Op-Ed by Mark Irvin, CCIM, SIOR
Despite many requests, Rio Nuevo has chosen not to take a position, as a group, on the Broadway Widening. Candidly, I am glad we chose that route. The kitchen is already crowded with too many cooks.
Yes, many business and neighborhood groups including the “Sunshine Mile” supporters (a group that mysteriously appeared last year when these discussions started heating up) have reached out to us as a board and to many board members independently seeking our support to defeat the current 30% plan.
However, we have also heard from others with opposing views on why Rio Nuevo should take a differing position and urge the City to move forward on the 30% plan.
Some, including one elected official, have even suggested that Rio Nuevo provide some funding to rehab or move some of the buildings in question given this area is part of the Rio Nuevo TIF funding district.
To have some in the City, and elsewhere, suggest that Rio Nuevo should provide funding to restore old buildings, many with functional obsolescence and serious environmental issues, shows a lack of understanding of our mission. To also suggest that these property owners along Broadway are looking for a taxpayer funded windfall is comical. None of the property owners I have visited with want the City to do anything more than make a decision. After 30 years, they are exhausted.
To be blunt, old buildings are not in and of themselves historic. This, more than anything, seems to be the crux of the argument for those who do not like the recent compromises as are reflected in the compromised “30%” plan. Those neighbors would prefer a serpentine road design that would be narrowed down considerably and in many cases removing bus pullouts rather than doing what the voters approved.
The history on the Broadway widening has been going on since 1997 when the community approved the county bond package and that decision was further reinforced when the RTA plan, which included an eight-lane Broadway roadway, passed in 2006. Now, despite a number of compromises, the empowered Citizen’s Task Force still wants more concessions.
During that same year when the RTA was approved (2006) Pima County also passed two other bond packages that were designed to finance the improvement of the emergency room at Kino Hospital and also to build a new psychiatric hospital on the Kino campus. I served as Vice Chair and treasurer to those efforts and am proud to say that both projects were approved, have been completed and are serving our community.
Over ten years later, I am not sure we have gotten much closer to getting the Broadway Widening plan moving. What has occurred is that the area has become a poster child of urban blight. Our firm has chosen to not take real estate listings for sale or lease in this area as our experience over the past 30 years has shown that we are simply unable to sell properties in this section of Broadway given the uncertainty. All of it was caused and is being reinforced by inaction from our City leaders.
When I stepped into the newly reconstituted Rio Nuevo board six years ago what I found is that the former city controlled board had plans for just about everything but very little to show for it. Obviously much has changed downtown with new leadership on the board. This section of Broadway is very much like this. It has been studied over and over and perhaps even studied to death. To make matters even more difficult and divisive the City appointed a Citizen Task Force who apparently felt it is their mission to design the road despite having no experience in this endeavor.
It has been about 30 years since the property owner’s on Broadway were placed in limbo. Most had thriving businesses but, due to the uncertainty of the widening, few wanted to invest in their real estate not knowing if their property would be taken or not and who can blame them. Ultimately blight set in. Just drive the area and you will see vacant buildings many with chain link fencing or windows boarded up. The homeless and drug users seem to enjoy their free use of these properties.
Obviously, this is a poor reflection on our community and damages the gateway into downtown Tucson. These vacant buildings are also not contributing anything financially to the Rio Nuevo district.
Much has been made about traffic studies that were done 10 years ago and that perhaps we do not need to make these widening changes and should consider reducing the scope of the project. After much discussion the Citizen Task Force made their recommendations and after much work by City engineers and other traffic experts the plan was modified to six lanes. Although not perfect, it appears to be a reasonable compromise.
As anyone who has paid attention knows, downtown is very much on the rebound. I would like to see our downtown continue to be a hotbed of energy and new development. In fact, I would love to see the “downtown crane” become our new city bird. Addressing the Broadway Widening is needed now and I encourage Mayor and Council to approve the 30% plan and get moving on this much needed roadway improvement.
Lets stop and think what has occurred downtown just since 2006 when the RTA was approved. The city brought us the modern streetcar spurring a lot of new activity and redevelopment downtown.
The private sector bought us numerous student housing projects, a significant number of residential redevelopment, restaurants and other entertainment venues.
Rio Nuevo partnered with the private sector to break ground on the new AC Marriott Hotel. This is the first hotel in downtown in over 50 years. Many other new construction projects have been completed and others are in process. So too have been the addition of many new restaurants and other entertainment options being added downtown
A recently renovated TCC arena by Rio Nuevo will also allow it to seek various venues that before it could not reach due to the outdated conditions there. That issue has been addressed and significant new activity is starting to occur. To be blunt, the growth continues. All will add traffic into and out of downtown.
Sitting at the City Council Meeting last week I was proud that both those for the widening and those against were given equal time and for the most part were very courteous to one another. I was one of those selected and given a chance to address Mayor and Council.
I found it ironic that two of the three GPLETS the city approved that night were for downtown projects and pointed this out to the City in my comments. All of these new developments will bring increased employment and housing opportunities to downtown. They will also bring more traffic.
During my comments, I also pointed out to Mayor and Council that over the last 3 years Rio Nuevo has invested just over $19M downtown, which has generated $174M in new construction activity in the Central Business District. All of this activity will generate additional traffic.
We also need to be mindful that as we continue to recover from the Great Depression more activity will be happening downtown. All will generate more, not less, traffic. Also, a newly improved Broadway will bring new development too. What holds that area back is a lack of direction by the City of Tucson. With that comes stagnation.
As I advised the City, and as I do for the casual reader here, my comments are mine alone and do not reflect those of the Rio Nuevo Board. Rather, they are the result of my 30 years of experience working in commercial real estate in Tucson. Most of that time I have had my office downtown or on the Broadway Corridor. I travel this section of Broadway many times daily. I have watched this area slowly sink into a ghetto like feeling place in our community over the years. Delaying a decision will only further add to the these woes.
We only have one chance to get it right and that time is now. No plan is perfect but this one is a realistic compromise. Please join me in reaching out to Mayor and Council about this important issue and ask them to support the 30% plan.
Mark Irvin is a real estate broker – consultant who has been active in Tucson since the mid 80’s. Besides being the longest tenured board member for Rio Nuevo, Mark has been active downtown during this time as well. He holds professional designations as both a CCIM and SIOR. In fact, he is the only office and medical specialist holding both designations.
Mark is consistently ranked as one of the top real estate professionals in Tucson and before retiring from competition Mark won the CCIM annual real estate market forecast four times including back-to-back-to-back wins.