The US Department of Agriculture has a cool mapping tool that shows whether your location is considered a “food desert.”  Food deserts are defined as areas with low income and low access to supermarkets. http://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-access-research-atlas/go-to-the-atlas.aspx#.UYAFs7-9z6E Downtown Tucson is USDA tract 04019004063, and is not a food desert by the USDA definitions because “[there are] 0% [...]

We individuals can create urban open spaces by using some of the advantages in the tax laws to donate land to a qualified organization. Neighbor Space Baltimore has aggregated the federal and state tax incentives (based on the state of Maryland’s taxing structure):  http://www.neighborspacebaltimorecounty.org/Tax%20Considerations%20in%20Conveying%20Land.pdf San Francisco has catalogued its privately owned open spaces, and created [...]

The Huffington Post just launched a new blog called “What Is Working:  Small Businesses.”  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/what-is-working-small-businesses Interesting array of articles to help entrepreneurs and policy-makers understand what small businesses need to succeed.

from:  http://nextcity.org/daily/entry/you-need-to-earn-nearly-19-an-hour-to-rent-comfortably-report-says You Need to Earn Nearly $19 an Hour to Rent ‘Comfortably,’ Report Says | 03/25/2013 11:52am | 0 ALLYN GAESTEL | NEXT CITY Map showing the hourly wage a renter must earn to comfortably afford fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment in a given state. Credit: NLIHC Nearly half of African-American families in the [...]

  Downtown Tucson is the cultural hub of the region.  Downtown is home to the Arizona Opera, Arizona Theatre Company, Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson Symphony Orchestra, the Fox Theatre, the Rialto Theatre, Club Congress, Beowulf Theatre Company, and numerous galleries and music venues. Investment in Downtown Tucson supports our arts [...]

The National Retail Federation conducts surveys of how students shop, and their latest survey (July 2012) shows a whopping 7 out of 10 will use their tablets to shop for back-to-school essentials. From:  http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1418 School, College Shoppers’ Lists Still Long, According To NRF For Immediate Release Kathy Grannis (202)783-7971 or grannisk@nrf.com www.nrf.com/backtoschool Download NRF’s 2012 Back-to-School Cheat [...]

What are all these new folks going to need?  From http://www.bncollege.com/news/2012-back-to-college-shopping-what-are-students-buying/ Click on image above to view the full infographic. STUDENTS’ MUST-HAVE LIST So, what are the most wanted products this back-to-college season? MRY tracked dozens of items across several categories and found that while the big-ticket items like tablets, big screen TVs and gaming consoles [...]

These two commercials for Braniff Airlines produced in the 1960s apparently were such a success that the airline experienced triple the number of people traveling.   We always talk about needing to cut through the rest of the flotsam and jetsam with your message …  hope this inspires you to try something different!     [...]

Cheers all around! FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: C.J. Karamargin Vice Chancellor for Public Information and Federal Government Relations (520) 206-4850 ckaramargin@pima.edu PCC to Explore Expansion into Center of Downtown New presence would enhance workforce training, services for students Tucson, AZ – Pima Community College will explore expansion into the center of downtown Tucson in order [...]

Just launched — a crowd-sourcing platform that funds approved public projects!  Some cool ideas already looking for funding, but if you like this, contact us here at the DTP and let’s put together a project to fund new Holiday Lights for our Downtown!! http://www.citizinvestor.com (lights below are from Manila’s Downtown)  

Inside Tucson Business Editorial: At last, a positive check-up from:  http://www.insidetucsonbusiness.com/opinion/editorials/at-last-a-positive-check-up/article_1f6eaafc-7c6f-11e2-b50b-001a4bcf887a.html?utm_source=Inside+Tucson+Business+List&utm_campaign=39b1daaf86-Oct_15_newsletter_10_15_2012&utm_medium=email Posted: Friday, February 22, 2013 6:00 am By Inside Tucson Business | 0 comments The difficulty with living through historic or life-changing moments is that you don’t notice or feel them so much as they’re happening. It’s only in looking back and analyzing a situation and its ramifications [...]

