- Jim Nintzel
- The Downtown Motor Hotel
The Downtown Motor Hotel has seen better days.
Built in 1941 at 383 S. Stone Ave., the low-slung brick hotel served travelers for many years. But today, while an iconic sign still hangs over the shuttered office, most of the motel’s rooms sit behind a chain-link fence, with iron bars on the doors to discourage squatters.
And if Tucson-based Compass Affordable Housing, which bought the property in May, has its way, the building will soon be demolished to make way for a four-story apartment building designed to house homeless veterans.
But the proposed demolition has some residents in the Armory Park and Barrio Viejo neighborhoods unhappy with the scale and design of the new building.
And they’re especially worried that the State Historic Preservation Office and a consultant working with the developer appear to have little regard to the potential historic nature of the motel, which was designed by famed Tucson architect Josias Joesler.
Gary Patch, who lives in an 1860s adobe house across the street from the proposed apartment building, pointed to documents in which a State Historical Preservation Office official shows a general disregard for Tucson architecture, saying that “[b]y Tucson standards, (Joesler’s) a genius.”
“That’s kind of demeaning,” Patch said.
Patch, like many residents of the two historic neighborhoods that surround the proposed building, has invested years and tens of thousands of dollars improving his home in Barrio Viejo—and, in the process, have helped preserve aging properties and increased property values. He says the scale of the “stick and stucco” building is wrong for the neighborhood.
“We completely support low-income housing and housing for veterans,” Patch said. “We just think this is out of scale. There’s nothing on the block on that comes near the height of what they’re proposing. At four stories, these people are going to be looking down into neighborhood homes and yards.”
Patch added that the proposed apartments do not appear inviting.
“These apartments are very small,” he said. “There’s one window in each apartment. The residents will be warehoused in dark, high-density units.”
Patch complained that the developer has been sidestepping required public hearings to assess the impact of removing a historic property and is only now starting the process—with the developer saying it is too far along to make significant changes.
The process, called a Section 106, requires any federal agency planning to demolish a historic place — or a property that would qualify as a historic place — to first consult the Advisory Council of Historic Places. The section was implemented in the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966.
Though the motel isn’t listed in National Register of Historic Places, it does contribute to the Armory Park National Register Historic District. Since the project uses funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the parties involved are required to complete the Section 106 process to determine the adverse effect the demolition would have on the surrounding area.
Since the process began in May, the city, in coordination with the Tucson Historic Preservation Office, has hosted two town hall meetings to collect public comment on the project.
The last, on Oct. 28, saw a turnout of about 50 people. Though everyone agreed that low-income housing was in high demand in the area, many voiced concern about the design of the building, arguing that a four-story structure would tower over the surrounding area.
Attendees added that the units inside the planned development were too small. One woman suggested scaling the building down to a single story.
Others argued that the demand for low-income housing continued to rise and that the money for those projects was constantly absent.
Brian Flagg, who runs Casa Maria Free Kitchen on East 25th Street, said the project isn’t about the design, but Tucson’s homeless who need a place to sleep.
“You guys are talking a lot about the design of this building,” Flagg said to the audience. “From a poor person sleeping on the street tonight, they’re saying, ‘work that stuff out.’”
Still, some argued that the design and location of the building did more of a disservice to the residents it was trying to draw. Some added that downtown has long since abandoned class diversity and instead been developed to draw college students and people willing to spend money on nightlife activities.
For others, the issue behind the project was the lack of public outreach on the part of the developer and the State Historic Preservation Office.
Patch was among the first to send letters to the office in Phoenix about the undertaking after hearing about it through neighbors. His main concern was that the city was demolishing a historic property built by Joesler, a revered Tucson architect who built a number of residential and non-residential properties from the 1920s to the 1950s.
Patch sent an initial letter to SHPO Architect Robert Frankeberger in late May, and obtained emails between Frankeberger and Mark Appleby, a private consultant who advised Compass through the Section 106 process. Patch echoed his concerns — and criticized SHPO’s failure to tell the public about the project — at the October meeting.
“There’s total collusion between SHPO and the developer on this project,” Patch said, referencing emails he had requested from the office. “They’ve been in bed together since before last January.”
In the emails — public records that Patch provided to the Weekly — Appleby asks Frankeberger to proofread and “word-smith” consultation letters to SHPO and a letter for invitation to the Advisory Council of Historic Preservation.
