Place-based development and streetcar transforming downtown Tucson

Tucson's Sunlink streetcar opened in July 25, linking University of Arizona and its Health Sciences Center to the Fourth Avenue corridor, downtown, and a redevelopment district called Mercado.

Since the "modern streetcar" was announced in 2006, more than $1.5 billion in investment has occurred along its route, including housing, restaurants, offices, and retail, according to the US Department of Transportation. 

"Since 2006, when Tucson voters approved the $2.1 billion Regional Transportation Plan that included the modern streetcar, downtown has seen aggressive redevelopment that has brought dozens of new restaurants, night clubs, bars and shops which have transformed it into a vibrant entertainment district," the Daily Sun reported.

Similar stories have played out in many cities like Portland, Seattle, Atlanta, and Tampa that have installed streetcars (and taken many other steps that have including planning, infrastructure investments, and tax-increment financing) that resulted in big private investment. 

The Mercado District is of particular interest to urbanists, including a new 14-acre neighborhood built of southwest adobe homes with narrow, winding streets. 

This eight-block plan with seven small plazas, designed by Moule & Polyzoides,  and Oscar Machado, won a CNU Charter Award in 2006. 

Like a lot of developments of the time, it suffered during the real estate downtown. Rio Development defaulted on a bank loan in 2011, according to the Arizona Daily Star, but was able to buy time. The developer held on and now their project is surging ahead. The built result is, objectively, pretty fabulous. 

Source: Moule & Polyzoides

Architect Stefanos Polyzoides described the Mercado planning and building process:

1.  A master plan enabled the incremental execution of the project in a variety of products of different sizes, from single family houses to row houses, to courtyard housing to stacked flats over retail to plain stacked flats.

2.  A development code established zoning and development standards and is compatible with the current building codes as currently regulated by the City of Tucson. Pulling a permit is streamlined. 3.  An architectural language was invented during the charrette that is regional in its underlying material, construction method and environmental performance dimensions.

4.  Four small builders bought lots and designed their own houses working directly with their end users. Because of the recession, there was no spec building and therefore no spec design.

5.  Some of their projects were corrected in drawing form by Moule & Polyzoides for adherence to the project language and code. Individual interpretations were encouraged across a wide spectrum.

6.  Each building drew from the rich experience and interests of the builders with alternative forms of construction, such as adobe, rammed earth, etc, and their practice of inexpensive, passive means of environmental control.

Source: Moule & Polyzoides

7.  Each project was approved by a Design Committee composed of Moule & Polyzoides, the developer, and one of the design/ builders, Tom Wuelpern.  Key criteria are beyond the individual character of single buildings and refer to the whole place.  They include choice of frontages, a rich fabric of building and a diverse color palette.

Thirty homes are built and 10 more under construction, and larger buildings are in the pipeline.

Phase 2 plan for Mercado. Source: Moule & Polyzoides 

The redevelopment area was cleared in 1960s urban renewal. 

Sunlink ridership

In its first three days of operation when no fared was charged, Sunlink averaged 20,000 riders daily, a level that surprised everyone. As fares were instituted ($1.50 per ride, $4 daily pass), ridership dropped to 3,200, which is 88 percent of the long-term daily projection. These first-week numbers were prior to the return of university students for the fall semester. 

The Sunlink streetcars were built in Portland — the first system to be launched with US-built streetcars in 60 years.

Downtown Tucson and adjacent neighborhoods appear to be roaring back to life with new investment and the rail transit connections.

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