A Cultural Whitewash on Congress Street?

I spent Wednesday afternoon (October 28) canvassing Congress Street between 5^th and Arizona Avenues, talking to some of the merchants who are slated to be displaced come next spring to make way for a 7,000 square foot restaurant and bar.

Businesses currently set to be gutted for the project include Tooley's Cafe, 276 Works Gallery, Central Arts Gallery, Preen, Rocket Gallery, Metropolis The Salon, Eric Firestone Gallery and Dinnerware ArtSpace, which was confirmed by building owner Scott Stiteler.

Firestone is vacating anyway as he is opening his new downtown space at 403 N. 6^th Ave. on Friday, November 6.

I spoke with Mr. Stiteler on Thursday afternoon (October 29) and he confirmed partnering with Great Wall of China restaurant owner Kwang C. An with Mr. An owning the restaurant and Mr. Stiteler helping out with some financial commitments.

On Monday, October 26, the news was announced in an afternoon press conference outside of Tooley's Cafe, 278 E. Congress St., and came as a shocking surprise to some businesses on the block.

Emery Nicoletti of Metropolis and Emilie Marchand of Preen both told me that they were apprised of the situation by reporter Mark Stein of KOLD News 13. Talk about live, local and late breaking - and an extremely appalling way for these business owners to learn about the forthcoming end of their existence on downtown's main strip.

Mr. Stiteler said, "We tried to get in touch with them - the 'we' being our property management company Peach Properties. We didn't expect the tenants to be shocked as it's been a fairly public process over the last 2-1/2 years. That said - I would have preferred to sit down with each of them so they didn't get surprised."

Personally, I find it really unfortunate that eight eclectic storefronts are being replaced by a giant bar and restaurant - which is totally going to change the face and vibe of that strip. I think that there is room for what Mr. An and Mr. Stiteler want to do, but how about doing it in downtown spaces that are currently unoccupied?

Mr. Stiteler said Mr. An liked the location and the size of the space, and went on to say that there wasn't enough room at 1 N. 5^th Ave. and the Rialto was too big.

"I think it's good to have Mr. An downtown - as a successful restaurateur," Mr. Stiteler said. "He cares very much about this town and it's very impressive what he has done for the community over the years and has given a lot back to the community."

Mr. Stiteler said that they will still work with the tenants over the next five to six months and make the transition as smooth as possible, and said that the businesses have been on short term leases with the exception of The District and Sharks on purpose.

"We have been very open with regard to developing our properties. Janos (Wilder) also looked at the space last spring."

It's just sad that these unique locally-owned shops and galleries weathered the traffic closures of the 4^th Avenue Underpass and I-10 for the last two years and clung to the hope that once the construction was completed, their businesses could get a stronger foothold in the market.

It's bad enough that they poured in their money and time - racking up hours of priceless sweat equity - to get their spaces operative in a building that is close to a century old.

It's bad enough that they hung in there, believing in the dream of downtown revitalization and working their tails off to make it happen and keep their places alive and finally seeing a return on their investments.

And now the question is - for what? To give a block of Tucson's Congress Street a sense of place and artistic culture that is set to be wiped out in one fell swoop?

Mr. Nicoletti said he recognizes the fact that business is business, but "it could have been done better. We opened up down here because we had faith and we were being told to be patient."

"They have been dangling a carrot in front of us and I have chased it for 13 years," Nicoletti stated. "We're being rewarded with walking papers and a kick in the stomach. I feel like I've been sodomized by Bernie Madoff."

Mr. Stiteler said the month-to-month leases can go both ways. "I can get a call from a tenant saying they are vacating in a month and articles aren't going to be written about it."

Though many of the merchants have short term leases, this past July, Preen owners Erin Bradley and Emilie Marchand insisted on signing a year lease with Peach Properties after restaurateur Janos Wilder was looking at the block this past April.

When Ms. Bradley and Ms. Marchand were negotiating with Peach Properties for the lease, they were told they had nothing to worry about.

"We wanted to have security here, after the whole Janos thing - which fell through," Marchand explained. Though Ms. Bradley and Ms. Marchand were told they had nothing to worry about, they followed through regardless and got their year lease, in an attempt try to solidify the aforementioned security of their locale at 272 E. Congress St.

Though that is the reality of Preen's situation, Councilwoman Nina Trasoff came into the shop on Monday and - according to Ms. Marchand - apologized for what was happening and said she had asked that all the tenants be notified before the press conference about their eminent evictions. Ms. Marchand also told me Councilwoman Trasoff said that "when you have a month-to-month lease, this is what happens."

Though it is no surprise that Councilwoman Trasoff is ill-informed on the actual business happenings on the block, it is certainly offensive and annoying that she still chooses to speak with authority about what is going on.

Mr. Nicoletti and Ms. Marchand also reported to me that Councilwoman Trasoff promised on Monday that there would be assistance provided to the businesses for relocations, but both Mr. Nicoletti and Ms. Marchand - understandably - have many questions about what that help may actually entail.

For Mr. Nicoletti, setting up a new hair salon requires serious and specific electrical and other infrastructure. For Ms. Marchand, Preen was looking at their third year of being on Congress as their first year of making a bit of a profit.

"We're just reaching our three year mark," Marchand said, "and that's when a business that has survived will make it.

"We survived the construction just to get kicked to the curb and now someone else is going to reap the benefits. Nina (Trasoff) said that she'd help us find a place, but how will that help come about? Looking through the business rental ads with us, or financial support?

"I doubt it."

Ms. Marchand also questioned if Councilwoman Trasoff was looking for votes for next week's city council election.

The bottom line is the fact that an eclectic piece of Congress Street is headed the way of the Dodo, and that's an extremely sad prospect - not to mention the dashed dreams of loyal downtowners, who are questioning keeping their business alive at all and definitely questioning being established downtown.

"I can't say I don't feel bitter or jaded about it, and it makes us not want to be here," said Ms. Marchand. "We opened up downtown because of all the cool places that were down here before and we wanted to bring that back."

Mr. Stiteler said if the tenants are interested in staying downtown, they have other downtown properties.

"But, we don't want to share our business with a strip mall mentality," Ms. Marchand said.

David Aguirre of Dinnerware ArtSpace had this to say about the situation: "The challenge and question for the community is this: Yes, a person can own a property and do what they want with it, but, is it the right thing to do for the community?"

Mr. Aguirre likened the upcoming fashioning of Congress Street into a strip of bars that is devoid of arts and culture, where the almighty dollar is number one, turning downtown Tucson into Pottersville from the classic film It's A Wonderful Life.