Downtown Tucson is currently home to thousands of residents and employees in a rich mix of neighborhoods. In the greater downtown area there are several hundred businesses, extraordinary artists and galleries, professional theater and performance groups and houses, art cinemas and acclaimed film series, live music clubs, world class cycling events, restaurants and an emerging housing market. The center of downtown is approximately 1 mile from Pima Community College and the University of Arizona, the latter a renowned urban research institution.

The Tucson Mayor & City Council have made downtown revitalization a top priority. [PDF] With funds derived from a tax increment district known as Rio Nuevo, the City is making a series of strategic investments to stimulate the marketplace and support new private sector development. Those tax increment dollars are invested in ways that augment a shared vision for a vibrant city center by leveraging downtown Tucson’s unique competitive advantage as the region’s urban and cultural center.

Voters approved the creation of the Rio Nuevo tax increment district in 1999. However, it was not until 2004 that sufficient revenue started to accumulate to support projects and planning. And more significantly, without a revenue extension approved by the State Legislature in 2006 the City would not have the financial capacity to deliver public projects and the infrastructure necessary to leverage private sector reinvestment.

Click here for a look back at what has happened since the State Legislature approved that extension. [PDF]