"It's been tight the last year or so. Our revenues are down, and we took on some really big commitments." Rio Nuevo's chief financial officer, Dan Myers, said that to the board at its Oct. 13 study session, as Tucson Spotlight reported.
As of Sept. 30, the district had about $3 million available for new commitments, debts and overhead. It still owes about $15 million on existing commitments, and around $12 million of that goes to two hotel projects. Those hotels haven't been built. The changes you'll actually see downtown this November and December are smaller: a 650-square-foot coffee counter, a café that becomes a bar at 4 p.m., six little shop spaces on Congress Street, and a skate park under the freeway that was paid for in pieces.
The Hotel Money Is Committed, and the Lots Are Still Empty
The two projects are the Moxy Hotel at 45 N. Fifth Ave. and the Tucson Inn & Marketplace at 75 E. Broadway. In early October, TucsonSentinel.com reported that both developers were asking the Tucson City Council for tax breaks ahead of construction. Obie Companies wants a 45 percent cut in sales and bed taxes over four years for the 125-room Tucson Inn. The Moxy developers, Scott Stiteler and Rudy Dabdoub, want a Government Property Lease Excise Tax arrangement that the Sentinel says would save the hotel $2.4 million in property taxes over eight years. Neither project has a public groundbreaking or opening date.
Hotels are the priority for a reason. A November 2025 review of Rio Nuevo for the Arizona Auditor General found the district had put too much into food and drink and too little into the hotel rooms the Tucson Convention Center needs. In 2025, Tucson had 953 rooms within half a mile of the convention center. Albuquerque had 1,120 and El Paso had 1,232. The two new hotels would add 259 rooms and push Tucson past 1,200.
With the big money spoken for, the requests now reaching the board are small ones.
Sixth Avenue Gets a Shared Patio Where Cars Used to Park
Lucky Penny BBQ, at 47 N. Sixth Ave., and Bonanza Coffee Co., at 31 N. Sixth Ave., Suite 151, are both run by Open Container Hospitality Group. They'll share a large patio built on what used to be a downtown parking lot. The space was once Miss Saigon, which moved a few blocks away and became Saigon Blossoms. Lucky Penny will be just under 4,000 square feet including the kitchen. Bonanza will be about 650 square feet.
Owner Brock Lynch and his partners, Donald Dolaghan and David Knight, call the food "contemporary BBQ." The menu covers smoked meats, smoked vegetables, seafood, and dishes drawn from Sonoran desert food traditions. Tucson Foodie reported that the restaurant is named for Lynch's grandfather, Bill "Mac" McIntosh, a lineman and carpenter who was known as the person you called when something needed fixing.
The first plan was a mid-October opening. Then plumbing delays hit. Lynch asked Rio Nuevo for a 60-day extension on the project's Economic Benefit Agreement, which sets a Nov. 11 deadline for a certificate of occupancy. Tucson Spotlight called missing that deadline unlikely but possible. The board didn't vote on Oct. 13 and put the request on its Oct. 27 agenda as a possible action item. No new opening date has been announced. Watch the patio itself.
On Church Avenue, One Room Serves Two Parts of the Day
Talega Cafe opened at 177 N. Church Ave., inside the Transamerica Building. The team behind it also runs the original Talega Coffee Co. on Scott Avenue. The café serves specialty coffee and a scratch kitchen from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. After that, the same room becomes Velvet Cowboy. Happy hour runs 4 to 6 p.m., Tuesday is industry night, and the bar stays open from 6 p.m. until midnight or later, seven days a week.
"We never wanted Talega to grow up and become some polished, predictable café concept. We wanted it to get weirder."
Co-owner Tyler Melo, who runs the business with Rene Durazo, said that to Tucson Foodie. The menu changes with the hours. Bread comes from Barrio Bread. Lunch includes a jambon-beurre and Azorean sardines. At night the kitchen serves goat cheese-stuffed dates and cheese plates. The bar's list runs from the Cowboy Wanted, made with rum, prickly pear, elderflower and chiltepin, to the Brokenback Special, which is a PBR and a shot of Evan Williams. The grand opening was set for Oct. 16, and the team has planned a drag brunch, vinyl DJ nights and live music.
