HUD grant could lead to more improvements in Tucson neighborhood
By Melissa Egan
TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) –
The city of Tucson is putting more than $1 million into improving a midtown neighborhood, thanks to a federal grant.
The city is the recipient of a $1.3 million Choice Neighborhoods Grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild said it will be used to improve the Oracle – Stone Corridor and the Tucson House public housing facility.
“To improve the infrastructure, which we could do with this grant for sidewalks or pathways, to make it so it’s easier access for the community, is just a start to how you improve an entire neighborhood,” Rothschild said.
The city said the first $350,000 will be used to fund planning activities and the development of a comprehensive transformation plan focusing on neighborhoods, people, and housing.
The remaining $950,000 will be used for capital improvements, which could range from infrastructure, parks, transportation, housing and more. Word of the grant was welcome news for Tucson House resident, Michelle Cross.
“There’s not a lot of restaurants around here and if there is, they have to go a couple blocks to get to one,” Cross said.
Along with restaurants, Cross would like to see a grocery store or convenience store added to the neighborhood, with many residents relying on public transportation or walking to get around.
Mayor Rothschild said this small start, could lead to a larger grant from HUD, in the range of $30 million, that the city could apply for. Most of that grant, $21 million, would go towards improvements at the Tucson House, the city’s largest public housing facility. The remaining $9 million would go to other neighborhood improvements.
“The place has good bones, beautiful views and windows and nice layouts, but it’s old and tired and we have not been able to get the investment need to bring it up,” Rothschild said.
The luxury of the high rise is not lost on Cross, but she said improvements inside are needed.
“I look out my twelve floor balcony and see all the mountains and whatever else, it’s beautiful,” Cross said. “There are a lot of holes in different areas, we have the flying ants come in. It could be updated.”
The Tucson House opened in 1963 as a high-rise apartment building. The City of Tucson acquired the building in 1979 to use as public housing for the elderly and disabled.
“The heating system, the cooling system, the elevators, the things that really make a facility strong, they need to be worked on,” Rothschild said. “That is a place where we can house a lot of people who may not otherwise be housed, or need those extra support services.”
The mayor said the reason the city is focusing on the Oracle-Stone Corridor when applying for the federal grant money is in conjunction with plans that Pima Community College is working on. With a large investment on the north side of the campus in workforce development, there may be a need for more student housing, shops and restaurants for larger numbers of students heading to campus.
Specific projects will be selected through a public engagement process with Tucson House residents, community residents, and partners in the projects. The city is expected to release details on those public meetings soon.
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