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Caveat Lector - Politics, Government and the Free Press – by Mark B. Evans

Downtown revitalization needs revitalizing; start by jettisoning the name

by on Nov. 20, 2009, under Politics

It’s time to kill Rio Nuevo.

Not the effort to redevelop downtown, just the name of downtown redevelopment, which has become synonymous with disorganization, mismanagement and misspending.

Some city officials and Rio Nuevo board members might dispute that synonymity, but there’s reality and there’s perception and there’s no disputing that Rio Nuevo has been a public relations disaster for the city.

And for at least one councilwoman.

Make that, one soon-to-be ex-councilwoman.

There are lots of reasons why Nina Trasoff lost her re-election bid but the biggest certainly is Rio Nuevo. Trasoff was yoked to Rio Nuevo more than any other council member. She was chairwoman of the council’s Rio Nuevo subcommittee and a board member of the Downtown Tucson Partnership, the key player in downtown redevelopment. She was Rio Nuevo’s biggest booster and she campaigned hard on its success.

But few people outside of city hall and the Partnership think Rio Nuevo has been a success and the election results appear to bear that out.

It doesn’t matter the reasons why Rio Nuevo has taken so long to achieve any laudable results, the perception is the city has spent tens of millions of dollars and has little to show for it except a couple of renovated old theaters.

Rio Nuevo has been its own worst enemy. The bad press, such as paying $800,000 to a Washington D.C. firm to make a 15-minute video about the Tucson Origins park, and canceled projects just reinforce the perception of boondoggle.

Consider: there was going to be an aquarium. Then there wasn’t. There was going to be this massive bridge over the freeway and the river. Then there wasn’t. There was going to be a science center. Then there wasn’t. There was going to be a new arena. Then there wasn’t. But there still might be, just not as big as hoped.

It’s no wonder that Rio Nuevo’s name has become the subject of mockery and derision.

Those clever Dicks who inhabit newspaper and blog comment sections have come up with numerous unflattering names for Rio Nuevo: Rio Nada; Rio Nowhere; Rio Nevero; Rio No Go.

It’s time for the name to go.

No one will be fooled by just a name change, to be sure. Stinkweed smells just as bad no matter what it’s called.

So along with a name change, the whole effort needs revamping. The city and the facilities district that generates the tax used to pay for the project should break downtown redevelopment into three parts. The convention center expansion and new convention hotel being one, the new museums and cultural facilities another and infrastructure improvements and new economic development the third. Give them names if you want, but keep each effort separate from the other so that if one stumbles for whatever reason it doesn’t take the rest with it if there’s a public backlash.

Downtown revitalization is important to the economic wellbeing of the metropolitan area and needs to be seen through.

To do that the city needs to convince the public of the project’s importance and that it is making progress while at the same time being prudent with the public’s money.

But as long as that effort is called Rio Nuevo, no one will ever believe either.

For updates on all of the city’s downtown projects, see these helpful city web sites:

http://dot.tucsonaz.gov/projects/projects.cfm

http://maps.tucsonaz.gov/downtown/projects.html?projID=75

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This entry was posted on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 11:30 am and is filed under Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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  • tiponeill

    I understand that the State is going to take over the entire project, and I’m sure the city council will be happy to see it go.
    Once the Repubs are running it, there will be no outcry no matter how badly it is managed (look at the budget) so it doesn’t matter what it’s called.

    • james

      I think the major problem, regardless of who is running the show, is that downtown is not a destination for the majority of tucsonans. Why go downtown? for some offbeat theater? for dining? for… I am not saying anything is wrong with any reason anyone goes downtown, but from a business point, what reason do folks have to be downtown?

      I think had they placed a ball park downtown, along with the convention center, and perhaps some hotel rooms, then we might not have lost the srping training teams. we have got all our eggs in one basket, and the gem show is only for a couple of weeks. We need folks that can think for the other 48 weeks a year.

      JMHO. Thanks.

  • oldwest2

    Mark: This report is right on the money, a name change might help. The downtown revitalization needs to plow forward, the lack of direction and lack of accountability of funds needs to be  addressed openly. For years Rio Nuevo is this vision no one can quite get there hands on or around, as you mentioned nothing to show for all the money spent, nothing worthwhile at least.
    Something does need to change, possibly the elections bore some of the voters resentment out, if so i think rightfully so. In the interest of moving forward maybe a name change is a great idea. Something to get that fresh start from,  rather than the same stale lack of progress.

  • Carolyn Classen

    You’re right on Mark with these comments.  Rio Nuevo is indeed a boondoggle for most people I speak with.   Downtown doesn’t need massive plans like a new hotel and convention center.  More retail businesses along Congress and Broadway to encourage shoppers and diners to go downtown would be a great start now with the 4th Avenue Underpass finally re-opened.  Why go downtown when you can shop & eat at the lovely (and clean) Tucson Mall, Foothills Mall, Park Place, and La Encantada?

  • http://pointmantucson.yuku.com/ mike_brewer

    Downtown is very much a destination for many. The patrons of the Arts, the opera the symphony and the little theater remain a point of destination as they have for the past 40 years.
    I work on the Trolley on Saturday nights and I can testify to the place being packed. Hotel Congress is jammed every weekend. Maynards has become immensely popular. The Rialto parking lot is at capacity. The folks that go downtown are died in the wool Tucsonans.
    For those that do not enter the CBD, I would love to hear what they do on Saturday night.  So what is so exciting about the east side of Tucson? Or the West? Or the South?

    • Carolyn Classen

      Downtown is a M to F “Government Center” for the City, County, State, Federal office workers and the restaurants and few retail (clothing) & businesses (law firms) that support that.  Otherwise, there’s a few theaters (Fox, Rialto, Screening Room), the Opera and TSO at the Music Hall, and the restaurants that feed that crowd.  And then there’s the occasional festivals,  El Tour de Tucson events, and parades, that draw the larger masses.  More nightlife at Maynard’s and Hotel Congress is a big help, but the rest of downtown life is still mostly M to F, business hours.

  • woof1234woof

    Rio Nuevo??? Rio Dinero!….. I have never seen so much money spent for planning a local project by a out of town firm ( clear across the country) that has delusions of grandeur. A study usually costs 1 to3 percent of the total project cost.. and specific parameters it addresses… design fees are usually 10 to 12 percent of the estimated project cost…. using these parameters, the cost of Rio Dinero would be in the billions and to what end.. as you drive through Tucson there are countless stores and businesses scattered all over . and all have their “free parking” I can see of nothing that “Downtown” would have to offer to replace what already exists. Maybe a hard dose of economic reality would be in order. Either that or a complete investigation and auditing of the whole Rio disaster.

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