Other communities have worked for years to accomplish what we just did in one!

Rio Nuevo has experienced some growing pains. Nobody would deny this.

We’ve had to modify some early plans, rethink our approach to mapping out what will be the major features in a revitalized city center, and face the reality of a listless economy along the way.

These actions reflect good stewardship of a very large, complex project that is moving from concept to reality.

It is only appropriate that there will be modifications along the way.

The Legislature granted us a golden opportunity to create a city center that is a source of pride and economic prosperity by approving the Tax-Increment Financing District.

We can’t afford to squander that opportunity by choosing the wrong path for the sake of expediency.

The delays have been frustrating for everyone who wants to enjoy a vibrant and exciting downtown, including the mayor and City Council.

But over the past two years, we have taken concrete steps that should assure our community that Rio Nuevo is happening:

Our first major funding action reflected our respect for our history and culture when we authorized dollars for re-creations of the Convento, Carrillo House, Mission and Mission Gardens in December 2006.

The mayor and council took another major step in authorizing support for the economic drivers for downtown on March 22, 2007, when we dedicated $392 million for a new arena, expansion of the Tucson Convention Center and a convention hotel; the University of Arizona Science Center and Arizona State Museum; infrastructure upgrades and streetscape improvements; and the Arizona History Museum, Tucson Children’s Museum and a West Side Neighborhood Library, among other museums and amenities.

A major accomplishment last week directed staff to finalize a $200 million agreement with Sheraton to construct a 700-room convention hotel. Other communities have worked for years to accomplish what we just did in one.

While “Rio Nuevo” has existed in concept for a decade, the TIF dollars to accomplish our goals didn’t become a reality until the spring of 2006, when the Legislature extended the TIF District to 20 years, offering the promise of far greater financial capacity.

To date, the TIF has brought in just over $51 million. We can accomplish our many goals, but to do so we’ll have to bond against our anticipated income over that 20-year period. That is why decisions of timing and financing are critically important.

But we continue to move in the right direction. At last week’s meeting, Councilwoman Regina Romero moved to see a master schedule for West Side redevelopment in the next 30 days.

At that same meeting, I asked the city manager’s staff to come back next week with options to accommodate Alan Norville’s important gem and mineral show and close the deal on purchasing the nearly seven acres where he previously held his event. Having that piece of property gives us more options for appropriate placement of the arena and convention hotel.

And last month, I made a motion that will result in city staff coming back to us with proposals and financial timelines within the next 50 days or so for the new arena. The arena will play a key role in creating a vibrant Civic Plaza that all of us who live in Tucson will enjoy.

Our commitments are made. The funding has been allocated. The dollars are starting to come in.

The key now is how best to time these many elements to assure balance as we move forward – and to assure that we have the financial ability to do everything we’ve already planned, and more.

The rich culture and history to be embraced in the Cultural Plaza – Tucson Origins with its museums, the Convento and the Mission – are the heart and soul of where we come from and who we are. These projects must remain a priority.

The new arena, revamped TCC and convention hotel are the economic engines that will drive the entire effort. They, too, are critically important.

And thus our current challenge: How to phase financing and construction schedules so all of the projects to which we remain committed get done.

This truly is a challenge, but I am confident this mayor and council will work together to assure our vibrant downtown – all of it – becomes a point of pride for our entire community.

Nina Trasoff is the Tucson City Council representative for Ward 6 and is chairwoman of the council’s subcommittee on Rio Nuevo.

———

ANOTHER VIEW

REGINA ROMERO: City unwavering in support of $1B in West Side revitalization

My colleagues on the subcommittee and the full council have been diligent in assuring that every TIF dollar is spent with an eye toward making downtown Tucson a vibrant and culturally diverse destination that will strengthen our region and serve as a source of local pride.

F ive hundred eighty-one million dollars is a whole lot of cash.

That’s the estimate – a conservative one, mind you – for how much revenue the Rio Nuevo Tax Increment Financing District will generate for redeveloping downtown Tucson.

By the end of May, most of that money will be earmarked.

The City Council already has committed $102 million from the TIF toward building an arena, renovating the Tucson Convention Center and erecting a convention hotel.

Thursday evening, the City Council’s Rio Nuevo subcommittee unanimously recommended $130 million go toward helping the University of Arizona build a state-of-the-art museum complex to house a science center and a new home for the Arizona State Museum.

The full council will consider that matter Tuesday.

Two more museums – Arizona History and Tucson Children’s museums – and a new neighborhood library for West Side residents will require another $60 million.

