Tucson Development Thread

[kaneui]

Originally Posted by Ted Lyons

http://www.downtowntucson.org/2012/0...artment-scene/

These announcements of new market-rate housing are a good sign of a more vibrant, 24/7 downtown on the horizon. Between the 1,070 students that will fill the upcoming projects in east downtown (Plaza Centro - 750, The Armory - 320), and the other 867 market-rate units in the works (West End Station - 239, Monier Apartments - 169, The Greenline - 320, One East Broadway - 39, and Depot Plaza - possibly 100+), there will be lots of new residents to support the street-level retailers in these and other buildings.

Once these residential buildings come online, I think we'll also finally see larger markets and grocery stores downtown--one on the east end and another in the new Mission District west of I-10.

[aznate27]

Originally Posted by Ted Lyons

This all goes to picking your battles. NIMBYs wouldn't be called NIMBYs if they weren't overvigilant about issues that don't affect them on a noticeable level.

Fighting the presence of a store that's open 24 hours a day and draws in potentially transient clientele at night isn't so deplorable. Actively preventing the mall from making itself economically feasible altogether is pretty shameful.

What??? Have you been to a WalFart after midnight??? Having a 24 hour store that brings in nothing but ghetto ass people with kids that should be in bed after 10pm into the El Con area, will only destroy property values in the well off neighborhoods surrounding the mall and raise crime. There's a reason why the webpage "Peopleofwalmart.com" was created! Maybe you should take a look, you'll understand why a nice neighborhood wouldn't want a 24 hour crap hole near them! The very fact that WalMart is trying to strong hold their way into an area that CLEARLY doesn't want them there (even the city has expressed concerns about them setting up shop there, WalMart threatened to go to court!) just shows how much they don't give a shit about what the concerns of a neighborhood they impact have. And FYI, BAD MANAGEMENT is the only reason it's taken El Con so long to recover! There was no reason that a major mall, located in the middle of a high income area, should have gone under. It was poor decision making by it's owners that almost did El Con in.

Why the hell anyone would support a business where their employees had to go to court just to get basic healthcare from THE LARGEST RETAILER ON EARTH as well as the richest family in America, is quite simply beyond me.

And yes, I called it WalFart.

[Ted Lyons]

Originally Posted by aznate27

What??? Have you been to a WalFart after midnight??? Having a 24 hour store that brings in nothing but ghetto ass people with kids that should be in bed after 10pm into the El Con area, will only destroy property values in the well off neighborhoods surrounding the mall and raise crime. There's a reason why the webpage "Peopleofwalmart.com" was created! Maybe you should take a look, you'll understand why a nice neighborhood wouldn't want a 24 hour crap hole near them! The very fact that WalMart is trying to strong hold their way into an area that CLEARLY doesn't want them there (even the city has expressed concerns about them setting up shop there, WalMart threatened to go to court!) just shows how much they don't give a shit about what the concerns of a neighborhood they impact have. And FYI, BAD MANAGEMENT is the only reason it's taken El Con so long to recover! There was no reason that a major mall, located in the middle of a high income area, should have gone under. It was poor decision making by it's owners that almost did El Con in.

Why the hell anyone would support a business where their employees had to go to court just to get basic healthcare from THE LARGEST RETAILER ON EARTH as well as the richest family in America, is quite simply beyond me.

And yes, I called it WalFart.

I don't think you understood my post.

[nickw252]

Originally Posted by Ted Lyons

I don't think you understood my post.

I think he took the exact opposite of what you said, and you two essentially agree on the issue. Reading comprehension ftl.

[andrewsaturn]

Hobby Lobby, Stein Mart, 2 others moving into prime Mervyn's site
By Roger Yohem

"Four retailers, anchored by a 50,000 square foot Hobby Lobby, will move onto the massive 7.4-acre Mervyn’s department store site at 5545 E. Broadway Blvd. that has been vacant since late 2008.

The other retailers include a 34,000 square-foot Stein Mart; a 3,200 square-foot Vitamin Shoppe; and a 3,250 square-foot Mattress Firm. The new leases were announced today (May 15) by property owner Benenson Capital Partners LLC, based in New York City, one of the nation’s oldest privately held real estate investment and development companies.

