20+ historic sites downtown vie for facade program
Published: 07.23.2008
20+ historic sites downtown vie for facade program
TEYA VITU
Tucson Citizen
More than 20 historic downtown buildings will be evaluated for the city's $530,000 facade improvement program.
Property owners from many prominent downtown businesses met the Tuesday deadline to be considered for the program, said Glenn Lyons, chief executive of the Downtown Tucson Partnership.
"I'm terribly pleased," Lyons said. "I had no idea we'd have this kind of response."
That's because property owners have to make a 50-50 match for the city funding if they are among the four chosen to do facade work. Applicants include Hotel Congress, Wig-O-Rama, Beowulf Alley Theatre and ArtFare The Muse.
The selection committee headed by Lyons expects to narrow the list by Aug. 1 to eight applicants. They will each be assigned an architect and each given $7,500 from the program fund to prepare their concept and renovation proposals, which are due Oct. 7.
The selection committee expects to announce four finalists Nov. 8. City funding could be as much as $125,000 for a corner property and $90,000 for one midblock.
"It'll be hard to choose eight and then four," Lyons said.
The buildings have to date from before 1948 and must have an original facade that can be restored. The program is limited to buildings on Broadway and Congress and Pennington streets, between Toole and Church avenues, Lyons said.
The selection committee is Lyons and Donovan Durband from the partnership; Assistant City Manager Karen Masbruch and her assistant, Fran La Sala; Brooks Jeffery, associate dean of the architecture school at the University of Arizona; Demion Clinco from the Tucson-Pima County Historical Commission; developer Phil Lipman; Mary Lou Focht, owner of Old Town Artisans; and Jonathan Mabry, the city's historic preservation officer.
"Can you imagine what downtown would be like if we could fund all 23 (applicants)?" Lyons mused. "You wouldn't recognize the place. It would be the most historic downtown in North America."
-----------------------
WHO'S APPLIED
Applicants for city's facade improvement program
Address Business/property name owner year built
311 E. Congress St. Hotel Congress Richard Oseran 1919
111-121 E. Congress St. W.A. Julian Bldg./former Club Asylum David Nichols 1908
20 E. Congress St. Western Union/Bank Annex Building Bourn Partners 1913
72 E. Congress St. Rebeil Block/Indian Village Building Bourn Partners 1897
178-186 E. Broadway Julian Drew Building Urban Ventures/Ross Rulney 1917
118 S. Fifth Ave. The Carriage House Urban Ventures/Ross Rulney 1920
63 E. Congress St. McLellan Building John Wesley Miller 1946
256-278 E. Congress St. Block between Arizona and Fifth avenues Tucson Urban Land LLC (WDD/Peach) ca. 1915-1920
64 E. Broadway
Southern Arizona Legal Aid Ron Schwabe/Gwendolyn Weiner 1919
101 E. Pennington St. Reilly Mortuary Steve Fenton 1907
98-110 E. Congress St. Wig -O-Rama, Grill, Vaudeville Cabaret Miyung & Suk Hoo Kim 1915
210 E. Broadway Tucson Academy of Leadership & Arts Medlar Investments/Dr. Frank DiPietro 1944
300-320 E. Congress St. Rialto Block Don Martin 1920
44 N. Stone Ave. Roy Place Building/old Walgreens, Montgomery Ward Pima County 1929
40 W. Broadway Charles O. Brown House/El Centro Cultural de las Americas Arizona Historical Society ca. 1855
11 S. Sixth Ave. Beowulf Alley Theatre/former Johnny Gibson Gym Equipment Co. Gibson Family ca. 1915-1920
127 E. Congress St. The Screening Room Arizona Media Arts Center 1906
254 E. Congress St. Block between Sixth and Arizona avenues Shirley Cooney/Congress St. Partners 1900
31-47 N. Sixth Ave. Art Fare Mary Williamson 1917
51 N. Sixth Ave. Art Fare Richard Melikian 1930
55 N. Sixth Ave. Art Fare Richard Melikian 1945
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Parking problem eased for downtown arts patrons | www.tucsoncitizen.com ®
Parking problem eased for downtown arts patrons www.tucsoncitizen.com ®:
Parking problem eased for downtown arts patrons
TEYA VITU
Published: 07.08.2008
Patrons at Beowulf Alley Theatre and The Drawing Studio may use the county-owned parking lot across Sixth Avenue from the arts organization, a reversal of the long-held policy of limiting parking to just permit holders.