from:  http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/02/26/simcity-is-smarter-than-you-even-if-you-re-an-urban-planner.html SimCity Is Smarter Than You (Even If You’re an Urban Planner) Feb 26, 2013 4:45 AM EST The latest version of the game is more sophisticated than ever—it’s even got a fake sewage system. Josh Dzieza plays a trial round with an actual city expert. Electronic Arts Inc. The new SimCity is bustling [...]

from:  http://www.kauffman.org/newsroom/kauffman-fasttrac-receives-sponsorship-from-aarp-to-pilot-entrepreneurship-course-for-baby-boomers-in-3-us-regions.aspx?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Opticast&utm_campaign=Ideas_At_Work_2_27_13 Kauffman FastTrac® Receives Sponsorship from AARP to Pilot Entrepreneurship Course for Baby Boomers in 3 U.S. Regions  Media Contact: Barb Schulte, Kauffman Foundation, 816-932-1103, bschulte@kauffman.org Aspiring entrepreneurs age 50+ to receive scholarships to help defray course costs KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Feb. 25, 2013) – Baby boomers residing in New York City, Southern California and South [...]

PlanetSoho Survey Shows Starting Your Own Business Can Lead to a Better Life Survey of 1,300 small office/home office owners shows they spend more time with friends and family, sleep better and some even have more sex! Press Release: PlanetSoho – Tue, Feb 19, 2013 SAN FRANCISCO–(BUSINESS WIRE)– PlanetSoho, the leading provider of easy-to-use online management tools and services for small [...]

from:  http://www.forbes.com/sites/martinzwilling/2013/02/18/10-ways-for-startups-to-survive-the-valley-of-death/ 10 Ways For Startups To Survive The Valley Of Death by Martin Zwilling, Contributor (I provide pragmatic advice and services to entrepreneurs and startups.) Source: Osawa and Miyazaki, 2006 The “valley of death” is a common term in the startup world, referring to the difficulty of covering the negative cash flow in the early [...]

From:  http://press.experian.com/United-States/Press-Release/experian-moodys-analytics-small-business-credit-index-shows-small-business.aspx Experian/Moody’s Analytics Small Business Credit Index shows small-business credit conditions deteriorate as delinquency rises and personal income growth slows Costa Mesa, Calif., Feb. 20, 2013 — Experian®, the leading global information services company, today announced that the Experian/Moody’s Analytics Small Business Credit Index tumbled in Q4 2012, falling 6.8 points to 97.3 from 104.1 in the [...]

NYC Mayor Bloomberg has issued a challenge to our country’s mayors to come up with innovative, implementable solutions to our cities’ problems. The top twenty finalists have just been announced — check out these ideas:  http://www.archdaily.com/334801/which-bold-idea-should-win-bloombergs-mayors-challenge/

Nick Arnett came through Tucson last year as part of his endeavor to find out what makes cities cool.  We posted about our meeting with him.  He’s 19 years old and taking time between high school and college to connect with innovators and visionaries in twelve cities.  His insights are fascinating, both from his perspective [...]

Registration is now open for the 2013 Innovation Day at UA Innovation Day at the UA provides the opportunity for faculty, staff, students and the community to share ideas, to network with each other and to find out what types of Research and Innovation are present at the University. The Technology Innovation Luncheon will give you a chance [...]

From:  http://urbanland.uli.org/Articles/2013/Feb/MccoyFinance?utm_source=uli&utm_medium=eblast&utm_campaign=021913 February 12, 2013 by Bowen “Buzz” McCoy Given the turmoil and volatility in financial markets that have been reported in the daily press, participants at the ULI McCoy Symposium on Real Estate Finance, held in New York City in December, were surprisingly optimistic. Their reasons: The Federal Reserve has suggested that interest rates will [...]

BusinessUSA.gov, a Presidential initiative designed to help small business and exporters Discover opportunities, Connect with the right resources and Grow was recently re-launched. BusinessUSA is the first fully integrated federal website, reflecting a new level of collaboration among federal agencies and a stronger commitment to more streamlined and efficient customer service. Check out the new BusinessUSA! [...]

