Tucson Children’s Museum Expansion
Chairman Fletcher McCusker acknowledged at the start of the March meeting that, in the last year, Rio Nuevo has enabled 25 new restaurants in downtown Tucson and predicted more coming for downtown and Broadway Boulevard's Sunshine Mile. “The sales tax impact from these new restaurants has helped to double the tax base since the State took over the Rio Nuevo District in 2012,” McCusker acknowledged. "Our focus on food and beverage alongside an entertainment district is paying huge dividends in sales tax."
Renderings of the proposed north entrance for the Tucson Children's Museum
That philosophical change in investment strategy played out in the meeting in response to a request from the Tucson Children's Museum to assist with their expansion and help them stay downtown.
The Board acknowledged that the original Rio Nuevo effort supported the Children's Museum and several other museums downtown. But unfortunately, those efforts ended when the state seized the tax district from city control.
Rendering of the new Children's Museum café and gift shop
The museum's expansion plans include a new café in partnership with El Charro and a new tax-paying gift shop. That focus on retail, food, and beverage was welcomed by the Board, resulting in the unanimous approval to invest just under $500,000. These funds will help the museum acquire the adjacent historic 130 S. Scott space and build out a café. “We appreciate the opportunity to be here in the biggest moment in the museum’s history. We are about to launch an expansion that has been a long time coming. We’ve been considering how to grow and expand in our current location for years, and this is the moment in which we’ve finally found a way to be able to without leaving downtown,” said Hilary Van Alsburg, Executive Director at the Children’s Museum.
Indian Trading Post Property
To establish another iconic restaurant, the Board awarded the Indian Trading Post property to the partnership of Zach Fenton and Daniel Scordato. In addition, the Board committed $2,000,000 to the $5.5 million dollar project to rehabilitate and reactivate the long vacant property on the corner of Scott and Congress that the District is acquiring from developer Don Bourn.
Local Restaurant Updates
Architectural model of the new Obon garden patio
Rendering of the Z Street project
Three other well-known restaurateurs appeared before the Board and were successful in advancing their new projects downtown and in The Sunshine Mile. Freddy Elmesselmani, the owner of the very successful Urban Pita, has acquired the former Fired Pie restaurant across the street and plans to open a Spanish tapas restaurant he plans to call Basqueria. The board unanimously approved a $115,000 investment into the new Spanish restaurant. Next door, the owners of Obon received unanimous approval and a $190,000 investment to build a new Japanese-themed patio fronting the gateway restaurant.
"Rio Nuevo is focused upon using our limited resources toward generating maximum benefit for downtown Tucson and its business environment. Part of our focus is the addition of numerous individually owned creative restaurants, which provide Tucson with an international Foodie reputation. In addition, Rio Nuevo is successfully providing the incentives to create lasting improvements to our city," commented board member Chris Sheafe.
Down on Broadway, the Gebremariam family, owners of Zemam's, described the bureaucratic delays and construction cost overruns associated with what they call Z Street, a diverse multi-venue African-themed corner at Treat and Broadway. Nevertheless, the Board approved a $299,000 investment to finish the Z Street project.
Board member Edmund Marquez shared his appreciation for the project, “I think you’ve done a fantastic job. This is a successful immigration story from your dad, it’s a fantastic small business in Southern Arizona. You guys have done a great job with not only operating the business but being very responsible with this deal.”
Solot Block Development
Finally, the Board ratified the Solot Block development (now called the Sol Block) and partnership with Larsen Baker to activate 16 properties in The Sunshine Mile, some of them also new restaurants, along with the relocation of the very popular Rocco's Little Chicago Pizza. Since the District is utilizing a GPLET ( Government Property Lease Excise Tax), the project had a 60-day waiting period for other jurisdictions or taxpayers to object. The board unanimously ratified the Solot Block project without any objections and welcomed Larsen Baker as a new private-sector partner.
The creation of the Rio Nuevo Multipurpose Facilities District was approved by Tucson voters in 1999, along with an appointed Board, to invest state tax dollars in public and public/private projects to create a vibrant Tucson core. For every dollar the Board invests, the community reaps $10 of construction activity with projects like the AC Marriott Hotel, the Arena, Greyhound, the Mercado Annex, City Park, and the Marist project Caterpillar.
More information on these projects and downtown can be found at RioNuevo.org.