In what can only be described as a highly questionable process, the Rio Nuevo District Board delivered their scores to staff on Monday. Those scores were calculated and show that Nor-Generations was again, the clear winner in the second round of scoring.
The first round did not satisfy some of the Board members, so the second round was called for and proceeded to be conducted outside of a public meeting.
At issue in question was which developer; Ron Schwabe of Peach Properties or Allan Norville, of Nor-Generations, would be invited to enter into negotiations to purchase and develop approximately 8.5 acres downtown, known as the Arena Site. That site is currently occupied by the Greyhound Bus Depot.
For years, Norville, who owns land next to the Arena Site, has tried to develop a 120,000-square-foot exhibition hall which could house the Tucson Gem Show. Each time he has presented plans, the City of Tucson has blocked him.
The Rio Nuevo Board could block his plans again if a majority on the Board decide to reject the scores altogether and begin yet another process.
The scoring was lopsided, and that created an issue for some. Moore had given Norville’s project a perfect score. His score reflected his protest of the process as much as it reflected his support for the Gem Show and Norville’s project. However, if the high and low votes were taken out of the calculation in the first vote, Norville would have still won in the final tally. That didn’t prevent some Board members, and their associates from trying to smear Board member Alberto Moore, who tried in vain to make the process more transparent and beneficial to all of Tucson and not just a handful of realtors.
At a meeting earlier this month, Moore expressed his concerns, and urged the Board to consider the sale as one that create a “legacy, rather than a real estate deal.” Rio Nuevo’s legacy so far as been one of shoddy deals, with consultants getting rich and taxpayers being fleeced.
Moore said at that meeting, “I believe that the Nor-Gen project stepped up to these challenges, responds beautifully to the site, its context and its purpose. It would be an exciting and appropriate gateway and wonderfully complements existing purposes. It could become the true urban heart of Tucson.”
The ADI spoke to one architect, Bob Hicks, who had attended the meeting and addressed the Board with his concerns not only about the process, but the presentations. He told the ADI, “Tucson is not LA or New York, and Nor-gen’s proposal has the most potential. It is clumped, massed together as a “pueblo” would be, elevated above the freeway for both housing and hotel. There are aspects of each proposal that I feel best, yet “hands down” the Nor-gen proposal is “human, close European and has not the take of Phoenix, New York or Chicago.”