The SBA just released its state-by-state report on the impact of small business on the economy.  In Arizona, small businesses represent 97.1% of all employers and they employ 44.8% of the private sector employees in the state.  Small business in 2010 employed 925,994 employees. Full press release below.   Small Businesses Employ 55 Million Workers, [...]

From today’s New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/05/technology/growing-numbers-of-start-ups-are-worth-a-billion-dollars.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&hp A Billion-Dollar Club, and Not So Exclusive By QUENTIN HARDY Published: February 4, 2013 SAN FRANCISCO — The number of privately held Silicon Valley start-ups that are worth more than $1 billion shocks even the executives running those companies. “I thought we were special,” said Phil Libin, chief executive [...]

Downtown Tucson is booming with new restaurants and new shopping opportunities.  We’ve been volunteering at the Gem Show, and the responses from Gem Show patrons to the changes in our Downtown are wonderful to hear. On the other hand, retail generally across the country is taking a hit.  Economic developers used to be able to [...]

Very interesting article brought to our attention by the wise folks of the Living Streets Alliance (http://www.livingstreetsalliance.org).                         Tucson’s “Bike Church” on Granada near Barrio Anita From:  http://truth-out.org/news/item/13645-how-bicycling-is-transforming-business Cities across the US discover that good biking attracts great jobs and top talent to their [...]

University of Arizona has always been at the forefront of the Arizona economy, from its start as a land grant college to the current work it is doing with its Tech Launch AZ. Prior to the current buzz about innovation, a smart group of people including Bruce Wright created a Center for Innovation, following the [...]

In case you missed this article from CNN/Money, Arizona ranked #1 in the Kauffman Foundation’s Index of Entrepreneurial Activity for 2012. See, http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2012/smallbusiness/1206/gallery.best-places-entrepreneurs/index.html?section=money_smbusiness The Kauffman Foundation’s web site is a treasure trove of information to aid the formation of business:  http://www.kauffman.org/  

Pima Association of Governments and the City of Tucson are conducting charrettes for the Streetcar Land Use and Development Implementation Plan. The plan will involve a study of existing and future conditions, the creation of a vision involving community input,  and ultimately a set of recommended actions for Mayor and Council to consider. The charrette [...]

courtesy of Bill Mackey (http://www.workerincorporated.com/)      

From:  http://azstarnet.com/business/local/infill-making-gains-here-although-many-don-t-get-it/article_fb127f21-c907-5909-85a7-c58714359c3e.html Encanto Village, an 11-home project north of El Con Mall, wears the trappings of infill on its sleeve. Homes are packed close together, close to their property lines. Lots fill less than a fifth of an acre. Many homes are two stories, in a neighborhood where most homes are a single-story. The colors [...]

Growing older does not just entail becoming a “senior” any more.  Those born between 1946 and 1964 are “leading-edge boomers” and are experiencing “adulthood II” with new careers, new loves, and new lifestyles including Downtown living.  The “silent generation” — those now between ages 67 and early 80s — also want the community and independent [...]

NPR had a wonderful piece on the radio the other day, calculating the economic impact of Santa if he did not have the aid of magic. Here are just a few of the positions Santa would need to fill to pull off Christmas. * 46 international distribution centers, to allow Santa to reload as he [...]

      The very wise Oscar Turner introduced us to the EB-5 program a few months ago.  It is formally known as the Immigrant Investor Program designed to stimulate job creation and capital investment with foreign investment.  Details on the program are here:  http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=facb83453d4a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=facb83453d4a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD Novogradac does seminars on various investment tools, and we recently [...]

We’ve been following the research being published on private investment following public investment in fixed-transit systems.  A number of cities, larger and smaller than Tucson, developed light rail systems, streetcars, and commuter rails over the past 10 years and researchers have been able to track the economic impact of the public investments. We have a [...]