Frankeberger later warned Appleby of community “push back” toward the project.
“Your prediction on the ‘push back’ was pretty good and we were somewhat prepared, though the protestors are a bit shrill,” Appleby wrote in an email in early October. “Seems the hotel’s architect is a bit of a local hero.”
Frankeberger’s response came early the next day.
“By Tucson standards, he’s a genius,” he wrote. “Their local architecture greats, such as Arthur T. Brown, can’t compete with the ‘popular,’ and unschooled notion of what constitutes architectural excellence.”
The advising Frankeberger provided to Compass consultants to move the project forward, Patch added, was perplexing.
“He’s talking to the developer and coaching them on how to respond to all these issues and helping them basically get their development approved,” Patch said after the meeting in October. “Why isn’t he helping the neighborhood? We didn’t know about this until way late in the game. Why isn’t he helping us? He’s supposed to be saving these buildings.”
This article appears in Oct 30 – Nov 5, 2014.
The fix is in for this project. The entire City Council seems to have rolled over on it. When I saw Kozachik talking about it on TV, I felt sick inside. I can’t imagine how much money changed hands or what favors were called in to move this fiasco along so quickly and quietly.
Oh well, politics in Tucson as usual.
Ah, the siren song of the NIMBY, who professes to love affordable housing as long as it’s far, far away from him or her.
What is particularly interesting about this feeble attempt at journalism is that there is absolutely no indication of any effort to seek the perspective of the proponents of the project. (Such as, “We tried to reach Compass Affordable Housing but it declined to comment.”) Nor does the “article” (perhaps “screed” would be a better description) make any mention of the fact that the historic building fronting the street will be retained and renovated. In other words, the low-slung building will NOT be demolished. But I suppose that actual reporting is expecting too much. Finally, the writer fails to point out that neither of the two neighborhood associations (Armory Park and Barrio Viejo) oppose the project.
For what it’s worth, while I know and have worked in the past on other projects with the developers, I have absolutely no involvement or financial interest in this project.
I don’t always default in favor of historic buildings when there is a development confrontation. Too often “historic” buildings are simply old without much real historical or architectural aesthetic significance. Critics agree that Josias Joesler was a real player in Modern design and to it’s credit Tucson has a tangible record of his creative efforts. While it would be a shame to erase that legacy, the care and dignity of our homeless veterans is a serious issue as well. Knowing a little bit about the intellectual and social make up of Armory Park, I think the NIMBY name calling is misplaced. It could be said that among a bunch of Mission style, Victorian and older homes in the neighborhood, that Modernist motel might have caused a panic back when it was designed and erected. Not sure, I wasn’t there. Some type of compromise is really in order, and the city council in my mind is responsible for working that out. Could the property be saved, and even utilized in this case. Is this really the best location?P Would something closer to the VA be more appropriate? Perhaps some VA offices could be adapted into the motel, while living quarters moved elsewhere? What about employing those vets during all this transition, so it isn’t simply a housing puzzle, but a more proactive initiative that helps these people in a larger fashion.
What does scare me is that there is a developer involved and they rarely develop from a philanthropic point of view. This is a tough one.
Even non-profit developers? With a mission of serving the poorest and most in need? http://compassaffordablehousing.org/. And to repeat, the building pictured in the photo WILL be saved. (By the way, I’m not attempting to be anonymous. My Weekly profile uses my initials. David Wohl)
Just to be clear, this is not a NIMBY issue.
We have repeatedly pointed out that there are numerous vacant sites in the area that would better suit this development. What we object to is the destruction of a building by the renowned Tucson architect, Josias Joesler, and the architecture of segregation that will replace it. This is a high density tower that will warehouse the poor and not integrate them into the fabric of our neighborhood in any way. This is too much building for the site. It is out of scale with the surrounding historic district, will loom over and look down on neighboring properties.
If a historic property like this were in any progressive city, such as Austin or Portland, those places would be working hard to save and rehab a building like this. Once again, the shortsighted Tucson Office of Historic Preservation has sold out our heritage to the highest bidder, and we all lose.
David Wohl is misinformed. This IS an out of town, for-profit developer [Bethel Development Inc., Ohio] that has coupled with Compass Affordable Housing in an attempt to appear noble – the wolf in sheep’s clothing. There are huge tax incentives and federal dollars that will bankroll the developer now and into the future. Also, only the front building and sign will be saved, not the majority of the structure. The developer has also done a good job of misinforming the community as to who will actually live here. They initially touted this as housing for veterans, but when questioned further it is simply low-income housing. They can’t guarantee that a single vet will even end up there as it will be open to all low-income residents, and that includes students.
