TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Tucson’s downtown is a lot less sleepy than it used to be. Much of that is from Rio Nuevo’s work to stimulate downtown business. Now Pima County Supervisors have given Rio Nuevo the green light to help bring another large new business to Tucson’s core.
Keeping downtown Tucson active and stimulating convention business are at the heart of Rio Nuevo’s mission. Now they are making progress towards a new hotel and marketplace.
There is a large plot of choice land at the heart of Tucson’s downtown, just across the street from Tucson Electric headquarters; but several large projects proposed for the spot at Broadway and South 6th have failed.
Now a hotel proposed for the site is far enough along that Rio Nuevo just got Pima County county, which owns the land, to take a big step towards leasing the land to Rio Nuevo so Rio Nuevo can complete an incentive deal to make the new hotel happen.
The Obie Companies of Eugene, Oregon developed a plan that calls for a medium sized hotel, and a street level market place.
Rio Nuevo Chair Fletcher Mc Cusker says a state study calls for 900 more hotel beds downtown.
“Our primary focus is on the Tucson Convention Center. Everything around that within the boundary is considered supportive of that. So according to the Auditor General, they want us to increase hotel density in and around the convention center in order for us to be convention competitive.”
There was no discussion of when the new hotel could be ready.
Supervisor Andres Cano asked McCusker if Rio Nuevo can offer incentives to get developers to build affordable housing downtown. McCusker says the state law that authorizes Rio Nuevo requires it to support itself with sales tax so it has to work to build businesses that generate sales tax but he says Rio Nuevo can get donated land it may be able to help put more housing downtown.
