Longtime member of Tucson's Rio Nuevo board steps down

After serving 10 years on the board of the Rio Nuevo District, Mark Irvin considered resigning in 2020, but two big projects remained unresolved.

The redevelopment of the Tucson Convention Center and helping reopen Hotel Arizona.

Check and check.

Irvin has submitted his resignation after 12 years of ups (and a few downs) on the board.

“It’s been an interesting, interesting journey,” he said. “It’s fun to walk around downtown and see all that’s happened, but I think 12 years as a volunteer is enough.”

Rio Nuevo Board members are appointed by the Speaker of the House, the Senate president and the governor due to legislative changes made in 2010. Members serve at the pleasure of the state and have no term limit.

Created in 1999, the Rio Nuevo District is a special taxing district and receives an incremental portion of state-shared funds from sales taxes collected within a defined boundary. The district boundaries are downtown Tucson, west to a panhandle just west of Interstate 10 and east to Park Place mall, along Broadway.

Known as a TIF (Tax Increment Financing), the finance mechanism is used by the state to fund improvement projects.

When the Rio Nuevo District was formed, the Tucson Convention Center was designated as a priority of funding to bring it up to a nationally competitive level.

By 2009, the state determined the TCC had not received any significant enhancements and seized control of Rio Nuevo from the city of Tucson. A new board was appointed by the governor, president of the senate and speaker of the house.

Irvin, a local real estate broker, was among the new appointees tasked with fixing the district’s finances.

“There were times when it was extremely trying,” he said. “I almost stepped away early on with all the goofiness going on but said, ‘No. I’m going to stick it out.’”

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Highlights for Irvin include offering advice on real estate acquisitions, partnering with the private sector on downtown developments and achieving clean financial audits.

“Now there’s great leadership in place,” he said, “and the board understands what it needs to do.”

Speaker of the House Russell Bowers has appointed Mike Levin, the CEO of business operations for the Port of Tucson, to the board to fill a vacant seat. The speaker has not yet announced a replacement for Irvin.

“I am honored and humbled,” Levin said. “We wouldn’t have the downtown we have now if it weren’t for their work.”

Levin runs the business and real estate operations for the Port of Tucson, an 800-acre inland port on Tucson’s southeast side with 2.4 million square feet of industrial space and rail connection to the U.S. and Mexico.

He said he is looking forward to the learning curve.

“When I look at what they’re doing and what they’re bringing to downtown and what they’ve been through, I’m just excited,” Levin said. “They’ve made such an impact, not just economic but culturally, too.”

Fletcher McCusker, chairman of the Rio Nuevo board, welcomed Levin to the team.

“We welcome Mike to the board,” he said. “We congratulate the Speaker on a wise choice that will add a legacy family with significant real estate experience to the effort to revitalize Tucson’s downtown.”

McCusker also gave a tip of the hat to Irvin.

“He will be missed, but his contribution to Tucson’s revitalization efforts will be a lifetime legacy,” he said. “I wish my friend Mark well and, on behalf of the entire board, express Tucson’s thanks for a job well done.”