Our Plaza Centro Masterplan moves into the next round with University of Arizona’s announcement of a new Student Housing project on top of the Plaza Centro Garage (currently under construction and scheduled to open in August 2011)
This partnership is particularly exciting because it fulfils one of the main urban design intents of the masterplan: When AI Architects completed the first phase of plan for the revitalization of Tucson’s Historic Downtown Entertainment District in August 2009, thousands of Tucson residents celebrated the much anticipated opening of the 4th Avenue underpass as downtowns new main artery:
“The last couple of years, downtown has been going through a renaissance and is becoming the urban center that it once was,” [...] “The new Fourth Avenue underpass creates a boulevard from downtown to the university. That’s big.” AZ Daily Star 8/13/09
The partnership with U of A was welcomed with even greater enthusiasm:
“The Modern Streetcar serves almost as a campus extension into the downtown area, with students, faculty members and visitors being able to move back and forth within minutes, and without the need for a car and all of the challenges it presents.[...] “Today’s announcement of hundreds of new UA residential units in the downtown is a big step toward implementing [our shared] vision. It will also help build the downtown economy and reduce the demand for mini-dorm housing in neighborhoods near the central campus.” Tucson Weekly, 4/13/2011
