One of the most colorful sections of downtown Tucson is scheduled to be torn down by late May.
HSL Properties, which owns the now-vacant La Placita complex, has taken out a demolition permit for the brightly colored property.
The developer has submitted plans to build market-rate apartments and ground-floor retail businesses, including a restaurant and a coffee shop.
The company has contracted with BCS Enterprises, which has offices in Gilbert, to handle the demolition.
Omar Mireles, president of HSL Properties, which owns the property, told the Tucson City Council last month that he expects a studio apartment will cost about $900 a month.
While HSL does own both La Placita and the shuttered Hotel Arizona next door, Mireles does not expect the new development at La Placita to spur economic activity next door.
He said the two properties have different investors behind them, with different goals guiding their development.
Placita Village, which opened in 1973, had more than 200,000 square feet of office and restaurant space and a 500-space parking garage, which remains open.
Several buildings eligible for listing in the State and National Registers of Historic Places by the State Historic Preservation Office will not be torn down.
They include the Samaniego House, the Flin Building, and the Stables, which all date from the late 19th century to the early 20th century and are surviving remnants of Tucsonβs downtown barrio.
