Navigating Rio Nuevo
By Karen Thoreson
e often think of Rio Nuevo as the revitalization of the core of our Downtown — that place between Interstate 10 and the Diamondback Bridge - where art, food, shopping and entertainment are the keys. But there’s another Part of the Heart of the City. It’s different, but clearly linked to the core of Downtown and to Rio Nuevo. It’s the west side, between I-10 and “A” Mountain, and it has a very special meaning to our community.
Someday soon visit the new Sentinel Park at the corner of Congress Street and Interstate 10. Stand by the four new ‘sentinels’ there and look southwest. You’re looking at the west end of Rio Nuevo – what will soon become the Cultural and Historical Part of the Heart of the City. Since Rio Nuevo’s conception, this land, bordered by Sentinel Peak (“A” Mountain) to the west and the Santa Cruz River to the east, has been viewed as a historic panorama. After all, it’s the place where the first inhabitants of the Santa Cruz Valley made their homes and where a two thousand-year-long saga of civilization has played out to this day. The goals of Rio Nuevo for this place honor the span of history and celebrate the roots of the past and the many cultures that have made Tucson what it is today. Leave the shadows of the sentinels and cross Congress (at the crosswalk, please) and take a walk through this Part of the Heart with us.
The New Neighborhood
Walk a little west and south from where you crossed Congress Street. A new neighborhood will soon grow here. The Rio Development Company, LLC group has been selected, through a Request for Proposal process, to build 200 new homes on this site and construct them in a style that complements nearby Menlo Park and other area neighborhoods. Since prehistoric times, countless generations have made their homes here. Beginning next year, a new generation of Tucsonans will soon continue that tradition.
The Museums
Continue walking south and edge over a little east toward the Santa Cruz River. This is the west end of the Bridge to the Future – the west side of the University of Arizona’s Science Center. The bridge is both material and symbolic, linking the celebration of the future, on the east side of the river and I-10, to the celebration of the past that’s rooted where you are standing. Some of our best museums might also relocate here – both the Arizona State Museum and the Arizona Historical Society Museum are seriously considering moving to this part of Rio Nuevo.
The Cultural Celebrations
Just south of the museum and Santa Cruz River area, and actually integrated with it, will be another salute to our history – Tucson Origins Heritage Park. Keep walking south and you’ll soon come to the area where Origins will recreate the Mission San Agustin and the culture that surrounded the Mission several centuries ago. The team of professionals working for the City to plan Origins Park presented its near-final plans to the public at an open house last month. The final report and recommendations should come forward just after the first of the year. Origins may eventually include an agricultural center, a farmers’ market, and other living history exhibits and facilities.
A bit further to the south, located at the base of Sentinel Peak in a place called by the Tohono O’odham people Chuk-Shon, or black bottom base, we hope to see Rancho Chuk-shon, a multi-cultural family education center. The neighborhood group that is planning it would like to include a mercado, performance center, and recreational and educational facilities.
The Great Sonoran Park
You haven’t reached the end of this Part of the Heart yet. Keep walking along the base of “A” Mountain and you’ll enter the Great Sonoran Park. This is an area set aside to honor our environment – the environment that gave rise to the cultures and the history that is celebrated just to the north. The Park will probably include restored riparian habitat along the Santa Cruz River, something the City is working on in collaboration with Pima County and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. We’ll also likely see a connection with the De Anza Trail, a nature park based on the Sonoran Desert ecosystem, mesquite and Palo Verde upland areas, and hiking and biking trails.
Your walk ends here, but the journey through our community’s past - the people, events, buildings, and environments that make up our collective history and culture – is just beginning here on the west side of Rio Nuevo. It’s where our past began and where it will now be celebrated. It won’t be long before this place truly is a Part of the Heart of the City.
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.
