More Parking Downtown
Parking in Downtown just got a lot easier. In June, the City of Tucson repaved and repainted Broadway Boulevard and Congress Street, reducing both streets to two one-way lanes. The change adds 150 on-street, angled parking spaces and makes Downtown more pedestrian-friendly.
Residents and businesses on Congress and Broadway are also benefiting from quieter streets. The city replaced the old asphalt with a rubberized formula that reduces traffic noise.
“Our interest in doing this has more to do with Downtown redevelopment than with the transportation perspective,” explained Jim Glock, Tucson director of transportation. “The Rio Nuevo master plan calls for two-way traffic to reduce traffic passing through Downtown and increase parking spaces. Seventy percent of the traffic is through traffic, and we would rather have them stop Downtown and visit our businesses.”
In addition to supporting the region’s redevelopment goals, re-striping Broadway and Congress at this time allows the City to prepare for upcoming construction on the 4th Avenue underpass. Near the end of the year, construction on the underpass will require a detour around the site.
New Director Joins Art Museum
The Tucson Museum of Art recently selected Robert Knight as the new executive director. With a resume that includes posts as the executive director of the Yellowstone Art Museum, senior curator and founding director of the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, and Vice President of the Scottsdale Cultural Council, Knight brings a wealth of experience to the job. He also holds advanced degrees from both Harvard and Columbia and has worked in the gallery and art education arenas.
Knight is filling the post left open by Laurie Rufe’s departure earlier this year. He will officially begin his new role August 22, only three weeks before the kickoff of the 2005-2006 season on Sept. 10. His first task will be overseeing exhibitions of work by renowned Tucson artist Bailey Doogan, fellow Tucson artist Gwyneth Scally, and New Mexico artist Florence Pierce.
“The museum is blessed with a first-rate, highly respected professional staff as well as an intelligent and dedicated board of trustees.” Knight said in a press release. “I am honored to be given this opportunity to build upon the great legacy of quality programs and events established by my predecessors – I can’t wait to get started!”
Mexican Film Festival Seeking Sponsors
Puro Mexicano: Tucson Film Festival needs sponsors to bring the U.S.’s first and only Mexican film festival to Tucson. Festival creators are looking for financial support including cash gifts and in-kind donations to cover production costs. Sponsorship packages are available at a variety of levels for individuals and businesses.
“With our heritage and proximity to both the Mexican border and the LA film industry, Tucson is the perfect place to hold the first annual U.S. festival that celebrates Mexican and Mexican-American Film,” said Shelli Hall, director of the Tucson Film Office.
The inaugural festival will run November 4–6 with screenings at the Rialto, the Tucson Convention Center’s Leo Rich Theatre, the Temple of Music and Art, the Loft Cinema, the Screening Room, the University of Arizona, and a Downtown outdoor venue. Once renovations are complete in the historic Fox Tucson Theatre, the Fox will be the official home of the Puro Mexicano: Tucson Film Festival.
The festival is overseen by Herb Stratford, Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation Executive Director; Shelli Hall, Tucson Film Office Director; and Vicky Westover, Development Consultant and former Director of the Baltimore International Film Festival.
For sponsorship information, contact festival coordinator Al Wynant at (520) 546-6975 x 13 or visit www.tucsonfilmfestival.org.
Council Approves Greenway Plan
Last month, the Tucson City Council approved final plans for the El Paso and Southwestern Greenway project. The plan features a multi-use trail that will enable people to easily bike, jog, or walk to Downtown from nearby neighborhoods. The path will also provide access to proposed civic and cultural facilities.
“We’re trying to change and improve the quality of life Downtown, said Greg Shelko, Rio Nuevo Director. This project contributes to and enhances that. From the beginning, I felt we needed to pursue the feasibility of this project to the fullest.”
Following the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad track, the project will preserve what remains of the historic route. It will be a linear park, running from Estevan Park to 29th Street in South Tucson. When complete, the project will highlight Tucson culture with interpretive exhibits and will be landscaped with native Sonoran Desert plants.
“The City is committed to moving forward with the realization of the greenway,” said Janice Miller, project manager for the City of Tucson Planning Department. “We have applied for a Transportation Enhancement Grant for the first phase of the greenway, between 22nd and Cushing Streets. If awarded, the city will have secured $500,000 for this .75-mile segment. The City will continue ongoing collaboration with Pima County, South Tucson and all stakeholders to identify other funding sources and activities in pursuit of building the full greenway.”
Bring’s Earns Award for Excellence
The Arizona Funeral Directors Association recently honored Bring’s Funeral Home Inc. with the Funeral Home of the Year Award. The award recognizes funeral homes that excel in caregiver service, education, community service, technical skills, library and media resources, professional meeting attendance, in-house staff training, and public relations.
“We strive really hard to educate people,” said Belinda Motzkin Brauer, facilitator for Bring’s Funeral Home. “It’s important to us to have our peers recognize our efforts.”
Bring’s Funeral Home has been a part of Downtown Tucson since 1928 and has been family-operated for three generations. To be eligible for the Funeral Home of the Year Award, Bring’s and other nominees were required to complete six projects in three of eight specified categories. With an active community outreach program, Bring’s exceeded the requirements by completing projects in every category.