Good news for mixed use projects, as detailed in this article from the New York Times. From:  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/28/realestate/commercial/mixed-use-developments-get-regulatory-break-from-fha.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&pagewanted=all&adxnnlx=1354656335-wWZY5vkJs0VoaG+3WHBO3w Regulatory Break for Mixed-Use Projects Raymond McCrea Jones for The New York Times In developing Ponce City Market in Atlanta, Jamestown Properties has considered condos more seriously since rules for mixed-use projects were relaxed. By JOE GOSE Published: [...]

I just got back from a weekend in rainy Northern California.  Some interesting articles from the SF Chronicle — one of the impediments to loan financing for startups is high risk/low reward  for the lender.  Ordinarily, that is offset by the lender either requesting very high interest or collateral/personal guarantees.  Lenders may also become investors [...]

  The most common question we get from our Downtown businesses is how can they get money for their business? Loans  Loans are the easiest way to infuse cash into your business. Start with the bank or credit union who has your checking and business accounts, and ask your account manager about loan programs that [...]

The following information is provided by the Tucson Modern Streetcar weekly newsletter, also found online at TucsonStreetcar.com. The construction team and contractor are working to make up for the delays that inclement weather caused during August. Construction activities are at a high pace, including a significant amount of night and weekend work. Please note: Roadway [...]

We are having conversations about how best to plan the continued success of Downtown Tucson.  Mapping projects are being undertaken by arts groups (TPAC), neighborhoods, the City of Tucson, our local planning genius Corky Poster, and Downtown Tucson Partnership has been tracking development along the streetcar line. Yesterday there was a radio piece on emergence [...]

  Ever wondered what it takes to be an entrepreneur? The professional and personal challenges, the high and lows, the failures and the success? Startup Weekend is a global grassroots movement of active and empowered entrepreneurs who are learning the basics of founding startups and launching successful ventures. It is the largest community of passionate entrepreneurs [...]

No, not baseball although it can involve a curve ball every now and then. The McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Arizona is commencing September 14 with a weekly pitch session for businesses and people with ideas about businesses. Bring your venture idea to McGuire’s panel of experts, make a three-minute pitch and [...]

The Arizona Center for Innovation is hosting Randy Gustafson, Vice President of Innovation from the Arizona Commerce Authority tomorrow from 10 AM – 12:30 PM. Please join an interactive Q&A session with Randy Gustafson from the ACA, to discuss the 2012 Fall Round of the Arizona Innovation Challenge grant program. Deadline for grant applications is September [...]

From the AZ Daily Star today, 8/16/12: Online giant Google has launched a service to help Arizona businesses get online for free for a year. Tomorrow, Google will formally roll out Arizona Get Your Business Online (www.ArizonaGetOnline.com), which offers businesses free websites, tools, training and other resources, as part of nationwide rollout in partnership with [...]

The AZ Daily Star ran a guest editorial August 2, 2012 pointing out that housing is starting to revive after our long recession.  See, http://azstarnet.com/news/opinion/guest-column-housing-recovery-is-real-figures-bear-it-out/article_4c10f0fa-9e53-5b39-9b3b-b26ce16a9f8e.html  Nationally, new housing starts are up 22% and in Pima County permits for new housing have increased by 29%. We are seeing this as well with new developments proposed Downtown.  Downtown [...]

Did you know that 70% of the decision to buy something is made while the customer is at your store? Evaluating and improving the appearance of your business and the customer experience is important.  Now, while we are in the midst of the summer doldrums and streetcar construction, why don’t you take a little time [...]

One of the main sources of public funding for economic development comes from the US Housing and Urban Development office. HUD administers various funds, including the Community Development Block Grant. CDBG funding provides support for those in need. Much of this funding may be used for activities that result in job creation for low and [...]

Are you a new business owner and are wondering about taxes and licensing? The City of Tucson Finance Department is hosting two workshops on rights and responsibilities for ‘Transaction Privilege (Sales) Taxation. Representatives will be answering questions and written materials (to find out on your own) will be made available. There will also be samples [...]

Downtowns across the country are growing and even outpacing suburban growth in recent reports. Time magazine reported this in their June 28, 2012 edition. The Natural Resources Defense Council has a recent blog posting summarizing what this means for development in Downtowns. Researchers are looking at Downtowns benefitting from the convergence of the two largest [...]

