Tucson Weekly: Road Kill (June 4

For The Merchants On Sixth Street, The End Is In Sight.
By Dave Devine
THE STEADILY shrinking small-business community on Sixth Street near the University of Arizona campus has suffered a lot. First the city took away its on-street parking and didn't replace it. More recently the area has been subjected to lingering indecision and bureaucratic bungling.
By this time next year, though, the area along the north side of the street should finally have been put out of its misery. The few structures still standing are scheduled to be vacated by December and then demolished.
For several years the UA has made it known it will demolish all the northside buildings. It wanted the land for a new parking garage and another office building. But it's been excruciatingly slow in turning its plans into realities.
Currents Like some diabolical dripping water torture, the delays and uncertainties have left area merchants hanging. A lack of communication and constantly changing time lines also contributed to their problems. Talk of demolition has gone on since the 1980s, and the merchants are still there. Now, though, it looks like their time is really up.
Eighteen months ago they were told that January of this year was probably when they had to vacate their buildings. Now the word is that the end of the year is the new target date.
But this is just speculation and rumor, according to some merchants. John Atkielski at the Chicken Coop says he's been making calls to try to find out what's going on, but he hasn't heard anything from the University.
At the nearby Twelve Tribes Reggae Shop, Papa Ranger also talks about how the merchants never get anything in writing from the UA. After five stress-filled years of hearing talk about possible action, Ranger said, there's still nothing concrete and nothing in writing about having to move.
In Ranger's opinion, it would have been better for the UA to have left the merchants alone until officials were ready to actually buy the properties. He knows that it's inevitable the buildings will be sold and torn down, but he asks, "What will happen to us?"
Bruce Wright, UA associate vice president for economic UA's development, said recently the acquisition of the remaining properties on the street is nearing completion. He expects most of the businesses to be gone by the end of the year.
The proposed parking garage, Wright said, should probably be under construction by next June. He guesses the office building won't be started for at least 18 months to two years.
But at the same time that plans for demolishing the existing businesses move very slowly forward, other UA efforts are underway to return some retail businesses to the area. The preference, according to Wright, would be to develop a multi-use facility that would include commercial uses at the corner of Highland and Sixth Street.
The UA is also considering rehabilitating the retail buildings on the south side of Sixth Street and perhaps adding additional space there.
"We're trying to redevelop the area to enhance Sixth Street for the University and the neighborhood by making it more attractive and safe," Wright said. He added the UA has "tried to minimize the impact on the merchants over a long period of time without hurting them. We've tried to be humane and thoughtful without putting them out of business."
But Atkielski at the Chicken Coop said that just the rumor of the UA's intentions was enough to convince some of his business neighbors to leave. He, however, intends to stay for as long as possible.
In the area since July, Atkielski recalls how, shortly after he started his business, he was visited by some UA officials. "They told me I couldn't open," because they were going to be buying the building. "But I had a city business license that said I could open," he says. That's the only contact he's had with the UA.
If he does have to go, Atkielski says he'd like to stay in the area. Plus, he believes the UA should assist him with the move. "I don't see how they can't help move me."
But according to Wright, unlike most of the few other remaining businesses, Atkielski is not eligible for relocation assistance. Because he opened his business so recently, the UA won't help him to move.
The sad saga of the northside Sixth Street merchants is finally drawing to a close. Once a vibrant shopping area, it has been drained of vitality, first by the city government and its string of broken parking promises about parking. Now the UA, with its protracted purchase and demolition process, is finishing off the kill.

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