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Hauling linens to the laundromat may soon go from chore to fun.

Local developers are in the process of turning a historic building in downtown Tucson into a gathering place with a café, bar, music, artist studios, communal areas and laundry facilities.

Known as a “laundrobar,” the concept has gained popularity in cities around the country in recent years.

Developers are planning a unique venue with a laundromat, bar and lounge and entertainment at The Rodger, 123 S. Stone Ave. It is one of the projects that received financial support from the Rio Nuevo District this past fiscal year. 

It is one of the projects here supported by the Rio Nuevo District, highlighted in its annual report to the state's Joint Legislative Committee on Capital Review.

The district’s board is required to submit the annual report with details about its spending and return on investment.

For the fiscal year, which ended June 30, the board invested about $13 million in projects with $53 million in private investment, the annual report shows.

Of those projects, 13 are local bars, restaurants or retail, plus one chain restaurant.

The Moxy Hotel will be located on vacant downtown Tucson lot next door to the MLK Apartments on Fifth Avenue and immediately above the Depot Plaza parking garage downtown. 

Other projects include funding for the Downtown Tucson Partnership, the Mural Program, a skate park on Cushing Street and small business grants.

And, local developer Tucson Urban LLC is bringing the Marriott chain, Moxy Hotel, downtown.

Two sports programs receive Rio Nuevo’s support, indoor football league, Tucson Sugar Skulls, and hockey team, Tucson Roadrunners.

The indoor football team, Sugar Skulls, is one of the programs that received money from the Rio Nuevo District this past fiscal year.

“We are proud to continue delivering meaningful economic benefits to the State of Arizona and the southern region,” board chairman Fletcher McCusker wrote in his letter to the chairman of the oversight committee as part of the annual report. “Rio Nuevo has successfully doubled the tax base of what was once a blighted, boarded up downtown.”

The Rio Nuevo District is a municipal tax collection district and special taxing district created in 1999 by voters.

The district receives an incremental portion of state-shared funds from sales taxes collected within its boundary, which is downtown Tucson, west to a panhandle just west of Interstate 10 and east to Park Place mall, along Broadway.

After focusing on the Tucson Convention Center and improvements to downtown, the board has recently turned its attention to its eastern boundaries following improvements to Broadway’s Sunshine Mile and proposed developments at Park Place.

Where the money goes

Earlier this year, the Rio Nuevo board came under fire for voting to help a national comedy club move downtown, which would have displaced two local businesses.

Some residents criticized the board for helping national companies and not doing enough to support local businesses.

De Novo Market & Tap is one of several local businesses that received financial help from the Rio Nuevo District this past fiscal year.

But the district’s financial support has mainly been for local retailers, especially bars and restaurants, to open, expand or renovate.

Projects in which the board invested, listed with Rio Nuevo contribution plus the private investment, are:

Batch, 118 E. Congress St.

Rio Nuevo, $175,000. Private investment, $350,000.

Café Francais, 3855 E. Broadway

Rio Nuevo, $102,935. Private investment, $242,720.

Cal’s Bakeshop, 2936 E. Broadway

Rio Nuevo, $193,796. Private investment, $385,592.

Cold Beers and Cheeseburgers (chain) 5950 E. Broadway

Rio Nuevo, $2.3 million, Private investment, $4.6 million.

Copal’s Contemporary Mexican Cuisine, 5340 E. Broadway

Rio Nuevo, $123,666. Private investment, $553,462.

DeNovo Market & Tap, 117 N. Church Ave.

Rio Nuevo, $580,000. Private investment, $1.1 million.

Elliott’s on Congress, 135 E. Congress St.

Rio Nuevo, $23,486. Private, $46,971

Gibson’s Food Hall & Market, 11 S. Sixth Ave.

Rio Nuevo, $487,945. Private investment, $1.4 million.

Herbert’s Deli, 160 S. Avenida del Convento

Rio Nuevo, $116,000. Private investment: $351,743.

MSA Annex Commissary, 267 S. Avenida del Convento

Rio Nuevo, $116,000. Private investment, $299,519.

MSA Annex Expansion, 267 S. Avenida del Convento

Rio Nuevo, $400,000. Private investment, $1 million.

The Rodger, 123 S. Stone Ave.

Rio Nuevo, $1.4 million. Private investment $4 million.

UPS Store (chain, local franchisee) 5425 E. Broadway

Rio Nuevo, $45,000. Private investment, $116,933.

Vertigo Wines, 410 N. Toole Ave.

Rio Nuevo, $98,500. Private investment, $197,000.

Zeke’s Pizza, 161 N. Sixth Ave.

Rio Nuevo, $237,488. Private investment, $2.1 million.

The Rodger project

The laundrobar will be one of several unique venues in the vacant 3-story building that was formerly Rogers Hospital.

Developers are Charlie Levy and Marcel Dabdoub, along with entertainment guru David Slutes.

The ground floor of The Rodger, 123 S. Stone Ave., will include a laundromat / bar, lounge and patio seating.

The laundromat, bar and lounge will be on the ground floor. The second floor will have a communal kitchen, several meeting spaces and mini sleeping rooms for traveling musicians, artists or fans who follow their work.

The basement will feature a green room, club with stage, and a bar.

“The vision of The Rodger is the create a new arts hub that is uniquely Tucson,” a presentation made to Rio Nuevo says. “It's a space for the community but also for visitors who want to experience Tucson's unique arts culture.”

Levy is known for transforming historic spaces into performance venues and, next month, will open La Rosa, a concert venue in the former chapel at the Benedictine Monastery, 800 N. Country Club Road.

Slutes was a recording artist with his band, the Sidewinders, and entertainment director of Hotel Congress for 20 years and Dabdoub has developed, with multiple partners, a variety of projects in downtown Tucson.

Architectural work has been completed for The Rodger, and a construction timeline is being set out.

The Rio Nuevo District allocated $300,000 this past fiscal year to commission murals downtown such as this one by Ignacio Garcia.

Vertigo Wines is one of the local businesses that received financial help from the Rio Nuevo District this past fiscal year.

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Contact reporter Gabriela Rico at grico@tucson.com