Popular arts and crafts merchant Hobby Lobby inked a 50,000-square-foot lease, making the national retailer the largest tenant at the center. The tenant is expected to take occupancy of the majority of the retail space formerly housing Mervyns in the last quarter of 2012, marking its first store in the Tucson market.

Hobby Lobby was represented by David Leathers of Northbrook, IL-based D.E. Johnson & Associates, Inc. in the lease negotiations.

Stein Mart, a high-end, off-price national retailer, will lease the remaining 34,000 square-foot balance of the former Mervyns space. The new storefront will serve as Stein Mart’s second Tucson location. Construction will commence immediately and the retailer is expected to take occupancy before the 2012 holiday season.

Jacksonville, Florida-based Stein Mart was represented by David Darr of The Place in San Antonio, TX.

The Vitamin Shoppe will occupy space at a multi-tenant pad located in front of the future Stein Mart store, along east Broadway Blvd. The Vitamin Shoppe is expected to move once construction is completed. The tenant was represented by Tom Woods of Colliers International in Phoenix; and Jerry Willis of Bialow Real Estate in Atlanta.

One of the largest specialty bedding companies in the world, Mattress Firm will locate next to the Vitamin Shoppe. The tenant is expected to open in early 2013. Darren Pitts of Velocity Retail Group in Phoenix represented Mattress Firm in the lease negotiations.

The site, located on a high-traffic volume intersection on the northeast corner of north Craycroft Road and east Broadway drew attention from interested retailers and developers almost from the time it closed. Strategically located between Park Place and El Con Malls, over 90,000 cars pass the parcel each day.

Mervyns LLC, based in San Francisco, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2008 but was unable to structure a financial recovery plan. The retailer had 175 stores in seven states.

By year-end, all locations had been closed.

Nancy McClure of CBRE’s Tucson office represented the landlord, East Broadway Tucson Co. LLC (Benenson Capital Partners), in negotiating all of the long-term lease agreements."

http://www.insidetucsonbusiness.com/...9bb2963f4.html

[aznate27]

Originally Posted by Ted Lyons

I don't think you understood my post.

Um, yep, you're right. I completely misread that first sentence of the second half, Thought you were defending WalFart, but infact you were seeing the side of the neighborhood. OOPS, sorry about that!

[andrewsaturn]

Finally some news about that prime land being developed. I never heard of these stores so here are their websites and pics if some of you haven't either. We can get an idea of how the plaza might look with their logos and whatnot. These stores are already in Phoenix, so if you're from PHX or shopped at these stores there, maybe let us know if you like them.

http://www.hobbylobby.com/

First one in Tucson



http://www.steinmart.com/

There's one on Stone Ave.

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/e...tab_selection=



The first one in Tucson.



Mattress Firm, multiple locations in Tucson.

[aznate27]

Originally Posted by andrewsaturn

Hobby Lobby, Stein Mart, 2 others moving into prime Mervyn's site
By Roger Yohem

"Four retailers, anchored by a 50,000 square foot Hobby Lobby, will move onto the massive 7.4-acre Mervyn’s department store site at 5545 E. Broadway Blvd. that has been vacant since late 2008.

The other retailers include a 34,000 square-foot Stein Mart; a 3,200 square-foot Vitamin Shoppe; and a 3,250 square-foot Mattress Firm. The new leases were announced today (May 15) by property owner Benenson Capital Partners LLC, based in New York City, one of the nation’s oldest privately held real estate investment and development companies.

Popular arts and crafts merchant Hobby Lobby inked a 50,000-square-foot lease, making the national retailer the largest tenant at the center. The tenant is expected to take occupancy of the majority of the retail space formerly housing Mervyns in the last quarter of 2012, marking its first store in the Tucson market.

Hobby Lobby was represented by David Leathers of Northbrook, IL-based D.E. Johnson & Associates, Inc. in the lease negotiations.

Stein Mart, a high-end, off-price national retailer, will lease the remaining 34,000 square-foot balance of the former Mervyns space. The new storefront will serve as Stein Mart’s second Tucson location. Construction will commence immediately and the retailer is expected to take occupancy before the 2012 holiday season.

Jacksonville, Florida-based Stein Mart was represented by David Darr of The Place in San Antonio, TX.

The Vitamin Shoppe will occupy space at a multi-tenant pad located in front of the future Stein Mart store, along east Broadway Blvd. The Vitamin Shoppe is expected to move once construction is completed. The tenant was represented by Tom Woods of Colliers International in Phoenix; and Jerry Willis of Bialow Real Estate in Atlanta.

