The Tucson City Council gave the go-ahead to a major hotel project in downtown Tucson when it signed an agreement Thursday with Rio Nuevo and Nor-Generations.
The agreement lets Rio Nuevo take over as landlord of the temporary Greyhound bus station currently on the site of the proposed hotel development. That expedites the relocation of the station, allows Rio Nuevo to close on the sale of its part of the site to developer Nor-Generations, and allows the developer to move more quickly on construction.
Rio Nuevo chair Fletcher McCusker told the council this project is an opportunity to preserve the gem shows, which are a major contributor to Tucsonβs economy and which need more hotel and exhibition space downtown.
The relocation of the Greyhound station had threatened to derail the project, but the parties came to an agreement before next weekβs deadline for the procurement contract. McCusker said he is committed to working with the city to make sure the relocation is a coordinated effort.
Council member Steve Kozachik said the agreement is an example of the evolving positive relationship between the city and Rio Nuevo.
TMC incentive
The council approved a tax incentive deal for TMC HealthCare to build an $11 million medical office building at the southeast corner of South Houghton and East Drexel roads.
TMC qualified for the Primary Jobs Incentive program by making a large capital investment and by creating 22 new jobs that pay above-average wages. The project will create about 60 jobs, with room to grow.
The city expects to receive more than $286,000 in new tax revenue over five years from the project.
TMC will get an 88 percent discount on building permit fees and will be allowed to apply 88 percent of the construction sales taxes from the project to offset impact fees. The value of the incentive is about $120,000.
The building, to be called the TMC Rincon Health Campus at Civano, is expected to open in September 2016.
In other action, the council finalized a Primary Jobs Incentive deal for the new Comcast customer service center at 4690 N. Oracle Road and finalized a site-specific sales tax incentive for Main Gate Partners, which plans to build a new hotel in the university area.
city to settle lawsuits
The council approved two legal settlements.
β’ It approved spending $95,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by Top Job Maintenance and Repair.
The company claimed the city owed it $224,000 plus interest for unpaid invoices for repairs to the cityβs El Portal affordable housing project. The city brought the property management in house last year.
β’ The council approved $40,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a JW Marriott Tucson Starr Pass Resort security guard. The guard was giving CPR to a bicyclist who collapsed, and a fire department employee cut the guardβs hand while trying to cut off the victimβs shirt.
