Agreement Reached Between City Councilman and Developer on Benedictine Monastery

TUCSON, ARIZONA — Ward 6 Tucson Councilman, Steve Kozachik is reporting significant progress has been made with the Benedictine Monastery development at 800 N Country Club. In concert with the public meetings, Ross Rulney and his team have reached an agreement with Kozachik. Preserving the monastery has been the prime goal of Kozachik and to minimize the height and massing on the property.

Rulney’s original plan featured two buildings north and south of the monastery with a height of 86 feet and a third building on the east with a height of 55 feet.

It was the 86-foot, seven-story building as first proposed by the developer that caused Kozochik concern because that is what the existing zoning allowed.  As an alternative, Kozachik proposed a 40-foot-tall student housing project with possible demolition of the monastery and no public voice in the discussion.

Shortly thereafter, Mayor & Council agreed to initiate a Historic Landmark designation on the monastery, so demolition would no longer be possible. The project started moving forward with that threat and indeed, the picture changed, according to Kozachik.

Rulney is now in the process of buying a vacant residential lot to the immediate north of the monastery to increase land area for the project.  This should allow the development to advance with a 55-foot housing project with market rate high end apartments – about 250-units and 375-beds.

Buildings around the Benedictine Monastery will be limited to 55-feet in height and the exterior of the monastery will be preserved and made into a public venue. And, the apartments will be market-rate, not student housing, Rulney said.

The project will still require amending the neighborhood and area plans and a resubmittal of the revised plans.

For more information, see Kozachik’s 7-30-2018 newsletter HERE.