One of the largest specialty bedding companies in the world, Mattress Firm will locate next to the Vitamin Shoppe. The tenant is expected to open in early 2013. Darren Pitts of Velocity Retail Group in Phoenix represented Mattress Firm in the lease negotiations.

The site, located on a high-traffic volume intersection on the northeast corner of north Craycroft Road and east Broadway drew attention from interested retailers and developers almost from the time it closed. Strategically located between Park Place and El Con Malls, over 90,000 cars pass the parcel each day.

Mervyns LLC, based in San Francisco, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in July 2008 but was unable to structure a financial recovery plan. The retailer had 175 stores in seven states.

By year-end, all locations had been closed.

Nancy McClure of CBRE’s Tucson office represented the landlord, East Broadway Tucson Co. LLC (Benenson Capital Partners), in negotiating all of the long-term lease agreements."

http://www.insidetucsonbusiness.com/...9bb2963f4.html

Damn. I was really hoping something more creative would have been put in that location instead. I was picturing something more like a 6 to 8 story mix-use residential and retail development. Something along the lines of the following examples (sorry about the large pics):

http://fortworthology.com/wp-content...f0b5188a_b.jpg



http://archpaper.com/uploads/image/b..._ground_06.jpg



http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JFxAyq19ae...ght_Layers.jpg



Would have been cool, but I'm not oppossed to the Hobby Lobby plan either. It'll be nice to see it be redeveloped for multiple retail stores rather than just one.

[Anqrew]

does this mean that ugly shack at the intersection of Broadway and craycroft will be torn down?

[Anqrew]

Originally Posted by aznate27

Damn. I was really hoping something more creative would have been put in that location instead. I was picturing something more like a 6 to 8 story mix-use residential and retail development. Something along the lines of the following examples (sorry about the large pics):

Would have been cool, but I'm not oppossed to the Hobby Lobby plan either. It'll be nice to see it be redeveloped for multiple retail stores rather than just one.

i was hoping the same too, since, that area has a lot of mid-rise buildings, would have been a great addition to have a neat development there.

[kaneui]

Bringing back a bit of mid-century nostalgia, the "Neon Pueblo" is coming alive again with the first group of approximately 30 historic signs that will be restored and relit over the next several years:



Four newly restored Miracle Mile neon signs have found a
permanent home at PCC's downtown campus.
(photo: David Olsen)



Downtown's refurbished Diving Lady sign replaces the "refrigerated" section with "Piccarreta Davis," the law firm
that owns and occupies the building that was once the Pueblo Hotel.
(photos: Downtown Tucsonan)



Diving Lady Sign is Alighted and Well
By Teya Vitu
Downtown Tucsonan
May 15, 2012

Bright paint, cool neon and a polka-dot bikini now adorn the Pueblo Hotel & Apartments neon sign that had stood dark, faded and rusted at the corner of 6th Avenue and 12th Street for a good four decades. The Diving Lady neon is glowing for the first time in nearly 40 years.

Restored 1950’s Tucson neon history has started lighting the nighttime streetscapes in recent weeks. Four neon signs from a bygone era have graced the north edge of the Pima Community College Downtown Campus on Drachman Road since April 25. The colorful neon tubes were illuminated on April 27 on these good-as-new signs from the Tropicana Motor Hotel, Medina Sporting Goods sign, the Magic Carpet Golf sign and an Arizonan Hotel/Canyon State Motor Lodge sign. The Pueblo Hotel & Apartments sign, aka the Diving Lady, followed suit as signmaker Jude Cook reinstalled the sign at its original location on May 8, did finishing electrical touches on May 9, and joined the building’s co-owner, Barry Davis at the Diving Lady’s grand lighting and robe unveiling on May 11.

Public interest in the Diving Lady has been especially intense. “It is very apparent that the people around here have ownership of that sign,” said Davis, who has wanted to restore the Diving Lady since he moved his law office into the building in 1993. “I honestly can’t say I expected this much attention. I’m surprised by it. It makes me happy.” Cook, owner of Cook & Co. Sign Makers, restored the Diving Lady and all the PCC Drachman signs except Magic Carpet. The Diving Lady stands out for him, largely because its in the same location as its been since about 1950 and it’s in the heart of Downtown. “This is the poster child of restoration,” Cook said. “It’s the first real total restoration. (Rusting) was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. All in all, she was in pretty good shape.”