A room that's busy at 7 a.m. and again at 10 p.m. gets the most use out of one lease. A proposal on Congress Street takes the same approach and divides the space instead of the clock.
Six Shell Spaces for $112,500 on Congress Street
Danny Cordova runs RealGood Concepts, the group behind La Chingada, The Neighborhood and Cruda Mariscos & Oyster Bar. He wants to turn the ground floor of the historic Betty Gay Building at 125 E. Congress St. into a mercado with six small storefront or flex spaces for local vendors. He's asking Rio Nuevo for $112,500, half the project's cost. Tucson Spotlight reported that the district's help would let him break ground before the end of the year.
That request is less than 1 percent of the roughly $12 million tied up in the two hotels. It's also small enough to fit inside the $3 million the district says it has available. Small spaces lower the cost of getting in for an independent business, and Spotlight noted they encourage people to visit several shops on one trip. The board took no action on Oct. 13 and listed the Betty Gay item on its Oct. 27 agenda. If the vote goes through and work starts in December, the change will show up at street level on Congress first.
A Last Month at 220 E. Broadway
Small rooms close too. Brick Box Brewery announced on Oct. 27 that its taproom at 220 E. Broadway Blvd., the former Thunder Canyon Brewery space, will close Nov. 29. "We want to thank all of you that have contributed and shared the space with us over the years," the brewery wrote, and it invited customers back for one last round, according to Tucson Foodie. The brewery didn't give a reason and hasn't said what's next for the space. That leaves a little over three weeks after this post publishes. It's one more address in the downtown core that will be looking for a new tenant this winter.
The Skate Park Under I-10 Was Paid for in Pieces
The Cushing Street Skate Park is the clearest public example of how small checks add up. It sits under the Interstate 10 underpass at 700 W. Cushing St., on 0.41 acres, and it was led by founder Caleb Gutierrez and Tucson's skateboarding community. According to the City of Tucson's project page, total funding is $2,648,258.67. The city itemizes these contributions:
| Source | Contribution |
|---|---|
| City Framework and City Investment Plan | $1,500,000 |
| Tohono O'odham Nation | $300,000 |
| Mayor's Office | $250,000 |
| Ward 1 Budget de la Gente participatory budgeting | $250,000 |
| Rio Nuevo | $200,000 |
| Pascua Yaqui Tribe | $100,000 |
| Community donations | $40,258.67 |
Rio Nuevo's $200,000 is less than a tenth of the total. Contractors started work June 1, and the groundbreaking ceremony was June 30. During the week of Oct. 26, crews were tying rebar for the east-end bowl, waterfall and ramp and getting ready for the first shotcrete pour. The week before, road repairs wrapped up and all lanes on Cushing reopened. The city estimates completion in December 2026, and lighting, landscaping and inspections are still ahead.
Downtown Dates Through December
- Nov. 11: Deadline for Lucky Penny's certificate of occupancy under its Rio Nuevo agreement, unless the board grants the 60-day extension.
- Nov. 29: Brick Box Brewery's last day at 220 E. Broadway Blvd.
- Before year's end: When Danny Cordova hopes to start work on the Betty Gay Building, if Rio Nuevo approves his request.
- December: The city's estimated finish for the Cushing Street Skate Park.
The Moxy and the Tucson Inn & Marketplace aren't on that list because neither has a construction date yet. For the latest on downtown events, see our posts on the free streetcar on All Souls Procession night and how the Mercado District's center of gravity has moved, or go to our Downtown Tucson neighborhood page.
When a patio opens on a former parking lot or a taproom goes quiet a few blocks away, it's natural to wonder what that means for the home you already own. At Genardini Realty Solutions, we follow these downtown changes block by block. We're glad to walk you through what your home is worth right now, with no pressure and plenty of context. Request Your Home Valuation whenever you're ready.