Proposed land deal driven by effort to preserve desert landscape

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Plans are moving forward to preserve open space on the Eastside, as the city works to buy land from the Tucson Unified School District.

The property is about 10 acres near Speedway Boulevard and Houghton Road by Ridgeside Drive. It would remain open and undisturbed if approved. The proposal still needs final approval from the mayor and City Council.

Athena Kehoe

At a March 10 meeting, the TUSD Governing Board approved moving forward with the sale. The agenda item read: “Motion to approve the agreement with the City of Tucson for the sale of vacant, surplus property south of the 5th Street alignment, west of Ridgeside Drive, with authorization for the Operations Program Manager to execute the agreement.”

TUSD said the site was determined to be surplus.

Ward 2 Council Member Paul Cunningham says a key part of the process was getting the school district to agree to sell the land at a price the city would be willing to pay.

“It's planned to be natural undisturbed open space. So we're going to just leave it for now and see kind of how it expands naturally," Cunningham explains.

He said the plan fits the vision of the surrounding neighborhood, which was designed as a cluster development, with homes built closer together to preserve more open space. “By having a bunch of homes kind of together, then leaving large setbacks of open space, you get that feel for the wilderness. In this case, there'll be 10 acres forever, probably a little more than that when you add in some of the land remnants around," Cunningham explains.

Athena Kehoe

Cunningham says the city plans to buy the land for about $250,000, with that money going back into schools. The city would use impact fees, money collected from new development, to pay for the purchase.

Cunningham says he hopes the process will be finalized by the fall. For nearby residents, that could mean their view of the Catalina and Rincon mountains remains unchanged.

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Athena Kehoe is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2024 after graduating from Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Athena by emailing athena.kehoe@kgun9.com or by connecting on X/Twitter.