For full article: http://www.downtowntucson.org/2012/0...hted-and-well/

[Anqrew]

BEN’S BELLS ADDS A KINDNESS MURAL AT ONE SOUTH CHURCH TOWER


Tucson’s tallest building, the glass tower now called One South Church, was meant to have a twin tower.

Instead, a 12-foot-tall utility plug for a second tower has decorated the Stone Avenue side of the plaza for 25 years.

Jeannette Maré took immediate notice of this concrete stump when she moved her Ben’s Bells office into the Charles O. Brown House, 40 West Broadway, a half block away and within plain sight of One South Church and its phantom twin.

As soon as Ben’s Bells’ January 20 grand opening simmered down, Maré bore down on One South Church. It took barely an ounce of her powers of persuasion to win over Buzz Isaacson, the CB Richard Ellis broker who represents One South Church.

“I was speaking with Buzz Isaacson,” said Maré, founder and executive director of Ben’s Bells. “He made it happen. The owners were very cool about it.”

http://www.downtowntucson.org/2012/0...-church-tower/

[Anqrew]

Marana considering 2012 annexations, plans to clear islands

The Town of Marana continues to combat the poor economy, first by showing a 2 percent growth in its projected 2012-2013 fiscal year budget, and now by planning future annexations of a county island in the Twin Peaks Interchange and north into Pinal County, to include the Pinal County Airpark.

The Twin Peaks Interchange experiences a high volume of traffic, and the annexation of the county island would give Marana complete control of commercial sales taxes from developing businesses in the area.


“This is a prime location for a lot of commercial development,” said Town Manager Gilbert Davidson. “It’s a new interchange that connects major portions of our community. Right around the interchange, you’re going to see gas stations, hotels, and restaurants. Also, on the Marana Spectrum, which is a large commercial master plan, there will be a lot of commercial retail.”

One of the commercial projects rumored to be in the works is a large shopping mall near the area, which would become the largest mall in Southern Arizona.

The town will also complement the Twin Peaks Interchange with Cascada, a 2,500-home master-planned community already in early development stages.

http://explorernews.com/news/article...9bb2963f4.html


found a page for the Marana Spectrum, which appears to have a whole new design and layout for the property, which can be found here.

http://legacy.kimcorealty.com/File/M...e_SAZM1553.pdf


I don't think the Marana Spectrum is the "shopping mall" however mentioned in the article. Maybe it is referring to Shops at Tangerine? I would love to have a new indoor shopping mall to the area especially one that claims to be bigger than the Tucson Mall.

[Ritarancher]

Originally Posted by Anqrew

does this mean that ugly shack at the intersection of Broadway and craycroft will be torn down?

I loved mervyns and cant believe it closed with the lines that lasted forever and all. anyway i think that change is good, a new highrise wouldnt be much good there, its a good reatail location. Now only if we could get Circuit City building to become a new store(s). I also think that that area is just a little too suburban for anything new.

[Ritarancher]

Originally Posted by Anqrew

Marana considering 2012 annexations, plans to clear islands

The Town of Marana continues to combat the poor economy, first by showing a 2 percent growth in its projected 2012-2013 fiscal year budget, and now by planning future annexations of a county island in the Twin Peaks Interchange and north into Pinal County, to include the Pinal County Airpark.

The Twin Peaks Interchange experiences a high volume of traffic, and the annexation of the county island would give Marana complete control of commercial sales taxes from developing businesses in the area.


“This is a prime location for a lot of commercial development,” said Town Manager Gilbert Davidson. “It’s a new interchange that connects major portions of our community. Right around the interchange, you’re going to see gas stations, hotels, and restaurants. Also, on the Marana Spectrum, which is a large commercial master plan, there will be a lot of commercial retail.”

One of the commercial projects rumored to be in the works is a large shopping mall near the area, which would become the largest mall in Southern Arizona.

The town will also complement the Twin Peaks Interchange with Cascada, a 2,500-home master-planned community already in early development stages.

http://explorernews.com/news/article...9bb2963f4.html


found a page for the Marana Spectrum, which appears to have a whole new design and layout for the property, which can be found here.

http://legacy.kimcorealty.com/File/M...e_SAZM1553.pdf


I don't think the Marana Spectrum is the "shopping mall" however mentioned in the article. Maybe it is referring to Shops at Tangerine? I would love to have a new indoor shopping mall to the area especially one that claims to be bigger than the Tucson Mall.