That will be a relief to theater patrons and artists, many elderly and less mobile, officials at both entities said.
Until Monday, Beth Dell of Beowulf and Lynn Fleischman of The Drawing Studio had the distinct impression that Pima County would not allow Beowulf or Drawing Studio patrons to use the permit-only, 90-space lot behind the Chicago Store, even in the evening or on weekends.
Dell said her landlord in the past year had asked the county for permission to use the 77 E. Broadway lot and the "county gave a resounding no on grounds that it is a liability." Fleischman had similar results in prior efforts to use the lot between Scott and Sixth avenues.
"I'm delighted the county is helping the merchants downtown," said Dell, theater manager at Beowulf, 11 S. Sixth Ave.
Beowulf Alley and Drawing Studio patrons typically had to walk several blocks from the Pennington Street Garage or Armory Park to get their performance or art kicks, while the lot sits empty across the street.
"We have a lot of people that have some mobility issues," said Fleischman, executive director at The Drawing Studio, 33 S. Sixth Ave.
The county discourages the general public from using the lot because it is in need of repair, is not lighted at night nor patrolled, said Reid Spaulding, who became Pima County's facilities management director 10 weeks ago.
"If they are parked there at night, no, we're not going to haul it," Spaulding said. "You can use it, but it's at your own risk. The preference is for people not to use it, especially during the day."
Spaulding added that security patrols will not cite vehicles parked there at night.
The issue surfaced at last week's Downtown Tucson Partnership board meeting, where Dell brought up not being allowed to use the county lot as she described how "patrons tell me they are afraid to come downtown."
Hotel Congress owner Richard Oseran has long been disgruntled with the county's refusal to pay into the Downtown Tucson Partnership or its predecessor Tucson Downtown Alliance.
"It's shocking to me that the county can't open a parking lot at night," Oseran said last week. "The county has failed from day one in contributing anything (to the partnership/alliance)."
The parking lot is one of four city and county properties assigned to Glenn Lyons, chief executive of the Downtown Tucson Partnership, to sell to the private sector. Lyons questions the county's parking policies, which keep El Presidio Garage at City Hall closed on weekends and after 6 p.m. on weekdays.
"If they wanted to do it, they could," Lyon said about allowing the public to park at the Broadway lot. "The one on Broadway would be great for evening traffic. The way the county has chosen to run parking is an issue."
Parking problem eased for downtown arts patrons
TEYA VITU
Published: 07.08.2008
Patrons at Beowulf Alley Theatre and The Drawing Studio may use the county-owned parking lot across Sixth Avenue from the arts organization, a reversal of the long-held policy of limiting parking to just permit holders.
That will be a relief to theater patrons and artists, many elderly and less mobile, officials at both entities said.
Until Monday, Beth Dell of Beowulf and Lynn Fleischman of The Drawing Studio had the distinct impression that Pima County would not allow Beowulf or Drawing Studio patrons to use the permit-only, 90-space lot behind the Chicago Store, even in the evening or on weekends.
Dell said her landlord in the past year had asked the county for permission to use the 77 E. Broadway lot and the "county gave a resounding no on grounds that it is a liability." Fleischman had similar results in prior efforts to use the lot between Scott and Sixth avenues.
"I'm delighted the county is helping the merchants downtown," said Dell, theater manager at Beowulf, 11 S. Sixth Ave.