Pima Association of Governments has collected the most recent traffic counts for the entire area. It’s in an easy-to-use map here: http://www.pagnet.org/documents/rdc/gis/maptrafficcount2010.pdf There’s an inset for the Downtown Central Business District that reflects 15,000 – 21,000 cars using Congress and Broadway in 2010.

Interesting analysis of major cities and the relationship of density and public transit use. http://oldurbanist.blogspot.com/2012/05/density-and-transit-some-numbers.html It appears the strongest correlation exists between cities with high residential density and percentage of users of public transit.  Something to think about with regard to residential projects in Downtown Tucson.

We know we are in the Sonoran Desert, but are we also in a food desert? The expression “food desert” was coined by the USDA for areas without access to adequate fresh food. Despite our perceived lack of grocery stores in the area, Downtown is not were classified as a food desert. The latest map [...]

One of the interesting things to emerge from our high-tech life style is crowdfunding. The concept is similar to a bake sale or getting sponsors for you to run a race, only it is online and the community from whom you are asking for support is global. I contributed last year to a crowdfunding to [...]

US News and World Report published its annual ranking of schools. University High School and BASIS charter school ranked in the top ten out of 22,000 schools across the country. See: http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools We’ve got the amazing weather and natural beauty of the desert, a world-class research university here, top high schools, and a fabulous Downtown [...]

Yesterday we met with Nick Arnett, a fellow who has endeavored to travel to 12 cities in 12 months and see first hand how they rank in terms of innovative capacity, quality of opportunity, and placemaking.  He is blogging about his experiences here:  http://www.12cities12months.com/1212/About.html It got us thinking about quality of opportunity … we work [...]

By Teya Vitu A temporary Small Business Administration loan refinance program can help small businesses save up to 30 percent in monthly real estate loan payments. This temporary SBA 504 refinancing program can reduce the annual percentage rate of a business loan from a typical rate of about 6.5 percent to about 5.5 percent, said [...]

Everyone loves bacon, right? The conventional wisdom is that bacon makes everything better … Which leads us to a brief discussion of the Davis-Bacon prevailing wage requirements!  We have several Federal funding opportunities opening up in Tucson (the HUD 108 loan guarantee program should be launched any day now, and we here at the Downtown [...]

In our last blog posting, we referenced HUBZones.  HUB stands for Historically Underutilized Business zones.  The program helps small businesses in urban and rural communities gain preferential access to federal procurement opportunities. These preferences go to small businesses that obtain HUBZone certification in part by employing staff who live in a HUBZone. The company must also [...]

The City of Tucson has a Small Business Enterprise program which offers incentives to small businesses interested in doing business with the City of Tucson on contracts administered by the Procurement Department, which may include, bid preferences and subcontracting goals for construction, goods, services, and materials. For certification by the City of Tucson, please fill out [...]

We are proud of our partnership with the University of Arizona and particularly proud of the climate of innovation that the UA brings to our city. Please join us at the 2012 Innovation Day on campus. Details in this .pdf:  http://www.downtowntucson.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/20120213-Innovation-Day.pdf

PACE — Property Assessed Clean Energy — financing is a tool that allows property owners to finance energy efficiency retrofits and renewable energy projects in existing commercial buildings. Basically, the program allows property owners within the designated district to borrow the upfront costs of the energy retrofits from the local government in exchange for the [...]

Pursuant to the Request For Interest for the Marist College (see, http://www.downtowntucson.org/invest/opportunities/), we are arranging tours. Please email us (econdev@downtowntucson.org) or call us (520-837-6508) to arrange a date and time!

A shout out for City Manager Richard Miranda who had a nice letter published February 6, 2012 in the New York Times! DEAR EDITORS:  As Tucson’s city manager, I assure you that even with the departure of Major League Baseball spring training, life is good. Today, we are enjoying 75-degree weather and the arrival of [...]

