The Daily Agenda: Balancing history and progress
Several new projects are underway in Tucson … But amidst a critical need for housing, what’s being done to preserve history? ... Another big change at the top of the UA.
University of Arizona students are already starting to trickle back into town, with classes starting in less than two weeks.
They’ll be coming back to plenty of changes, including a new school president, but they’ll also be returning to a city that looks a little bit different than when they left for summer break.
If you’ve driven past the UA during the last few weeks, you’ve probably noticed a handful of houses on wheels at the southeast corner of Speedway and Euclid. This is one of several ongoing projects near campus, many of which involve historic properties.
The lot at the corner of Speedway and Euclid will soon be the site of workforce housing meant to serve as a buffer between a new student housing complex and neighbors, according to the Arizona Daily Star’s Gabriela Rico.
Rico reported in May that negotiations for the project lasted five years and included compromises by neighbors, developers and the city.
The student housing complex, located on Euclid, was spearheaded by Alabama-based Capstone Communities. It includes a six-story building with 150 units and 450 bedrooms for rent.
The developer worked with the neighborhood association to add sidewalks and ADA ramps leading to a neighborhood park and to relocate five historic homes from the property, according to Rico.
During yesterday’s meeting of the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission, Jodie Brown from the city’s Historic Preservation Office told members that one of the two remaining homes had been moved from the lot to its new location on North Second Avenue.
It traveled down the street and around the corner in the middle of the night, but instead of being driven on a flatbed truck, it was moved via remote control, Brown said.
The move took several hours, wrapping up around 3 a.m., with a handful of city employees on hand to watch its journey.
“It is pretty cool,” Brown said. “If you have an opportunity, I would recommend always getting to see a house move at least once.”
Brown said once the home is situated on the lot, the other one will be moved.
Down the street, construction is underway on a new apartment complex located on the last remaining spot on the Park Avenue strip south of Speedway, according to Rico. The lot was purchased by Chicago-based Core Spaces, the developers of four Hub towers near campus.
The 10-story building with 161 units and 648 beds is planned for Park Avenue and First Street, with a representative from Core telling Rico that Tucson has long been an attractive market to the group, which developed its first property here 10 years ago.
The Core representative said that since there are few remaining vacant campus-adjacent lots, the group is actively seeking new development sites and opportunities to purchase existing apartment complexes near campus.
But not everyone is happy about the influx of student housing in the area. The mayor and council recently approved the creation of a new Neighborhood Preservation Zone, which is available to neighborhoods that are designated or eligible for designation as National Register Historic Districts, Brown said during the meeting.
The new zone, which includes the Rincon Heights and Pie Allen neighborhoods, is one of only three in Tucson, and came at the request of neighbors who were concerned about the number of mini-dorms and other types of inappropriate developments popping up.
Neighborhood Preservation Zones provide a process for the districts to preserve, protect and enhance character and historical resources and allow for the creation of a neighborhood-specific design manual for each district. The manual contains architectural and design standards and guidelines to make sure new development is compatible with the neighborhood's character.
A short distance away in downtown Tucson, the J.K. Corbett House on Main Avenue is slated for extensive renovations for the first time in 30 years, according to a recent historic zone advisory board meeting.
The house is a historic landmark built in 1906. The project will focus on repairs and replacement of the home’s existing infrastructure while preserving its historic integrity. The renovation plans include pouring new concrete, updating the patio, installing new walls and entryways and repairing plumbing and broken windows.
Another key piece of the project will be addressing damage from an April 2023 fire, which caused significant harm to the upstairs floors and attic.
New public art is also coming to the downtown area, with an installation planned for the walls of the historic underpass located at Stone Avenue near East 6th Street.
The project, which is spearheaded by the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission, also includes replacing existing lighting and repairing the walls.
Details have yet to be released about the art and the artist, but at yesterday’s meeting the commission heard about a possible tribute to Donovan Durband, a longtime advocate for downtown revitalization who died last year.
That didn’t take long: In the latest shakeup at the top of the University of Arizona, the new provost, who started July 1, announced he’s heading back to the University of Florida, the Arizona Luminaria’s Carolina Cuellar reports. Joseph Glover said he was going to lend his expertise to the interim president of the University of Florida as the university undergoes a major transition.
Going on the ballot: The Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the SB 1070 redux measure known as Proposition 314 (formerly HCR 2060) will be on the ballot in November, Capitol Media Services’ Howard Fischer reports. Like a Maricopa County Superior Court judge did last month, the justices rejected the argument that the proposition included too many different topics and violated the state’s single-subject rule for ballot measures.
Won’t happen again: After an error by Pima County officials led to thousands of sample ballots being sent to voters with the wrong date for the primary election, county officials started using a checklist system, KVOA’s Isabella Fredrickson reports. Amid a somewhat tense discussion among the county supervisors at their meeting Tuesday, Pima County Elections Director Constance Hargrove explained that the checklist will ensure “every step of the proofing process is completed thoroughly.”
Gauging housing needs: The Pima County supervisors also approved spending $425,000 on a housing market study, KGUN’s Joel Foster reports. Supervisor Adelita Grijalva joined Supervisor Steve Christy in voting against funding the study. Grijalva said she understood more housing was needed, but was skeptical another study would help. Deputy County Administrator Francisco Garcia said the study would show which types of housing were most needed, such as multi-family housing, workforce housing, or low-income housing.
Election season isn’t over: Voters in Pima County will get the chance to hear from an array of candidates for local offices over the next few weeks, the Tucson Sentinel’s Jim Nintzel reports. First up is a forum for the two candidates running for the county supervisor seat in District 4, incumbent Republican Steve Christy and Democratic challenger Vanessa Bechtol. They’ll speak at a League of Women Voters forum on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Murphy-Wilmot Library.
Nice touch: The City of Tucson plans to add 3,700 plants, including more than 200 trees, along a three-mile stretch of Grant Road, KGUN’s Maria Staubs reports. The plants are part of a $64 million project that includes widening Grant Road between Country Club and Swan.
$1,200: The starting rent price for a bedroom at Hub student housing complexes. Rent can cost up to $1,900 per bed at the four existing Hub properties near the UA campus.
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I asked and you delivered. When signing up for my second round as a subscriber, you asked what I was interested in. I said “history.” What I meant was, I feel smarter knowing where we’ve been as we plow forward. Articles about historic preservation and local archaeology remind us of those who lived here before we were born. My imagination wants to include them as I contemplate choices about our future. Thanks.
The art in the Stone underpass should commentate the sites history as Lake Elmira.