Historic bungalows along the western stretch of East Broadway, that leads into downtown Tucson, could soon be bustling with people grabbing a bite to eat, listening to live music or getting their poochβs nails trimmed.
The widening of Broadwayβs βSunshine Mileβ β between Country Club Road and Euclid Avenue β is nearing completion and the time for bringing in the retail and attractions has arrived.
Preserving and reinventing some historic properties along that stretch has been a top priority for the city and the Rio Nuevo board, whose district encompasses Broadway from downtown, east to Park Place mall.
Rio Nuevo acquired 39 properties, including the Solot Plaza, Friedman Block and Bungalow Block on the north side of Broadway.
Seven of the bungalows were moved 75 feet from the road in 2019 to save them from being damaged during the Broadwayβs widening.
The Bungalow Block is between Cherry and Warren avenues and is set to become a food hub with a cooking school and rotating chefs to showcase the cityβs different cuisines that earned Tucson a UNESCO first American City of Gastronomy designation in 2015.
Now, further east on Broadway, Rio Nuevo has chosen developers for the two other properties.
Developer Larsen-Baker has been selected as the awardee for the Solot Plaza β 16 properties between Tucson Boulevard and Treat Avenue.
The Grant Krueger Team was selected to develop the Friedman Block β 16 properties between Tucson Boulevard and Plumer Avenue.
βWeβre incredibly excited to be selected by Rio Nuevo to try and make something happen on this block,β said Melissa Lal, president of Larsen-Baker. βLarsen Baker never got into downtown (regrettably), but the Sunshine Mile has that tangential energy of downtown with a lot of the creature comforts like parking and access that we love.β
The plan is to rebrand the plaza to βSol Blockβ with partners Ambrell Capital and Repp + McLain Design and Construction.
βOur vision for Sol Block is to meet the needs of the neighborhood with 27,000 square feet of small format retail and service uses β¦ think hair salons, coffee/tea houses, brunch, fitness studios, dog groomers, bike shops, flower shops and jewelers,β Lal said. βAll of those great local businesses that along with restaurants and bars are so important to the successful ecosystem of a vibrant trade area.β
She said much work will need to be done to create sufficient parking and protecting the historic facades while modernizing the building systems and interiors.
βWe know many businesses that want to come back to the Sunshine Mile and expand into this area,β Lal said. βThe road widening is beautiful, (and) Sunshine Mile is surrounded by some of Tucsonβs most iconic neighborhoods β Sam Hughes, El Encanto, Mittman, Colonia Solana.β
Grant Krueger, owner of Union Hospitality Group, is also working with Repp + McLain on the Friedman Block renovation.
βWe intend to make a significant investment in the real estate and create a mixed use shopping center worthy of the Sunshine Mile designation,β Krueger said, βwith a respect and reverence for the mid century modern design of Bernard Friedman, but with an eye on the future.β
His team has developed Union Public House, Reforma Modern Mexican and Proof Artisanal Pizza & Pasta in St. Philipβs Plaza into a live music and food hub and plans a similar tenant mix and environment for Broadway.
βPotential tenants include two full-service restaurant/bars with live music managed by Union Hospitality, a coffee/bagel shop, a tea shop, two locally owned boutiques, an electric bike shop and a pair of fitness concepts,β Krueger said. βWe are so excited for the opportunity to help re-develop this most important stretch of the Sunshine Mile.β
No timeline has been established, as the developers begin exploring the infrastructure needs of the properties and soliciting potential tenants.
βRio Nuevo has never been busier,β said Fletcher McCusker, the boardβs chairman. βWe have helped launched over a dozen new restaurants downtown, all local and many minority- or woman-owned businesses.
βTo have legacy operators like Larsen Baker and Grant Krueger help reactivate Broadway is more than we could ask for.β
Find out what new restaurants are opening in Tucson, along with developments in the local housing market and commercial real estate.