Technicians for Sustainability 2012 Solar Grant Open Applications Tucson, AZ – February 6, 2012 – Technicians for Sustainability (TFS) is proud to announce the opening of our 2012 Solar Grant application process. Starting immediately we will be accepting applications until March 21st, the Spring Equinox. The TFS grant program is funded by 1% of our [...]

And we’re off!  Add this to the student housing and all the new restaurants opening, and you can see why Downtown Tucson is HAPPENING!!! from: http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/new-broadway-stone-building-to-house-rta-s-headquarters/article_d7f28a4e-813d-578c-baee-0d4e732a0f33.html New Broadway-Stone building to house RTA’s headquarters The RTA, the biggest investor in the Tucson modern-streetcar project, is planning to move into a new, streetcar-oriented building downtown. Robert Caylor [...]

The Marist College building is the only three-story adobe building in Southern Arizona, and was the first integrated school in Tucson. We are circulating a Request for Interest to possible developers/end users of the property which is ideal for a boutique hotel — or any other creative use! The Marist College is profiled in Sunday’s [...]

Building The Next Tucson Justin Williams, Startup Tucson February 7, 2012 In 2010, Boulder, CO was named “America’s Best Town for Startups.”  Why? “With the University of Colorado as an anchor and a backyard full of mountains as lifestyle bait, Boulder now has the highest concentration of software engineers per capita in the nation. It’s [...]

We will provide updates as soon as we have details, but wanted to make sure you knew this – from: http://azstarnet.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/pima-county-reduces-development-fees/article_be5f5930-51bf-11e1-acde-0019bb2963f4.html Pima County will give developers a break on fees for plans and plan extensions because so many projects are on hold due to poor economic conditions. “We all recognize the symptoms of the economy. [...]

The Federal government enacted a program about 10 years ago designed to stimulate private investment in low to moderate income areas of the country called the “New Markets Tax Credits” program. In a nutshell, tax credits are offered to qualifying projects in distressed and severely distressed areas (“severely distressed” is when the income is less [...]

We are still analyzing the information, but a preliminary review of the proposals outlined by the President last night has been conducted by Michael Novogradac.  Links to the original documents are included in his fine post:  http://novogradac.wordpress.com/  Quotes and items in italic below are from Mr. Novogradac’s piece. Major tax credits will be available for [...]

Historic tax credits are a terrific way to help finance the rehabilitation of older, historic buildings. There are two different programs, both of which apply to many of our Downtown structures. This post provides information about the 20% credit ONLY. To find out how to use the credit, consult with your accountant. The IRS guidelines [...]

By Jewell Anderson Planning Intern, Downtown Tucson Partnership Urban Planning MS Candidate School of Landscape Architecture and Planning University of Arizona Development has become less expensive in Tucson. In April, 2011, the Governor signed into law comprehensive changes to the impact fee regulations, all intended to reduce the cost of development. Impact fees are a [...]

Make sure you check out this very cool project sponsored by the Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce: FREE-RENT CONTEST TO SPOTLIGHT DOWNTOWN By Rhonda Bodfield, AZ Daily Star (January 17, 2012).  Downtown advocates say they’re so convinced downtown is a good place to do business that they’re putting their money where their assurances are. The Tucson [...]

Az Commerce Authority $1.5M Innovation Challenge Grant Now Accepting Applications The Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA) has announced its second $1.5 million Arizona Innovation Challenge, the country’s largest monetary award for a technology commercialization challenge. The ACA will award $1.5 million to the most promising technology ventures that participate in the 2nd Arizona Innovation Challenge (awards [...]

Microbusiness Advancement Center’s Business Planning Course is being presented by the Women’s Business Center. The series will cover all key elements of planning or re-tooling a successful business within its three planning clusters. This is a flexible and rotating schedule culminating in the development of a fully professional business plan. The work has been designed [...]

by Pamela Sutherland Originally published in Trend Report Downtown Tucson is continuing its momentum with more restaurants opening every month (Playground just opened on Congress and 5th Avenue, and Reilly Pizza plans its launch later this month).  Unisource opened its new building in November and now has approximately 500 people Downtown, and the FBI is [...]