Downtown Tucsonan - May 2008 - (Page 6)

D ow n tow n Low d ow n “THEY’RE AT THE POST” by Lee Allen & Downtown Tucsonan Staff SCHEDULE THE MOVE The 7,600-square-foot (plus basement) two-story building at 116-120 East Congress now has a new owner. “A local real estate management firm is taking over the whole building,” says Warren Michaels of Metro Realty Advisors, who bought the property in 2000 as part of his portfolio holdings. The location had been listed at $1,090,000. “Renovation is scheduled to begin in late summer with a 90-120 day goal to allow for move-in occupancy around the holidays,” says Michaels, who restored the façade several years ago. “Bringing 27 people to this office space will add another level of vibrancy to the downtown revitalization effort. Clients will be coming downtown and the added traffic will demonstrate that something is really happening here.” “Our goal is to break ground on the Post Lofts project in midto-late-May,” says Don Bourn of Bourn Properties. “Lenders are approving our construction contract, and insurance details have been completed, so we feel pretty comfortable that we just have to dot the ‘i’s’ and cross the ‘t’s’ and dirt will begin to fly. Once that starts, we expect completion in 16-to-18 months.” “Excitement is building over the 52-unit luxury condominiums in the heart of downtown with over half the units spoken for,” says Post Lofts sales manager Brett Latta. “Twenty-three units remain, starting at $274,000.” “Despite negative publicity and a perception of delay, we’re not that far off-target,” Bourn says. “We first submitted our RFP three or four years ago, a plan involving an adjacent piece of city property that never happened. In mid-2006, we met with the city, revised our plan, and signed a development agreement which had us starting construction in the fall of 2007. We had some optimistic timeframes then and were hopeful things would go smoothly until the market went down and construction prices went up. That’s not out of the ordinary for any kind of development, so in reality, there hasn’t been a substantial delay in getting underway. I think the fact we’re able to start a project like this in the current residential marketplace is a testament to the project itself and people’s desire to have a high quality downtown living experience.” arizona theatre company executive director jessica andrews has r e c e i v e d t h e g o v e r n o r ’s a r t s a w a r d . BUYER WANTED In the first of five collaborative projects between the City of Tucson and the public-private Downtown Tucson Partnership, the historic 101-year-old MacArthur Building, 345 E. Toole Ave., is on the market. Although the three-story, 22,000-square-foot building is city property (bought in 2005, along with adjacent parking that is not part of the current sale, for $2.9 million), DTP has been asked to spearhead the sale, vetting bidders and their proposals. “This is the first project where we’ll help market buildings for the city and county and make judgments about bidders, terms, and logic. Request For Proposal bids are due back by May 22 and we’re looking for the highest purchase price from a qualified buyer who can bring a use to the building that will boost downtown,” says interim DTP CEO Glenn Lyons. “The whole idea is to get the building back into the private sector. Somebody’s going to buy the building (appraised last September at $1.7 million), the question is when and at what price and how quickly they can move. We’ll try to get our recommendation to the City Council for their approval in early July.” The triangular-shaped building no longer has adjacent surface parking, so potential new owners will have to work with existing facilities until the new underground garage next door at Depot Plaza is completed. “We just need one good offer,” says Lyons. The current major tenant, a staff of three dozen from the city Urban Planning and Design Department, is slated to relocate to the City Transportation Department Pima Building, 149 N. Stone Avenue, by the end of June. With MLK/One North Fifth renovations already in progress and Post Lofts finally getting underway, Bourn sees the projects as catalysts for other development in the core of downtown. “These are sparks that will help ignite Congress Street into a strong commercial and entertainment spot.” OTHER LOFTY IDEAS Despite a slow market, over half the loft-style condos at Academy Lofts on 15th Street have been sold, and the 2005 trendsetter, Ice House Lofts at 16th and Park, remains a viable property. The First Baptist educational building at 5th Street and 6th Avenue is in development stage. Hope still exists that ground will be broken on the One West site at Speedway and Stone sometime this year. And condos in the $350,000-$500,000 price range are now under construction at 44 East Broadway. FORWARD MOVEMENT While several different projects are overcoming inertia and beginning forward movement (like recent lease approval for the Richard Oseran/Ross Rulney restaurant and market in the train depot), quantum progress is being reported on the nearby One North Fifth project renovation. “We’re scheduled for July occupancy of our 96 residential units,” says project manager Matt Brown of Williams and Dame. “To date, model units have been completed in the tower and interior renovations are currently underway throughout the building. Once new windows are installed and the fire system reactivated, we’ll open the building up to prospective tenants who want to tour the models.” The retail portion of the project facing Congress is scheduled for completion in September with businesses beginning movein by the end of the year. “Because we anticipate a phased occupancy (residential in July, retail in September), we may possibly schedule two ‘semi-grand’ reopenings,” Brown says. PUT ON A HAPPY FACE Little known and even less reported, the Façade Improvement Program should make headlines sometime this month. “We’ve got buildings downtown, some vacant or with temporary tenants, that are not in good repair,” says DTP’s Glenn Lyons. “We’ve been working with the city manager to provide matching funding for owners who want to renovate those structures. There’s $650,000 available from a bond issue of 20 years ago and we’re looking at some type of forgivable loan program between the city and private owners. Five or six renovations of roughly $100,000 each could be possible and hopefully, if results on the first phase are positive, additional funding might be found to continue it.” the historic 101-year-old macarthur building, 345 e. toole avenue, is on the market. 6 downtown tucsonan.may.08

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Downtown Tucsonan - May 2008 Contents From the Editor Downtown Lowdown Vital Signs Downtown Live Arts Galleries Performances Vital Signs Continued Events Film Museums Billboard Classifieds

Downtown Tucsonan - May 2008

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