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With rents up to $3K per month, new luxury Tucson apartments are leasing up

From the What's new, Tucson?: 20 people, places and things welcomed in 2021 series

The Flin, 110 S. Church Ave., is about 20% leased and has a waiting list for its coveted top-floor lofts.

 Kelly Presnell PHOTOS, Arizona Daily Star

Downtown Tucson’s newest luxury apartment complex is open, commanding rents of up to more than $3,000 a month and interest from out-of-town transfers and locals alike.

Built on the site of the former La Placita Village, 110 S. Church Ave., the six-story The Flin complex by local developers HSL Properties Inc., is about 20% leased and has a waiting list for its coveted top-floor lofts. More than 120 units still await final touches before they are available for lease.

Named after the Flin family, the original operators of El Charro Café that operated there from 1935 to 1968, that building remains intact and has been split between a resident clubhouse and local coffee shop, Savaya Coffee Market, which will be open to the public next year.

The 245-unit complex has studios, one- , two- and three-bedroom units and seven lofts.

Rents range from $1,175 to $3,025 a month. Monthly add-ons include $95 per vehicle or $125 for two-space tandem parking and water and trash service from $70 to $100 a month, depending on size.

Pets are allowed for an additional $30 a month, up to two pets.

Downtown Tucson has changed over the years with the construction of apartment buildings and hotels. Take a flight over the area. Drone video by: Mamta Popat, Arizona Daily Star

The units all have washers and dryers and varying sized patios.

La Plaza de la Mesilla, where the historic gazebo sits, remains a public space, and HSL placed metal luminaries next to it with cutout names of all the residents and businesses that were displaced when La Placita Village was built in the early 1970s as part of an urban renewal project that displaced hundreds of barrio residents and historic structures, said Omar Mireles, president of HSL Properties.

The living/dining area in one of the floor plans at The Flin, 110 S. Church Ave. The complex also has a movie theater and two-story gym.

From a nod to the old to a touch of new, The Flin has a 23-seat movie theater, a two-story gymnasium with north-facing views and a rooftop gathering spot with grills and outdoor kitchen.

Downtown has come a long way

Tucson native Gary Kraft had been living downtown for a couple of years and eagerly awaiting The Flin to be finished.

He and his son, Carter, moved in at the end of October.

“I love to just go out the front door and go walking somewhere,” he said. “I have a car but don’t have to use it that often.”

Kraft, who works at the federal courthouse, recalled when downtown was deserted in the 1990s and early 2000s.

“I remember Hotel Congress in the ‘80s being a punk place and now it’s so sophisticated,” he said. “I’ve been downtown almost two years now and think I’m here for a while.”

Engineer Patrick Sagman relocated from the Dallas area to work for a Tucson firm and was attracted to The Flin during his online search for apartments.

“I liked the location and — that it was new — attracted me,” he said. “I like the movie theater, rooftop socializing and the gym.”

Monica Flin, owner of El Charro Restaurant, on July 1, 1968. The restaurant was forced to vacate to make way for downtown redevelopment projects, including La Placita Village, which was demolished to make way for The Flin and other projects.

He moved in at the end of October and it was his first visit to Tucson.

“Tucson is beautiful,” Sagman said. “I enjoy hiking and the activities around the downtown area.

“And, I’m enjoying the food, too.”

Rounding out the TCC block

Next door to The Flin, HSL owns the Hotel Arizona, which is undergoing a renovation to reopen as a Hyatt brand in 2023 and will round out the Tucson Convention Center block.

This architect's rendering shows the senior living complex with 80 to 100 units and a movie theater for residents that HSL plans to build between The Flin and Hotel Arizona on Congress Street in Tucson. An existing pedestrian bridge is lower left.

They will also build a senior living complex between the hotel and The Flin, with between 80 and 100 units in one- and two-bedroom models with a movie theater.

Last week the Rio Nuevo board unanimously approved HSL’s requests for 150 parking spots dedicated to the future hotel in the garage behind the TCC Music Hall.

An in-house theater is available for use by the residents of The Flin.

The board agreed there would be no charge for two years, after which each spot will cost $15 a day or the market rate at that time.

HSL expects to spend about $40 million on renovations for the hotel.

Details on the senior living complex brand or costs have not yet been announced.

HSL Properties President Omar Mireles (left) poses for a photo with  Community Director Kayla Sullivan and Andrew Titche, executive vice president, at The Flin, 110 S. Church Ave.

The outdoor courtyard at The Flin has a view of 1 South Church, Tucson's tallest building.

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Contact reporter Gabriela Rico at grico@tucson.com