Navigating Rio Nuevo
By Karen Thoreson
e’re continuing our virtual walk around Rio Nuevo, taking a look at the plans for the near future. Last month we strolled along the west bank of the Santa Cruz River. This month we cross over the river to the Civic Plaza.
From its conception, Rio Nuevo included a number of cultural, historic, and entertainment-oriented venues, and those remain key elements in the revitalization of Downtown. But creating the Heart of the City has also always been about major attractions and public spaces where the people can come together and enjoy a sense of community. That’s what the Civic Plaza area of Rio Nuevo is all about.
Next time you’re visiting the Tucson Convention Center for a concert, trade show, or other entertainment, stand on the west terrace and look out over the parking lots and vacant property that extends to Interstate 10. In the next few years, this area will become a veritable Heart of the City - a place literally all of us will visit at one time or another.
A Great Public Space
Stand on the west side of the Convention Center five years from now and you’ll be looking out over an exciting civic plaza – an urban open space similar to the grand places or piazzas in European cities. It will be a place for citywide events, celebrations, watching the fireworks or a place just to come together as a community. Beneath this open space will be parking for thousands of vehicles and buses, because a great many people will be coming to this area.
The UA Science Center
A major attraction will be built on the west side of the Civic Plaza, extending over I-10 and the Santa Cruz, bridging the east and the west portions of Rio Nuevo.
In November, the Tucson Mayor and Council unanimously approved this project - the University of Arizona Science Center - following similar approval by the Arizona Board of Regents, and the Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District Board and Citizens Advisory Committee. The Science Center will include a Unispherium Theater, a 24-Hour Observatory, a Mineral Museum, a giant screen theater, an Agricultural & Life Science Park, a Learning Resource Center, and a Butterfly Vivarium, among other science exhibits, educational venues, and public spaces. It will be a prime destination for residents, school children and tourists.
Transforming the Convention Center
Because of a serious lack of meeting and exhibit space, the Tucson Convention Center, which is providing you with this view over the future Civic Plaza area, can’t do a very good job of attracting conventions to our city. That means we’re missing out on much of our share of the $102 billion the convention industry brings to cities each year in this country. Making the Center more attractive to conventions, trade shows, and other large gatherings is possible, and a change in funding from the State of Arizona could make $30 million available to us in a few years to help do that.
Combining those dollars with matching funds from the City of Tucson would allow us to convert the current arena at the Convention Center into meeting and exhibit spaces to better meet the needs of convention and meeting planners. Transforming the Convention Center is a key to maximizing the number of visitors Tucson will see in the future, and it makes additional projects in Rio Nuevo possible.
A Civic Arena
One of those projects would be built to the northwest of where you are standing, beyond the Federal Court building. Redeveloping the Convention Center will only be possible if a new arena is constructed nearby. Some private sector developers have already shown an interest in teaming with Rio Nuevo to build and operate a new arena at the corner of I-10 and Congress Street. The arena would host all types of major shows and events, creating the opportunity for a greater number of major musical artists, sporting events, and special shows to visit Tucson than we’ve seen in recent years.
Places to Stay and Things to Buy
The development of the Civic Plaza portion of Rio Nuevo will make this area fully attractive to hoteliers and retail merchants. It’s likely that interest in a convention hotel and destination retail will come long before all the new construction is complete. The plan is to surround the Civic Plaza, at least in part, with shopping and lodging, creating a setting that will draw visitors, tourists, and convention attendees to Downtown, as well as provide alternative retail opportunities for community residents.
The Civic Plaza area of Rio Nuevo offers some of the greatest opportunities and some of the biggest challenges for our Downtown revitalization. Looking out over it from the Convention Center, you can see the potential is enormous, and the plans for realizing that potential are either in place or quickly coming together. There’s going to be a lot of excitement here during the next few years as these many projects come to fruition. There will be even more after they’re complete.
Karen Thoreson is a Downtown enthusiast and City of Tucson Assistant City Manager. Her primary responsibility is the Rio Nuevo Project and Downtown. If you have questions about Rio Nuevo or suggestions on topics for this column, please contact Ms. Thoreson at kthores1@ci.tucson.az.us.
