The future of the Tucson Gem Show was on the line on Tuesday, but a fight by Rio Nuevo Board member Alberto Moore, all but it ensured its presence. The Board voted 5 to 1 in favor of a proposal by Gem Show founder, Alan Norville and his company Nor-Generations to develop an exhibition hall and hotel in downtown.
Board member Mark Irvin called on his friends from CCIM to come to the meeting a support the proposal by Peach Properties to no avail. Irvin tried nearly everything, even going so far as to attempt to ditch the process that the Board employed for the proposal.
The sleazy smear campaign by cronies of Peach did not stop Moore, who argued that the Board should be looking for a legacy project and not one more real estate deal. Many believed that if Norville lost the bid, he would move the Gem Show to property he owns in the Phoenix area.
Norville’s project will cost approximately $110 million dollars. The property in questions is known as the Arena Site and is owned by Rio Nuevo. It is behind the Tucson Convention Center along Granada Avenue, east of Interstate 10 and north of Cushing Street.
For years, Norville has try to develop his land adjacent to the Arena Site, but each time the City of Tucson has blocked him and inexplicably condemned the vacant land.
Norville has built successful commercial properties across the country from Tucson to Alaska.
At the August 12 meeting, Moore spoke out in favor of Norville’s property which enraged Irvin, who was supporting the Peach proposal. He was silenced by Board Chair Fletcher McCusker, who generally supports Irvin’s efforts.
Moore read a statement into the record at the Tuesday meeting. He apologized if his comments might have led to “any confusion or hard feelings.” He said that he felt he needed to speak out publically because the Norville project is “very important to me and to our community. ” He argued that the Norville project “if done properly, can transform downtown – it will have a profound, long lasting impact on not just the west side of downtown Tucson, but on the entire community, as well as the entire region.”
“My intent on August 12th and as it is now, is to emphasize that this project is much more than just 8.5 acres of buildings and parking, it is much more than a typical real estate transaction and, frankly, it deserves our full attention, our sense of the impressive and rich history and future of Tucson and our loyalty to this community,” said Moore. “This is our opportunity as Rio Nuevo Board members to set the standard for excellence for downtown. This is our legacy and our responsibility.”
“This project can be the capstone on all that has been, and will be, accomplished in downtown Tucson – the crowning achievement that elevates this community to a new level, the big leagues,” said Moore. “This project represents the culmination of an exciting process fostered by Rio Nuevo, which for all of its twists, turns and difficulties, has brought a focus and a vision to downtown that is quickly taking shape. After 40 years of wandering in the wilderness, Tucson is becoming what we truly are – a wonderful place, proud of its multi-cultural heritage, its history and its traditions. It’s a growing, exciting place with pride and promise.”
Moore said that the most important challenge facing the Rio Nuevo Board “is the long term retention, health and stabilization of the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show. This is a key mission of the Rio Nuevo Board and this is our legacy.”
Moore said that Norville “spends several million dollars a year to provide the main tent enclosure, security, and other required services to enable over 700 dealers and exhibitors to gross an estimated 750 million dollars in a variety of negotiated transactions over a ten day period. His efforts have had and will have a huge impact on the Tucson economy.”
He concluded that the Peach project is “a fine, well planned project, which could be located elsewhere in Tucson, does not seem to offer the same opportunities and possibilities as the Nor-Gen project.”