "What we paid (to buy and do tenant improvements) is pretty similar to what we would have paid for a B office building midtown." What does moving downtown allow MEB employees to do? "Breathe," said Theresa Durand, a human resources administrative assistant and a teaching golf pro on the side.

The downtown setting inspired Durand to lead twice-a-week noon walks for any staffers who want to join her. The Wednesday walk is a mile and Friday it's two miles at "a brisker pace." The noon start time so far has been fine for the three to 10 people who join Durand. What about summer with the same start time? "It's going to be hot," Durand said. People from The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress St., across the street wandered over to welcome MEB to the neighborhood. "They could have gone anywhere in Tucson," said Mia Schnaible, The Screening Room's marketing director. "They chose to come downtown. It really shows downtown is coming around. Dinnerware Artspace just had a huge art show. One North Fifth (Apartments) is almost all full up. You can really see the activity coming down here."

The Screening Room people got an impromptu tour of the MEB offices, fashioned by architect Bill Williams, partner at Engberg Anderson, and photographer Kerry Schwartz. Williams said he outfitted the interior with a "fun, exciting, dynamic, visual environment for the people working there." The purple, green and rusty orange walls play off the MEB corporate colors. The roll-up glass garage door that serves as the downstairs conference room's hallway wall plays off Williams' imagination. "(Morrison) was looking for a conference room that could accommodate the entire staff and also be small enough for a few people," Williams said. "If we could have a wall that could move . . . One was the idea of a glass garage door."

The district managers' and accountants' offices upstairs fill a big, high-ceilinged room with cubicles set off with partitions that curve downward from wall to hallway. That maintains open space but provides some privacy closer to the wall. "We wanted to do something a little more sculptural," Williams said. "In an open environment, people still want some privacy." Interior work also involved restoring the original wood floors upstairs. "They were painted, chipped with holes, tacked over with license plates," Williams said. "(Crews) salvaged wood where they cut holes for stairs."

Schwartz shot the 47-photo downtown series she calls Tucson Details that adorns walls throughout MEB. Some are recognizable images, but for many she focused on small details. "Just like the desert, downtown is just full of these subtleties," Schwartz said. "I was discovering things all over the place. It's all about looking deeper at the details. I discovered the fascinating details of downtown." All the photos are mounted on metal grille backdrops. The grilles give the photos a more industrial feel and expand the size of the image, Schwartz said. "I'm not interested in the whole mural or whole downtown," Schwartz said. "I'm looking at the components that tell the whole story. So many people know nothing about downtown. I like to photograph the details and subtleties." One photo is of a sign that says "Hope." Morrison knew where she wanted that photo. "We put up the Hope picture in the accounts payable department," Morrison said.

Tom McNeil, owner of TM Design, built the two zinc laminated conference room tables and the computer table behind Morrison's desk, and refashioned a 1950s desk for Morrison's office. "We took a postwar metal desk and applied zinc to the top of that," said McNeil, who also crafted the zinc-top bar at Maynards Kitchen in the Historic Depot, 400 E. Toole Ave. The artsy work setting makes sense for the MEB crew. Along with Durand's golf and walking passions, Morrison is a guitarist and songwriter whose CD "On the Inside" raised $12,000 for New Beginnings for Women and Children. Sabra Faulk is better known for her bass playing around town and her CD "28 Churches 5 Bars," but her day job is in accounts payable at MEB.

Downtown frustrations do come into play. Morrison wasn't allowed to have her own garbage bin so she arranged to share Grill's bin. MEB could negotiate only six parking spaces in the county-owned parking lot behind its building, but negotiated a deal at undisclosed "under market" rates to lease spaces at the Santa Rita Hotel, which is owned by Humberto S. Lopez, MEB's chief rival in the local apartment management arena. "There's not enough of it and it costs money," Morrison said about parking. Otherwise, though, Morrison and her crew are delighted to be downtown. "The rewards are it's a great, fun atmosphere," she said. "You just can't find a place like this anywhere else. You couldn't walk anyplace (for lunch). We have lunch together a lot more."