Beowulf Alley and Drawing Studio patrons typically had to walk several blocks from the Pennington Street Garage or Armory Park to get their performance or art kicks, while the lot sits empty across the street.
"We have a lot of people that have some mobility issues," said Fleischman, executive director at The Drawing Studio, 33 S. Sixth Ave.
The county discourages the general public from using the lot because it is in need of repair, is not lighted at night nor patrolled, said Reid Spaulding, who became Pima County's facilities management director 10 weeks ago.
"If they are parked there at night, no, we're not going to haul it," Spaulding said. "You can use it, but it's at your own risk. The preference is for people not to use it, especially during the day."
Spaulding added that security patrols will not cite vehicles parked there at night.
The issue surfaced at last week's Downtown Tucson Partnership board meeting, where Dell brought up not being allowed to use the county lot as she described how "patrons tell me they are afraid to come downtown."
Hotel Congress owner Richard Oseran has long been disgruntled with the county's refusal to pay into the Downtown Tucson Partnership or its predecessor Tucson Downtown Alliance.
"It's shocking to me that the county can't open a parking lot at night," Oseran said last week. "The county has failed from day one in contributing anything (to the partnership/alliance)."
The parking lot is one of four city and county properties assigned to Glenn Lyons, chief executive of the Downtown Tucson Partnership, to sell to the private sector. Lyons questions the county's parking policies, which keep El Presidio Garage at City Hall closed on weekends and after 6 p.m. on weekdays.
"If they wanted to do it, they could," Lyon said about allowing the public to park at the Broadway lot. "The one on Broadway would be great for evening traffic. The way the county has chosen to run parking is an issue."
Sunday, July 06, 2008
Free Season Subscription Offer Extended to July 15!
It's Not Too Late to Get Your Free Subscriptions!
Beowulf Alley Is Making the Arts Affordable in a Tough Economy
Buy 2 First Sunday Subscriptions @ $50 each, get 2 First Sunday Subscriptions for Free! (That's a $5 ticket to a play!)
Buy 2 Full Season Subscriptions @ $70 each, get 2 Full Season Subscriptions for Free! (That's a $7 ticket to a play!)
Buy 2 Flex Passes @ $64 each, get 1 Flex Pass for Free! (That's less than $12 per ticket to a play!)
Right now, the economy is taking a toll on everyone. At Beowulf Alley, we asked ourselves what we could do to provide local entertainment to our community at an affordable price and what a great value we've created!
You and your friends don't want to miss this great opportunity, at incredibly low prices, to enjoy an evening of theatre by Tucson's fabulous home-grown talent. We know that for some of you, $50-$70 is hard to come up with all at one time but it's a small price to pay for a season of entertainment and, with the free ticket offer, you and your friends can come together (and even split the cost) to see a season of plays for far less than what it costs for a $20 single ticket. Even if you can't attend all of the plays, it's still a great opportunity to save.
As season subscribers, you will receive tremendous benefits:
- Flexible Exchange Policy (24-hour advance notice) by e-mailing
theatre@beowulfalley.org or calling 882-0555* - Preferential seating for Full Season and Flex Pass Subscribers**
- 20-50% savings over single ticket prices
- Bonus FREE subscriptions if you subscribe before
June 30July 15, 2008 - 10% discount on Special Event and Workshop Pricing
- Easy Ordering, on-line at www.beowulfalley.org, via mail or e-mail (boxoffice@beowulfalley.org)
- Invitation to the Opening Night post-show receptions and other events
- Free admission to our Summer Play Workshop
- Special discount codes, only for Subscribers, to purchase additional single show tickets online
*First Sunday-Additional charges apply except when used for Preview performances and First Sunday of each production
** Does not apply to First Sunday
So why wait? July 15th is almost here. Call some friends and share this fabulous opportunity!
For a description of our 2008-2009 season, please go to our website: www.beowulfalley.org.
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