We champion good development and encourage Bethel and Compass to look at better designed, more integrated alternatives. It can help make our city more diverse and a better place to live for everyone. Why not rehab the building as-is for low-income? Build another smaller unit nearby? That way everyone would win…the developer would be looked at as someone helping to save our architectural heritage AND helping with low-income housing. People would be better integrated.
There are millions of dollars in play here, spend a few thousand more and make this better.
As is, this is not good, noble development. This is architecture of destruction and despair. It hurts our neighborhoods, engenders poor development, and ultimately, belittles and segregates the lives of those the developer is claiming to help.
Gary Patch
I congratulate Gary on taking the initiative to try and save this historic building. I too live in the neighborhood of Barrio Viejo and if this structure is built it will not only be an eye-sore to the corridor going into downtown, it will not be a visually appealing building for homeless vets. I have attended several of the meetings and the developers are saying the building is for homeless vets but will also be available to the homeless as well. We are not opposed to low-income housing but would like to see this building swapped out for another site that is larger and can provide better parking and design of the building for the people who occupy it. The City is working so hard to renew and revitalize our downtown and with this building it will detract from our historic nature of our surrounding neighborhoods not to mention destroy a Josias Joesler design. Lets all try to work together to accomplish both ends – retain a historic Joesler and provide a much needed low income housing project for our vets and our homeless. Tucson we must compromise and come together to accomplish this.
I think no one is opposed to housing for homeless vets but Downtown Tucson has more than it’s fair share of low income housing. All these small businesses are opening downtown and we need housing that will be full of people that can support their businesses. There needs to be a balance. Tearing down beautiful architecture in place of generic housing that doesn’t benefit our economy (except out of town developers) is bad for Downtown.
Patch’s suggestion that the building not be torn down, and restored for low income housing is an excellent compromise. The lot is just too small for the kind of building they are proposing. And the drawings they show the public are completely out of scale.
You have to wonder why the developer would pay close to $700k for this property, only to demolish it, when there are many undeveloped lots up and down Stone and South Sixth that would sell for 10% of that. I myself bought a lot on South Sixth for 16k, just last year. The fix was in from the git go. The developers could easily acquire more lots to build on… empty lots.
I completely understand the need for more low income housing downtown. This is not about that. This is about smart urban planning. To play these parties against each other is wrong, and is the fault of Phoenix bureaucrats that should not be puppet mastering our community. Armory Park and Barrio Historico residents are generally supporters of liberal causes like providing homes for the homeless, etc. Creating a fake wedge between these types of causes is how the republicans are taking over our country.
What I’m saying is that there should be a way for the neighborhood to come together on this. Yes Urban Renewal in the sixties was completely fucked when they tore down half the barrio and many people in our community were deeply hurt by that. We lost precious history, and in retrospect, it was a very bad way to take federal monies to improve Tucson. If the Community Center had been a few blocks away across the freeway, the barrio could have been saved. But why does this particular act of tearing down this historic Motor Hotel seem EXACTLY like Urban Renewal of the sixties?
It has all the same elements: complete disregard for Tucson’s history, Federal money, developers making a killing, and Phoenix assholes telling Tucson what to do.
While I’m on this subject… who is letting them build those monstrous solar panels that are gutting our kids playgrounds?
And last of all, Robert Frankeberger should be fired immediately. This is not the first time Frankeberger has shown a complete disregard for Tucson historic properties. I tried to get my building (the KY Market Building) declared a historic property. The city declared the KY sign historic and built in 1950, and it is one of the best examples of a Chinese Market that served the community for many years. I wrote Frankeberger as he is the person who helps makes this designation, which would have made me eligible for some serious tax breaks. After one email from another party introducing me to him, and sending him a boatload of information about the architect Terry Atkinson (who designed among other things the original Tucson Airport), he basically just ignored me. He does not serve the people he is supposed to be serving. I would be the first to sign a petition to have him canned.
Private money, love sweat and tears have brought these neighborhoods back to a place where people want to live again. The property owners of the downtown historic neighborhoods have strived to create a standard of living and style, with respect to the history and architect. Now we get these out of town developers pimping the area to slam up their monster building under obvious false pretenses to gain federal and state money to build it.
