Downtown Tucsonan - January 2009 - (Page 4) D ow n tow n Low d ow n by Lee Allen Four buildings have been selected for the Downtown Façade Improvement Program. From left to right on both pages; The Rialto Block, W i g - O - R a m a a t C o n g r e s s a n d S c o t t , T h e S c r e e n i n g R o o m a t 1 2 7 E . C o n g r e s s , a n d 6 4 E . B r o a d w a y ( a t t h e c o r n e r o f S c o t t a n d B r o a d w a y. ) Unlike many alcohol-laden midnight promises made in smoky bars, this premise has some truth to it activity levels in Downtown Tucson will pick up in 2009 as more pieces of the puzzle get put in place. First, a pre-development plan by a consortium of well-known entrepreneurs ready to step forward to conceptualize and develop as many as 75 acres, backed up by $12 million in up-front earnest money. The group (Downtown Tucson Development Co., LLC) includes Williams and Dame, already re-working the former Martin Luther King Jr. facilities into One North Fifth; financier/ developer Scott Stiteler; developer Jim Campbell, and restaurant owner, K.C. An. One of the group members called the measure a win-win-win-win…for himself, for developers, for the city, and for Tucson’s populace. The group has ambitious plans that will involve lots of square footage on the east end of downtown including much of the Warehouse District as well as fix-up funds to upgrade the Rialto block and the Rialto Theatre and options on Ronstadt Transit Center, land west of the Historic Train Depot, and other sites. In unanimously approving a goahead, councilmembers were lavish in their praise. “This concept at this time moves us in the direction of building a successful downtown,” said Rodney Glassman. “We have a deeply-held belief in the value of our city core and all of downtown will become enlivened through efforts like these,” added Karen Ulich. “This is the first collaborative we’ve seen that pools resources into one pocket with one vision for revitalization,” noted Shirley Scott. “Downtown is everybody’s neighborhood and there’s no empty gestures here. We’ve got it now and it’s going to work well,” said Steve Leal. Mayor Bob Walkup called it “an historic time for the city, the council, staff, and the private sector,” while Nina Trasoff referred to the vote as “a time to celebrate before we roll up our sleeves and get to work with these proven entities who have done this kind of thing before.” City Manager Mike Hein went even further, calling it “…an unbelievable opportunity to see revitalization take place on a magnitude few thought could or would happen.” The man who sits in the driver’s seat for Rio Nuevo downtown development, Greg Shelko, says he has one major regret in the whole evolving scenario that unrealistic promises were made too early. “If I could take just one mulligan, one re-do, it would involve past promises that everything would get done and get done tomorrow. We didn’t do it right in telling people what they could expect to see and when we would deliver on those promises. I’d welcome a chance to re-set the table and re- set expectations to do a better job of telling people how long it really takes to build a downtown.” Shelko says 2008 was a long year, but a good year, with significant progress made in establishing a capital investment program for Rio Nuevo monies that gave certainty to partners that firm funding commitments were in place. “The current $78 million in bond sales funding gets the ball rolling. We’ve reaffirmed strategic objectives in terms of convention center/museum/hotel/arena and infrastructure funding and we’re currently doing what government needs to do, invest money to attract investment. We have to keep focusing on public projects and the things that will make the private sector perform when economic conditions improve.” In 2009, Shelko’s work priorities involve the modern streetcar; the Sheraton Convention headquarters hotel, and the convention center expansion where design and development as well as construction and financial packages will be completed this year. Arena and hotel operators have been selected and “we hope to have a design team under contract by early January” as well as releasing solicitations for a proposal for a construction manager to build the arena. “All of these projects will be somewhat invisible in ’09,” Shelko says, alluding to a 12 month design development phase because of the enormity of each endeavor. “Our goal is to have those buildings start to come out of the ground 12-14 months from now. “We’ve got a lot to do while the economy is down so we’re not an obstacle to rapid development when the market changes and the private sector is ready to ramp up activity levels. Every single project, no matter how large or small, is a building block for the next deal and confidence grows as things get accomplished. This is high-risk real estate development but there’s opportunity today in downtown and there will be much more in the future.” PUTTING ON A NEW FACE The Downtown Tucson Façade Improvement Program has put money where its plans are and contract details will be drawn up this month to upgrade four initial sites. “When we announced funding ability in the spring of 2008, we got nearly two dozen applications representing 30 buildings,” said Glenn Lyons , CEO of the Downtown Tucson Partnership. The program, designed to preserve or restore the historical visual character of buildings built before 1948 within a specific geographic area, is jointly administered by the City of Tucson and Downtown Tucson Partnership. Funds are being made available from a long-time account at Business Development Finance Corp. in the form of interest-free forgivable loans to Rialto Block owner Don Martin; Ron Schwabe, owner of the site at 64 E. Broadway; the Kim family, owners of Wig-O-Rama at Congress and Scott, and Claudia Jesperson, on behalf of The Screening Room, 127 E. Congress. Four “Alternates” (Beowulf Alley Theatre, Art Fare, 111-117 E. Congress and 200 Block Congress) await consideration of additional project funding. “We hope this is the first phase of a project that will go on for a number of years to restore downtown buildings. The one ace-in-the-hole we have is the character and history of the old buildings that are currently covered up awaiting restoration of their historical character,” said Lyons. SOUPS ON! Maynards Market & Kitchen in the Historic Train Depot, 400 North Toole Avenue, opened for business during the holiday season. The restaurant is currently open 7-days, with the kitchen open until 10pm. The market side of the place is also a 7-day-a-week operation (7am-10pm) although shelves won’t be fully stocked until the end of this month. The concept behind the project is a simple one: “Buy locally when you can. Buy responsibly when you can’t with a slant for locally-grown and produced.” “Maynards will be billed as a French bistro with a Mediterranean influence and an American twist” says Executive Chef Andrew Hardt. The eatery seats 46 with a large 16 person community table available in the market itself. “I’m glad to see downtown Tucson start to awaken,” says the chef. SHOW ME THE MONEY In response to previous queries and comments about Rio Nuevo project funding, how much has been allocated and for what, “Interested parties can now find a summary review of how every penny of Rio Nuevo money has been spent to date,” says Ward 6 Council member Nina Trasoff, chair of the Rio Nuevo/Arts/Culture/History Subcommittee. “This information will be updated every month.” Log on to www.tucsonaz.gov/rionuevo/maps_and_ plans/RioNuevoFlowofFunds.pdf. 4 downtown tucsonan.january.09 http://www.tucsonaz.gov/rionuevo/maps_and_plans/RioNuevoFlowofFunds.pdf http://www.tucsonaz.gov/rionuevo/maps_and_plans/RioNuevoFlowofFunds.pdf
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