Top: Architectural rendering of a proposed expansion of the Fox Tucson Theatre into the space occupied by Bruegger’s Bagels to the east of the theater. Bottom: The current view from Stone Avenue and Congress Street.

 Rio Nuevo (top); Rick Wiley, Arizona Daily Star

Tucson’s historic Fox Theatre is planning a major expansion to its downtown venue that will include event space, bars and a rooftop terrace.

The nearly 100-year-old venue, at 17 W. Congress St., will expand to the adjacent Bruegger’s Bagels building to the east and get a new entrance and lobby.

The Rio Nuevo board has agreed to sell the theater back to the Fox Theatre Foundation so it can be used as collateral to finance the expansion.

The proposed expansion of the Fox Tucson Theatre would include event space, bars and a rooftop terrace.

“This intersection is the Times Square of Tucson,” Brent Davis, chairman of the Fox Theatre board, told Rio Nuevo. “The Fox is a legacy institution, linking Tucson’s past, present and future.”

Rio Nuevo bought the Fox Theatre in 2014 from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

This sale will return the property to Fox for $100, and Rio Nuevo pledged an additional $2 million in matching dollars toward the renovation.

The 20,000-square-foot expansion will cost about $21 million, and Fox donors have already made significant pledges toward the expansion, said Bonnie Schock, executive director of Fox Theatre.

Rae's Place Downtown Market is one of the small businesses being affected by the Fox Tucson Theatre's renovation. Learn more about the grab and go market here.

Pledge amounts range from $1,000 to $1 million.

“We have to invest in keeping Fox ahead of the curve “ she told the board, so that the future generations get acquainted with Fox.

The new design will be compatible with the original architecture and will not distract from the iconic Fox sign, said Michael Becherer, a partner with the local architecture firm, Swaim Associates.

The 20,000-square-foot expansion of the Fox Theatre will cost about $21 million.

The lobby will have a bar, and the second floor could be used for speaking events, small music events or a sit-down lunch or dinner for different groups.

A screen wrapped above the new entrance will display current and upcoming events.

There will be no changes to the registered historic theater space.

The addition of food, beverage, catering and a gift shop will benefit the Rio Nuevo district because it can collect a portion of that sales tax.

Schock said annual attendance in 2019 was 86,800 and that is projected to grow to 164,300 by the third year of operation because of added opportunities for different types of events.

The businesses at Congress Street and Stone Avenue received an $80,000 facelift in 1982. $10,000 came from a U.S. Housing and Urban Development Grant. That did not improve the shuttered Fox Theatre next door.

Taxable food, beverage, catering and retail was $301,000 in 2019 and expected to grow to $3.1 million by the third year of operation.

“If Fox does not acquire those adjacent properties, they will be sold or leased to something irrelevant to Fox,” Rio Nuevo board chairman Fletcher McCusker said. “What makes this work is the potential 951% return on investment on food, beverage and catering.”

“While there are many unknowns and much more to explore before the Fox board determines the right next steps, we are grateful for Rio Nuevo’s actions,” Schock said. “We all look forward to the possibilities that may lie just around the corner, and to sharing more as this concept evolves in the coming months.”

The board unanimously approved the deal at its monthly meeting Tuesday.

In other business, the Rio Nuevo board also voted to invest $512,000 to expand Empire Pizza at 137 E. Congress St., near Sixth Avenue; $250,000 to recruit retail to the closed Crescent Tobacco Shop & More at 200 E. Congress St. and potentially invest $1.5 million to buy the Indian Trading Post and identify new retail for the space at 60 E. Congress St. in what McCusker called “a needed reactivation of important downtown corners.”

The Fox Tucson Theatre opened its doors in the 1930's in downtown Tucson and has evolved and been restored to keep its legacy alive. Through its original 40 year run, the theater showed movies, shows and held community events. In 1974 the theater closed its doors and it wasn't until 2005 it opened them again. The restoration project was a community effort and the Fox theater continues its legacy today. Pascal Albright / Arizona Daily Star

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Contact reporter Gabriela Rico at grico@tucson.com