A parking garage isn’t an icon of culture and beauty, but the structure under way downtown is emblematic of much more.
When the underground Depot Plaza garage is completed behind north of One North Fifth apartments, it will mark the first major accomplishment in the Rio Nuevo downtown rehabilitation program.
Soon, that $13.5 million, 283-space subterranean parking spot is expected to be completed.
Then work can commence on a six-story public housing tower above to provide 68 units for low-income elderly and for disabled residents.
Tucson long has waited for visible signs of progress with Rio Nuevo, and setbacks and inadequate leadership have resulted in repeated delays.
Now concrete evidence of progress is here, giving us something to celebrate – even if it is merely a parking garage.