Downtown Tucsonan - November 2007 - (Page 10)

Vital Signs wa l k i n ’ t h e ta l k by Lee Allen ity officials have called Randi dorman “a pioneering urban developer in tucson”, and the former new York advertising/marketing consultant intends to offer an energy level consistent with that accolade. Giving up a life involving clients like Procter & Gamble, Bristol-Myers, Pepsi, and other brand names was easy for the Manhattanite who moved to tucson five years ago to marry architect Rob Paulus. that union has resulted in daughter skye and urban community development projects such as Ice House Lofts and Barrio Metalico (with partners Phil Lipman and warren Michaels), and (with warren Michaels) 22 brand new single-family modern living residences named indigoModERn at 3rd street and Richey Boulevard, billed as “the Epicenter of the action”. “we were told the Ice House wouldn’t work, it wouldn’t pencil out, and that we were crazy to do it and would lose our shirts. But sometimes you just have to go for it, and we had enough guts to move ahead and ultimately proved the naysayers wrong. In fact, we’re now being told that our project success was a catalyst for getting other developers interested in downtown. truth be told, we wanted our next project to also be downtown, but not enough was happening and opportunities were limited. we felt we’d been pioneers already and wanted to see someone else come in and do something before we went back into the area,” she says. “we bought the Ice House in May 2002 and five years later, there’s still not that much that has actually happened notwithstanding armory Park del sol, academy Lofts and a few others. I’ve been critical of some city officials and some developers for their lack of tenacity in getting things done. I’ve said to developers that if they’re not moving dirt, they’re part of the problem.” dorman is an equal-opportunity criticizer, and the speakyour-mind new York transplant is as tough on herself and her project plans as she is on other developers and regulatory agents. “when I got here, I couldn’t understand why more wasn’t actually happening because there’s so much potential for what can be done here, especially downtown. I couldn’t understand how the community could keep going without having a vibrant core and I refused to believe that core would be an eastside strip mall.” “we’re at a point in the city’s history where we have to live more responsibly, more in tune with the environment, and when you build a hundred ugly little frame stucco houses in the middle of the desert, you’re just slashing the desert, creating more sprawl and less of a community.” asked what it would take to make a difference in getting downtown moving, dorman actually thought about the question for a week before providing feedback via e-mail: “Part of the problem is that there is no simple solution and several things have to happen concurrently but the stars have not aligned yet. I have to believe they will because there is too much interest in downtown right now for it not to happen,” she replied. dorman admits there has been a lot of finger-pointing in the past and that private developers and the city have a part to play together in the future. “Private developers have to quit stalling and get their projects started. the MLK Building renovation is slated to begin soon and I’m thrilled that is going to happen. But other projects that should have been started already are languishing and it’s getting ridiculous. the city needs to stop accepting mediocrity and excuses, and rally around excellence and action. I applaud the steps they recently took to get the Presidio terrace project moving.” as a developer, her bias is toward the city mitigating some initial risk to get momentum going. “developing downtown is not a gift, it’s fraught with monetary risk and the first few developers will be faced with an untried process. a worthwhile incentive for the first couple of residential/commercial projects of significant size would jumpstart the process and provide impetus for developers waiting for someone else to do it first.” dorman also advocates that the city work more diligently to solve the problem of downtown crime and the homeless population; enact “blight” laws and vacancy fines to get tough on landlords who leave properties in ruin while waiting to sell at inflated prices; begin an immediate implementation (and expansion) of the streetscape Plan “this should be a no-brainer, let’s get it going”; improve downtown infrastructure, and communicate in a clear and meaningful way what the downtown development plan is. “Marketing is important and I don’t feel we have yet branded downtown in a compelling way. we have to figure out how to make people in the greater tucson area feel passionate and connected to downtown. Part of that will happen when more r a n d i d o r m a n things actually get underway there, but we have the ability to start communicating that message now.” dorman has been increasingly active in advocating in more official settings, as she has recently become a member of the Parkwise commission, which advises the Parkwise program of the city of tucson on issues relating to parking in downtown and surrounding neighborhoods and business districts. she has also joined the downtown tucson Partnership’s new Marketing committee, and was appointed by the city of tucson to serve on the selection committee for the convention Headquarters Hotel. the city council is expected to make a decision on that project on november 13. Randi dorman has been, and will continue to be, someone who makes a difference in matters that she cares passionately about, and she obviously cares passionately about downtown tucson. c 10 downtown tucsonan.november.07 http://tucsonstyle.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Downtown Tucsonan - November 2007

Downtown Tucsonan - November 2007 Contents From the Editor Downtown Lowdown Vital Signs Downtown Live Arts Galleries Guide Yourself Through Open Studios Performance and Film Events Museums Historic Downtown Billboard Classifieds

Downtown Tucsonan - November 2007

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