This is the fourth year that Bring’s Funeral Home has received the Funeral Home of the Year Award. Programs such as grief support groups and informational seminars have helped Bring’s stand out year after year. The business, located at 236 S. Scott Ave., also sponsors many Tucson events and provides educational opportunities to students at the University of Arizona and Pima Community College.
Rialto Unveils New Marquee
The east end of Congress Street is shining brightly with a new neon marquee lighting up the night. On June 24, the Rialto Theatre unveiled its new marquee with a special concert to celebrate the event. Previous management of the Rialto had secured a Back to Basics grant from the Mayor’s office, and the Congress Street Historic Theatres Foundation, which manages the theatre on behalf of the Rio Nuevo District, facilitated the final design and completed the project. Congress Street Investors supplemented the Back to Basics funding for the marquee, which cost just under $100,000. The design is partially based on the marquee of 1948–1963, when the Rialto was known as the Paramount Theater.
We Won A Cactus Quill!
Sometimes you just have to toot your own horn. Last month, the Downtown Tucsonan won a Cactus Quill Award for Excellence in tabloid publication from the Tucson Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators.
Each month we strive to feature all the news from Downtown including attractions, businesses, history, and redevelopment. As the Tucson Downtown Alliance’s marketing director Dave Olsen explains, “The Downtown Tucsonan was created as a marketing tool to inform and educate the public about Downtown Tucson. The purpose of our effort was to showcase all that is happening downtown on a monthly basis and to package it into a comprehensive free publication, available to residents and visitors of Tucson.”
The Downtown Tucsonan has an average circulation of 13,000 copies and is distributed throughout Downtown, as well as Fourth Avenue, the University, Tucson International Airport, various hotels and resorts, and at all public libraries and bookstores in Tucson.
VantagePoint LLC Purchases Manning House
This fall, the historic Manning House will become part of VantagePoint, LLC’s eclectic mix of Tucson properties, but current owner Colleen Concannon won’t be letting go completely. As part of the purchase agreement, she joins the group of investors that plans to turn the mansion into one of Downtown’s finest places to stay.
“We will probably turn it into a hotel, condo, or mixed-use project,” explains Chris Walker, vice president of VantagePoint. “Whatever we do, it will complement Downtown. Our interests are to keep it open to Tucsonans; it won’t be offices.”
Walker also credits VantagePoint’s chairman George Pilloton and president Phil Borghuis with bringing about the sale. They felt that with the right owner, the Manning House could be an important part of Downtown revitalization. Walker notes the home’s key location and surrounding property as features that attracted VantagePoint to the investment. It is also close to another project the group is developing in the old YMCA building at 516 N. Fifth Ave. (former home of the Muse Community Arts Center).
The Manning House was originally built in 1907 for Tucson Mayor Levi Howell Manning and housed all the refinements of that era. When Concannon’s family purchased the estate in 1997, it had been converted into office space. Recognizing the building’s historical significance, the family wanted to return the home to its former grandeur and began a painstaking restoration. Since then, Colleen Concannon has operated the home as a special event facility.
Concannon is pleased to be working with VantagePoint to take the Manning House to the next stage. “I couldn’t really make enough money to sustain it the way it really needs to be, and this was a chance to find someone to preserve it,” she said. As part of the investment group, I will have the opportunity to continue to operate the banqueting venue for a long time. It could be my job forever, unless I win the lottery,” she adds with a laugh.
Clark Street Closure Angers Neighbors
Gridlock isn’t just on the streets. Downtown residents and businesses feel they aren’t getting anywhere with the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) when it comes to addressing the closure of the Clark Street crossroads tunnel. “It’s certainly going to have a negative impact on us, and they aren’t listening,” said Lillian Lopez-Grant president of the Menlo Park Neighborhood Association.
ADOT plans to close the crossroads tunnel, which connects Granada Ave. near Cushing St. to the southbound freeway frontage road, during the expansion of I-10. Laurel Parker, ADOT project manager, explained that the existing bridge does not have the structural capacity to hold the new freeway that is being built over it. At the request of the city of Tucson, ADOT plans to build a new bridge approximately 100 feet to the north of the existing bridge. The move is part of the city’s circulation and drainage plan for Rio Nuevo.
Residents and businesses in the area want ADOT to keep the tunnel open or build a temporary tunnel to keep traffic flowing while I-10 is under construction. The project is expected to take more than three years to complete, but ADOT says the tunnel probably won’t be closed for the full construction period. Still, many believe that closing the tunnel will cause traffic to pour into the surrounding neighborhoods.
“We need to keep as many avenues open as possible,” said Lopez-Grant. “We’ve had situations before where they have had to shut down the freeway for an accident or whatever, and the traffic in our neighborhood is so bad you can’t get out of the driveway.”
Businesses Downtown and on the west side of I-10 also foresee a detrimental effect on their ability to keep customers. “We feel this is going to have a very negative impact on downtown business,” said Maurice Destouet, co-owner of the River Park Inn. “Hotels on the west side are an integral part of convention business at the Tucson Convention Center. If Clark Street is closed, it’s going to be difficult for people to get to the convention center, and meeting planners won’t bring groups here.”
On June 22, a coalition of neighborhood associations met with the Tucson City Council transportation subcommittee to present their concerns. At the meeting, the subcommittee agreed to have city staff research the project and bring their findings to the full council at a later date.