Upgrading infrastructure and creating streetscapes that provide a unique sense of place will take another $100 million from the TIF pool, and new parking facilities will claim another $70 million. Each of these also will be considered Tuesday.

Add those commitments to a long list of previously approved projects – such as the Convento, Mission Gardens and a bridge to better connect the West Side to downtown – and the city is left with roughly $53 million for future use.

But it is money well spent.

• Each project is designed to bring more people downtown and create an environment that will attract private investment in the city center.

Construction of a modern streetcar also will serve as a catalyst for private investment along its route.

• The new arena is expected to hold events nearly 150 nights per year compared with the 80 events now booked at our outdated arena. The number of people attending arena events will increase from 140,000 to 700,000 per year.

• Convention business will go from 150,000 visitors a year to 350,000 with a renovated convention center and a hotel.

More than 1 million local folks and tourists converging on downtown each year should be enough to encourage private investors to build housing, stores, restaurants and nightspots, providing a cash flow that will continue to feed the TIF pool, which the state Legislature has allowed us to maintain until 2025.

A new partnership taking shape is intended to lead that private-sector push, working with the city and county to leverage development that will maximize the impact of the TIF.

The arena, convention center and hotel provide an example, as their collective cost of $380 million will require just $102 million in upfront public investment.

Revenue generated by the convention hotel, a project that attracted the attention of 17 top international hotel builders and is expected to draw a half-dozen formal proposals, will help retire bonds that will be sold to finance all three.

My colleagues on the subcommittee and the full council have been diligent in assuring that every TIF dollar is spent with an eye toward making downtown Tucson a vibrant and culturally diverse destination that will strengthen our region and serve as a source of local pride.

OPPOSING VIEW: Move slowly and we’ll have more to spend, says the founder of the Friends of Downtown.

EDITORIAL: Council should OK $581 million for Rio Nuevo.

CHIHAK: Private sector providing a kick-start.

Councilwoman Nina Trasoff, a Democrat, represents Ward 6 and is chair of the council’s Rio Nuevo Subcommittee. E-mail: ward6@ tucsonaz.gov

The City Council this week took a second major stride in less than a month toward making downtown Tucson a place of which we can all be proud.

By reaching tentative agreement with the University of Arizona to use public funds on a project combining a new science center with a relocated Arizona State Museum, we now are truly immersed in a process that will reshape our city center.

With a new arena, a renovated Tucson Convention Center and a first-class convention hotel already in the plans, this exciting addition to the downtown landscape sets us on a path that has been envisioned ever since voters approved the Rio Nuevo project.

News of these long-awaited projects getting under way seemed sudden to some and raised questions about the process that preceded council action.

While quiet, sensitive negotiations are part of getting deals like these done, in both the cases there has been a longer and largely public process preceding these landmark decisions.

The combined UA Science Center and Arizona State Museum came out of discussions between city and university officials that date back to the Rainbow Bridge and then the more recent discussions of larger and separate facilities for the two museums.

Both of those proposals, while intriguing, were beyond the scope of what would be responsible use of the tax-increment financing funds granted us by the Arizona Legislature.

To UA’s credit, its officials didn’t give up. They stayed focused on our shared goal of bringing a strong university presence to downtown and came back with a plan that was creative, attractive and feasible.

They met with us. We all talked. We all listened. They presented a revised plan.

And we acted.

The design for the arena came out of a public process begun four years ago that included several public hearings and public votes by the mayor and council.

With TIF dollars now available, it had been scheduled to go before the City Council in late April.

But when a private developer’s arena proposal was placed on the agenda, the timetable was accelerated.

So we acted.

In all these projects, the recent City Council action directing city staff to pursue development plans is the first concrete step in what will be a fully transparent process to realize these visions of a revitalized downtown.

But these are only the first steps!

The process for the arena, Convention Center and hotel will entail putting out requests for qualified development teams, coming up with a short list of finalists and asking for proposals.

Once we select a development team, preferably one for all three of these associated projects, a financing package will be developed, and we’ll enter into a development agreement through a transparent process.

Then the plan will be considered by the Tucson Convention Center Commission and the Rio Nuevo Citizens Advisory Committee in public meetings.

Before any tax dollars are committed to the project, it will have to pass muster with the Rio Nuevo Board. Before any money is spent, the plan must go to the Rio Nuevo subcommittee, and then to the mayor and council.

The public process for the UA museum complex will be similar.

These are the first of what surely will be many projects large and small as downtown Tucson emerges as a vibrant place to live, work and play.

If it seems to be happening fast, well, isn’t it about time?

Nina Trasoff, a Democrat, represents midtown Ward 6 on the Tucson City Council.