A decision to build a new 450-space garage in downtown Tucson will provide some vitally needed parking space in a part of the city currently lacking that amenity.
Members of the Rio Nuevo Board have given their unanimous approval to building the multi-level structure on the east side of the busy Tucson Convention Center, which is located at 260 S. Church Avenue.
The garage itself will be located near S. Church Avenue and West Cushing Street.
The Rio Nuevo Board is a tax increment finance district whose mission is to spur downtown Tucson development.
In agreeing to the project, the board also approved spending $292,000 for the garage’s design.
A Request for Proposals to actually build the structure is expected to soon be published.
The board has also been advocating for a wide range of upgrades to the Tucson Convention Center structure itself.
Those upgrades include the $7.6 million remodeling of the center’s exhibit halls and meeting rooms, as well as the upgrading of the building’s music hall, also expected to cost $7.6 million.
If all goes well, work on the new garage could begin in early 2020.
By Garry Boulard