I’ve been to the meetings and this building is not going to house homeless vets or homeless anybody. The developer danced around that one, which made it perfectly clear they will not be held accountable to who they rent it out to.
This building is about the developer making a big profit, with federal and state money funding a huge portion of their investment. And also at the expense of property owners of Barrio Viejo and Armory Park, This development as it stands, devalues everything around it.
4 floors is not a tower by anyone’s standards. The sign and office building (what you see in the pic) will be saved. The hotel buildings themselves are totally unremarkable and insignificant. This while argument is so heartless it makes me want to puke. Anyone who says it’s not based on NIMBY is just being dishonest. Where is the rendering of the proposed structure? That would be helpful to the debate. Perhaps if Mr Patch had been hired for design services he’d be happier. He’s already gotten his share of city money though if you ask me. What was his fee for the tile pictures on the 4th Ave underpass?
You should read things more carefully Karlito.
I suggested they rehab the building as-is for low-income housing and build more on a nearby lot. That is still In My Back Yard. I reiterate, once again, we are not opposed to low income housing. It is the poor design and cheap quality of the project we are opposing. Segregating the poor and warehousing them in cheap buildings seems much more heartless to me than what we are suggesting…quality housing, integration, respect for history.
And yes, where are the renderings of the proposed structure? We have repeatedly asked to see scale drawings in relationship to the existing neighborhood and the developer refuses to show us any. All we have seen are elevation line drawings…a 4 story shoebox that does, indeed, tower over the surrounding buildings.
As for the 4th Ave Underpass project, that has nothing to do with this!
But since you brought it up, we are so proud of that project. It involved and represents over 7,000 Tucson citizens and was a positive, fun addition to our city. And yes, we did get paid to do that project. We worked for over two years to bring that to fruition and trust me, the pay was more along the lines of a labor of love than a get rich quick scheme.
GP
Why do the majority of the “pro” proponents have to take nasty personal jabs, or try to turn the argument into a racial thing, or classism ? It must be awful living with a brain that functions like that.
The truth on this project is revealed, even the developer & the government employees knew this building was a problem that’s why they tried to sneak it through.
Is it so unreasonable to ask that this project be developed so it can be an asset to the area? Instead of dropping a big turd in an area where other other investors have thoughtfully invested to create the desirable, cool place it is now, a place everyone loves and wants live?
Come on Developer, Compass, tap into the wealth of good living design, turn this into a good project we can all be proud of.
This is gonna happen and you guys are gonna hate it hahaha I couldn’t be happier! Stop buying houses in the urban core and expecting that infill on a larger scale won’t happen. It’s just plan stupid. With any luck the home prices in the barrio and armory will drop to affordable levels for normal folks! What kind of argument is “the units are too small and have only one window?” That’s just urban density. And 4 floors may “tower” over some houses but the one right next door to the south (which is already multi unit rental) is 2 stories and a high peaked roof not to mention it sits several feet above street level. But still I’d like to see a rendering. NIMBY, NIMBY, NIMBY is still all I hear. Move out of the urban core if you don’t want vertical development.
I seriously cannot believe what I just read – Why can’t people just work together on this and not let it become a personal? We are proud of our downtown and the hard work we have done to our barrio houses in keeping their historic nature. Sorry if we want to have something that truly blends in with the historic neighborhood and something that works for the people who will be living in it. Again, instead of flinging ridiculous comments let’s try and solve this as a community – a community we all can be proud of.
If it helps I have two sledge hammers and will volunteer my time. Call it a community clean up event! 🙂
Let us not forget that many of the houses in Armory Park and Barrio Viejo are still run-down dumps owned by creaky yuppies of a bygone era. Its easy to complain like Nimbys with netsites trolling for signatures-because its cheaply done and that is the driving force here. Many folks who live in these areas are just plain penny pinching cheapskates holding on to their little piece of crumbling history.
Tommy’s supermarket was “restored” under some guidelines-the end product is a sterile office building with solar panels in a neighborhood with no amenities whatsoever, because business owners know in advance that the stingy anal retentive inhabits of these areas will not cough up a couple of bucks for a cup of coffee. Let’s drive a bulldozer through this rundown dump that has been sitting vacant for decades as soon as possible and put up a building that will put some humanity back into this area that doesn’t worry about the latest carbon fiber bike or if their Volvo has bird poop on the windshield. Go for it.