TUCSON, ARIZONA -- After debating the closing of Corbett Elementary in the 1980s and again in 2008, TUSD ultimately shuttered the doors to Corbett — which was built in 1955 and had the capacity to serve 565 students, though in the end it only had 425 enrolled. It was closed in 2013, along with 10 other schools. The school, which sits on seven acres, is at 5949 E. 29th St was sold to Pepper Viner Homes for $715,000 ($2.34 PSF).
Pepper Viner Homes is seeking to develop the site of Corbett Elementary School, located on 29th Street just east of Craycroft for a residentil infill project.
Pepper Viner recently filed with the City of Tucson to rezone the property from R-1 to R-2 in an effort to increase the density of homes allowed. Preliminary plans call for a total of 75 lots on the roughly 7 acre property at a density of around 11 units per acre. Homes of one and two stories would be built in a variety of styles while incorporating energy conservation techniques into the new construction. Roughly 269-square-feet per unit, or 20,713 square feet, or .476 acre of open space will be incorporated into the subdivision, doubling as a drainage basin during wet weather.
A ten foot wide landscaped border will surround the development, acting as a buffer between the new homes and existing neighborhood. Single-family residences surround the site on all sides, except for a church at the southeast corner of 29th and Sahuara. The street pattern in this area is not conducive to extension thru the rezoning site, as the school development did not allow to the streets to maintain the grid pattern. Due to the nature of the surrounding residential properties, the walled subdivision, in this context, can be compatible. Approximately 50% of the frontage along Sahuara Avenue, west of the rezoning site has some form of screen wall along the street frontage. One hundred percent of the frontage along Sonoita Avenue, east of the site is screened by 5-foot, or taller walls along the street. Two-thirds of the site frontage along Sylvane Street appears to be planned for open space, with only two lots proposed for that frontage.
The properties along 29th Street, south of the site, do not have walls. All of the lots front 29th street and have driveway access to it. With the proposed 10-foot-wide street landscape border along 29th street, all of which is proposed for the rezoning site, the subdivision wall may be over 15 feet from the back-of-curb. The existing school building wall is as close as less that 24 feet from the back-of-curb, and is taller than five (5) feet. Additionally, the school frontage is entirely paved, and provides no landscaping, except for a couple of trees that appear to be in the right-of-way. Therefore the proposed frontage has the potential of creating a more welcoming street frontage for pedestrians and the residents across 29th Street.