Urban University Interface.com

What You Thought 10 Years Ago.

In January of 2010 I asked If Tucson needed a U of A / Downtown Planning Interface effort with Neighborhoods.  Since then we spent well in excess of  1.5 billion dollars.  It included a $200,000,000.00 street car, 7-10,000 luxury student beds, residential projects valued at $500,000,000.00 and hundreds of millions in commercial starts within a mile radius of Tucson’s core hotbed of development….and still counting. Unfortunately we also have seen losses in traditional family oriented home ownership in the core.  You may be interested in what you said about this ten years ago.  Do you like what you see today?  Are we creating enough opportunities for a robust home ownership bordering the university and within our great historic centers like downtown and the 4th Avenue District?   Here are some thoughts you shared in 2010; paraphrased from memory:

• Chuck Albanese, Architect and former dean of the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, CALA – Embraces the idea. Would like to see the architectural community involved. It is a good time for discussion
• Gal Witmer, Architect, Member of WUNA long term university area resident and representative. She supports supports embracing these sensitive issues
• Robert Vint, Architect, Preservationist and president of Vint Associates – Thinks it is a great idea and a good time for it.
• Jim Mazzocco, Senior City Planner. Something like this is needed. Nothing specific addresses this issue. The City would have to manage the creation of any new plan for it to functionally work and be administered.  The City of Tucson’s budgets are too impacted to embrace a major effort.

• Bob Smith, Architect, AIA. 15 year UA Campus Planning Director, President of the AIA, embraces the idea. The U of A has been working through a history of issues with neighborhoods. The 2003 plan begins to address what the 2009 update embraces in working with neighborhoods and sharing their needs. The U of A works with the CCRC (Campus Community Relations Committee) and the CPAC (Campus Project Advisory Committee) The U of A avoids a politically charged or a unilateral approach. They will be part of a popular collaborative base where they can contribute technical planning expertise. They highly support the downtown streetcar link and developing a downtown campus extension as expansion venues like Rita Ranch are less favorable. The downtown option works! Growth goals are at least 50,000 students; maybe more. Currently, the U of A is building 1100 beds and would like to meet housing needs for 1^st year student “on campus” Meeting the needs of remaining student housing is question. The U of A supports “planned” housing. The U of A would like to be involved in a public/private approach to meeting off-campus housing solutions by providing site selection recommendations, design participation and student referral.
• Bob Schlanger, Neighborhood spokesman and resident of Jefferson Park Neighborhood Assoc. Bob embraces the idea. Would like to see perimeter development on appropriate sites the reduces the demand for negative infill development.
• Holly Lachowicz, Council aide to Karin Uhlich, Ward 3, She want to know what the City of Tucson is already doing for University and neighborhood planning concerns. Thinks it is a good idea. She would like to be involved and hear more.  “…You certainly have identified an important issue!”
• Steve Kozachik, Council Member, Ward 6 and Donovan Durban, Council Aide – They are both very supportive. Offered his office for meetings and facilitation. Steve strongly supports development of edges of historic neighborhoods and agrees that the current infill housing in neighborhood interiors is not a long term preference to meeting housing demands. A planning effort that outlines way that attention can be diverted to edges and more appropriate sites is a good idea. He understands that it would be best if this was not unilaterally driven by the City of Tucson planning department and that U of A input and community leadership is key.
• Jim Gresham, Architect and principal of Gresham and Beach Architects, Architectural consultant for Tucson, NPZ submittals. He thinks it is a good idea. Has concerns about his involvement as City of Tucson NPZ Architect. It needs U of A support on quite a few levels. The U of A has however expressed support of the street car link and well planned university housing, downtown development/expansion, which does set the state for increasing land values. We talked about a precedent setting multi-story housing proposal at the edge of WUNA designed by Vint and Associates. The project is a statement for transitional edge development.
• Mike Finklestein, Tucson Developer, Owner of Quatrovest – Great idea! City has no money and is falling short on a mandatory general plan update for 2011. NPZ is not a good approach. I added that the NPZ plans are putting many carts out there without a horse, i.e. ( no overall balanced plan ) How about a development authority with state approval to handle acquisitions. He thinks the U of A surrounding area is an asset of the University and the community. It is worth preserving from a standpoint of context of place and identity. Needs to be done carefully. Codes are ambiguous. He doesn’t agree with the hop scotching of mini dorms.
• Cathy Rex, Architect, Tucson Planning Commission – Agrees with the need for a plan. Need alternatives. Land use planning needs to acknowledge housing and commercial infill at the right locations. She agrees this issue needs to input the General Plan.
• JT Fey, University Campus Planner, former City of Tucson Historic Officer. He worked on the Conservation District 6 years ago ( pre prop.207) Sees a big disagreement between compatibility and development. Compromise is needed. Should not imitate the NPZ. of Tucson leadership is necessary. Need an objective that can lead to methodology and solutions.
• Dick Eribes,PhD, AIS, Architect, former Dean and Professor at CALA. Wants to participate. Knows the image of the UA and what is needed today. He was formerly with university campus planning for one year.
• Maria Gayosso, lead planner of the Tucson General Plan. Anticipates a delay on the dead line for the general plan update from 2011 to 2015 because of budget cuts. Pima County is already 2015. She welcomes any input from this effort. Sees a need.
• Albert Elias Director of Tucson Urban Planning and Design – Definite need for this emphasis. In the wake of many struggling small plans; a larger broader focus makes sense. Downtown-UA connection good. Great for the General Plan. Sees 3 main tasks: Who participate? What is the format of discussion? What emerges and what are the goals and objectives? He is willing to participate
• Mac Hudson council aide of Ward 1. Likes the urban emphasis and supports the effort. Mac wrote: Time for a New Urban Environment, guest editorial in the 2007 Star. From “intent” page: “the  intention of this website is to draw public attention and action to address the necessary  planning addenda, mechanisms, density strategies and urban neighborhood transitions that can do this.” “…Absolutely I couldn’t agree more! ”
  
