Downtown Tucsonan - December 2007 - (Page 7)

photo: adam cooper-teran The 13th Annual Downtown Parade of L i g h t s & F e s t i v a l w i l l b e h e l d o n S a t u r d a y, December 8. G a r f i e l d Tr a u b’s S h e r a t o n H o t e l proposal was one of three projects selected to be a part of the new convention center hotel complex. It now appears that the Greyhound bus terminal w i l l b e c o m p l e t e d s o m ew h e re i n e a r l y 2 0 0 9. Projects. Downtown firm, Vint & Associates, is architect for the fire station project. The awards are bestowed to “honor diverse projects and the organizations and individuals of the collaborative teams who make their goals reality,” according to Ramon Gaanderse, MPA Executive Director. Downtown Links beat out another Downtown project nominated for the same award—the 4th Avenue Underpass. A WHITER SHADE OF PALE With Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson officials subtly noting: “we live in a beautiful city that needs freshening up,” paintbrushes have appeared for the first time in nearly eight decades at St. Augustine Cathedral, 192 S. Stone Ave. The plain white downtown landmark is donning new duds in the form of natural hues that the designer hopes will reflect sunlight and emit a glow of flecks of gold, red and purple from the building’s ornamental stone. The new color, a custom blend in a peach/cream tone, is meant to highlight the building’s architecture and current Spanish colonial revival façade. Trim will be in a deep sandstone hue. The $100,000 project cost was financed by private donations. An interior restoration project is anticipated in the future, part of a planned $28 million capital campaign to create a cathedral square in the four-square-block area bordered by Stone and Church Avenues and Ochoa and McCormick Streets. AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN For the 5th year in a row, Tucson has been ranked in the upper half of the annual Top Ten digital cities survey by the Center for Digital Government, this year as the thirdbest digital city with a population exceeding 250,000. The survey examines how city governments utilize digital technology to better serve residents through efficiency, accessibility, and convenience. “Our site offers access to information increasing resident participation and interest in government,” says Ann Strine of the city’s public information office. Phoenix was tied with Miami, Florida as the number six city in the top ten while Mesa was ranked 10th. ANCESTRAL INVESTMENT The Tohono O’odham Nation has awarded more than $65,000 in gaming revenue funds to Arizona State Museum to help in the design of the Native American heritage exhibit in Tucson Origins Heritage Park adjacent to ASM and several other museums. Just as Tucson’s Downtown redevelopment project celebrates earliest day origins of culture and history of residents who lived at the foot of “A” Mountain for 4,000 years, representatives of those first inhabitants are reinvesting culturally, intellectually, and financially. The award will ensure tribal voices continue to be represented in the design and development of the planned 30-acre cultural campus west of I-10 and south of Congress Street. “Archaeologists and ethno-historians have studied the site, and native peoples have told stories of how their ancestors lived. This research and those stories will combine to tell a vivid, multi-vocal history of Tucson,” says Alyce Sadongei, ASM’s assistant curator for Native American relations. “A great partnership for the city, the museum, and the Tohono O’odham nation,” says Greg Shelko, Downtown Development director for the City of Tucson. Consultations are expected to be on-going into 2Q08. Initial consultations with tribes culturally affiliated to the site have resulted in naming the Native American area of the park as S-cuk Son, the same O’odham word that named Tucson as the city located “at the base of black mountain.” GRAVEYARD TRANSFER It could be next spring before excavation is completed on a former Downtown graveyard, the site of the future Justice/ Municipal Court complex near Stone Avenue and Alameda Street. Eight hundred remains from the early 1860s have been found to date. Several hundred more bodies are anticipated. Unless identified as of tribal descent, the remains will be reburied at All Faiths Cemetery. FESTIVE FREEBIE LUCKY 13 Tucson’s annual Downtown Parade of Lights & Festival is scheduled for December 8th and this year’s 13th holiday classic is expected to draw more than 30,000 people to the streets of Downtown. The day will be punctuated by activities all over Downtown, with “Holiday Express at the Depot” kicking it off. The fun begins at 10:00am at the historic Depot on Toole Avenue, with the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus on a shiny Harley. The Clauses will pose for photos at the Locomotive 1673, which will come alive with sounds and “steam”. Story time at the Depot will be held from 11:30am until 1:00pm. A local artisan show, hosted by Autumn Moon Productions, will be held from 10:00am until 5:00pm. At 4pm, the Festival at Armory Park, 220 S. 6th Ave., gets underway, continuing until 8:30pm. Mayor Bob Walkup will preside over a tree-lighting ceremony in Jacome Plaza (Stone Avenue and Pennington Street) at 5:45pm…just enough time for spectators to line the two-mile-long parade route for the 6:00 parade. The parade begins at 6th Avenue and 17th Street, meanders north along Stone, west on Broadway, north on Church, east on Pennington, south on Stone, and east on Congress, and ends on 6th Avenue, just south of Armory Park. Visit www.downtowntucson. com for parade and festival details including a map of the parade route, where to watch, and where to park. In case you miss the parade, you can watch it live or replayed on Channel 99 (Cox) or 74 (Comcast) on Access Tucson. 40 NEW JOBS ATOP DOWNTOWN Downtown will add 40 new private-sector jobs when Ecolab, a St. Paul, Minnesota-based cleaning chemical company, moves into the penthouse space of Tucson’s tallest building, according to a press release. Ecolab has leased the top two floors at UniSource Energy Tower at 1 S. Church Avenue, occupying about 16,000 square feet. The national support center for Ecolab’s Vehicle Care Division, which develops products for the professional carwash industry, will move into the 22nd and 23rd floors as well as part of the 21st floor. The last tenant in the tower’s penthouse space was Spartacom Technology Company, which left in 2004. With the addition of Ecolab, the occupancy rate of UniSource will be approximately 97%. Crystal McGuire of Buzz Isaacson Realty negotiated the lease. Mark Aggerbeck, site manager for the Vehicle Care Division, said, “We believe moving to Downtown Tucson will provide more conveniences for our employees and position our division for future growth.” TOOLEY’S ON CONGRESS One of Tucson’s less-heralded luncheon locations is Tooley’s Café on South Park Avenue in The Lost Barrio. Now there’s a new site for downtown diners, Tooley’s on Congress (at Fifth Avenue). “Downtown needs a nice place with a nice atmosphere for people to stop in for a coffee, a WiFi connection, or something to eat,” says owner Patricia Schwabe. “We’re open from 7am till 11pm and will have lots of baked goods in the morning, small pizzas, tamales, salads, and soups for lunch and a variety of menu items for dinner.” Intimate seating best describes the dining atmosphere, as the place is small at 900 square feet. december.07. downtown tucsonan 7

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

Downtown Tucsonan Contents From the Editor Downtown Lowdown Vital Signs Holiday Shopping Downtown Live Arts Galleries Performance Events and Film Holiday Events Museums Historic Downtown Billboard Classifieds

Downtown Tucsonan - December 2007

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