Any news about the shopping center that was supposed to open on Old Vail road and Houghton, or the shops at vail?

[Locofresh55]

Originally Posted by Anqrew

does this mean that ugly shack at the intersection of Broadway and craycroft will be torn down?

The old repair garage right?? It was listed as a "Tucson Oddity" and according to the article, there weren't immediate plans to tear it down. Considering they beefed up that area across the street by putting Five Guys, that brewery/restaurant and Party city, they need to beef up the old Mervyn's building as well. Just tear down the dang garage and put something decent there I say.

[andrewsaturn]

Construction set for controversial high-rise

Posted: May 16, 2012 5:10 PM


"TUCSON - Construction is set to begin on a controversial new high-rise near the University of Arizona Campus, but some Tucsonans are still fighting it.

After getting thousands of signatures on petitions for the city to reconsider an overlay ordinance that makes this building possible, the petitions were thrown out over certain legal disclaimers, but high-rise opponents won't give up the fight, even going to the Arizona Court of Appeals.

Meanwhile, the Chicago-based developer, Campus Acquisitions, already has a demolition permit and a permit to construct the foundation of the building.

The city confirms, the developer has not applied for the other necessary permits yet to finish the construction of the 14-story high-rise, and said some developers apply permit by permit, while others apply for one combination permit for the entire construction.

Campus Acquisitions tells us they plan to start construction sometime next week, and continue until they complete the building in time for students to move in by mid-August 2013.

Val Little with the West University Neighborhood Association said she and the petitioners believe these high rise buildings will be more of a barrier between the homes and campus.

"I feel good moving forward that so many people have supported this effort, so it would be really interesting if the Appeals Court decided in our favor and interesting to see how it played out and how many of our signatures were actually valid, but I think we've made a very powerful statement in Tucson," said Little.

For now, the developer is free to move forward with construction, but if the appeals court rules in favor of the petitioners, the city would have to re-check the petitions and possibly reconsider the overlay ordinance that allows 14-story buildings in the area."

http://www.kvoa.com/news/constructio...ial-high-rise/

I wonder what Val Little means when shes says that if the court favors them, they "made a powerful statement in Tucson"? A statement that investors are going to have a tough time starting a business in Tucson because neighborhood associations will be keeping them in line? If they win this one, they're hindering Tucson's effort to "grow" up. If they are rejected, I think the implications will be prominent that Tucson is changing and wants to become a modern great little city.

[andrewsaturn]

Originally Posted by Ritarancher

I loved mervyns and cant believe it closed with the lines that lasted forever and all. anyway i think that change is good, a new highrise wouldnt be much good there, its a good reatail location. Now only if we could get Circuit City building to become a new store(s). I also think that that area is just a little too suburban for anything new.

I agree, I don't think there is even a residential development directly on Broadway between Swan and Wilmot. It would of been nice if the development looked like the one shown above but that spot is good for retail.

[Ted Lyons]

http://www.insidetucsonbusiness.com/...a4bcf887a.html

[Patrick S]

Originally Posted by andrewsaturn

Finally some news about that prime land being developed. I never heard of these stores so here are their websites and pics if some of you haven't either. We can get an idea of how the plaza might look with their logos and whatnot. These stores are already in Phoenix, so if you're from PHX or shopped at these stores there, maybe let us know if you like them.

http://www.hobbylobby.com/

First one in Tucson



http://www.steinmart.com/

There's one on Stone Ave.

http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/e...tab_selection=



The first one in Tucson.



Mattress Firm, multiple locations in Tucson.

I've been to a Hobby Lobby where I'm from in southern Illinois (though this one will be newer - the one there was put in an old-school regular WalMart then when they built a Super WalMart it became a Bud's, as in Bud Walton, Sam's brother, picture a store for those who can't afford to shop at WalMart, scary, after Bud's a Hobby Lobby was put there - and it's in a much bigger city). It's basically like Michael's Crafts. It sells stuff for crafts, sowing, that kind of stuff.

BTW - I really hope they do tear down that shack. That place gives me the creeps when I drive by. I picture like Freddy Krugger living there or something.