• Peter Dourlien, AIA, PDC Director at University of Arizona – Peter would like to be informed of future actions. Initially thought this effort could be a sub committee of the CCRC. The scope, however is too broad and focuses on entirely different things. He wants to be a part of the outreach.
• Curtis Ench, Architect, Owner of Seventh Generation Studios. He supports the idea of dealing with the issues wants to be informed.
• Adam Smith, Tucson City Planner, Land Use Code Committee. He would like to explore current assets that could enhance these efforts. Invited me to LUC committee presentation to see their work. The LUC committee added a brief study of the University Area Plan to their agenda within the last two sessions. Adam sees a few issues needing focus, including establishing a baseline of growth projections, identification of growth locations, assurances of architectural form, incentives for the right forms, current road blocks, and potential solutions.
• Randi Dorman Indigo Modern, Developer Wants improvements in process regarding urban development. She thinks the many planning overlays are fragmented and ineffective. Thinks that the UA should have stronger involvement. Likes the focus on the area north of Toole and west of 6^th Ave, but thinks its also fragmented. Restrictions, time and high fees are a dis-incentive to the infill plan. Process for residential cluster projects is difficult and a dis-incentive.
• Corky Poster, Architect, President of Poster-Frost-Mirto, Its a good idea.  You should do it!  Corky worked on many plans that work off a new model of planning and suggested that a new COT area plan be constructed around this new model. His past efforts included optional overlays to avert conflict with prop. 207. Interested in Flagstaffs prop. 207 challenge. Corky’s Miles, Miramonte and Jefferson Park plans demonstrate the model he refers to as well as the www.downtownlinks.info project. The partnership objectives in the UA campus plan are a start.  Corky, says that ideas for luring good development is defining “single family” and providing development alternatives.
• Janice Cerveli, Dean of CALA. She likes Corky Poster’s directive to the UA Campus plan; that the UA needs to look outside its boundaries for student housing alternatives. Agrees there is a gap in planning around the UA interface that needs strong definition. This was part of the 2009 update. “We need to create a private-public cooperation zone” . Likes the idea of the college engaging in the issue as a study. Need engagement. Need a rational Approach. Need a downtown presence. The UA should to examine a 15 year enrollment plan to define housing needs and examine its carrying capacity regarding expansion and relating to specific development along linkages to downtown, the street car link, and along its interface with the community. Need to know where housing will go. Janice was quoted in 2009 as saying that the University and the Community can partner with the City of Tucson to create a “Communiversity” after recalling how much of a positive growth difference this effort made between ASU and the City of Phoenix