The City of Tucson would like to respond to three inaccuracies reported in the June 16, 2011 opinion article by Josh Brodesky.
Following the rejection of the half-cent sales tax in November, the City of Tucson has in fact eliminated 468 total positions from the organization. The author inaccurately states that positions were not eliminated.
On February 17, 2010 the City Council voted 7-0 to authorize the City Manager to extend the Gadsden Development Agreement as necessary to facilitate the Urban Innovations Senior Housing opportunity. The most recent extension request was made by Urban Innovations to ensure all required permits and other obligations were in place to secure financing and to receive the federal low income housing tax credits. The City Manager proceeded as directed by the Council's vote on February 17, 2010. The development agreement has never been modified by the City Manager, as was inaccurately stated in the article.
Gadsden's net proceeds from the sale of the land to Urban Innovations are calculated to be approximately $110,000, not $1.2 million as asserted in the article. Over $800,000 in proceeds from the sale are being invested in road and utility infrastructure on the site. The remaining $250,000 was used for a performance bond which will help ensure the build out of the future phases of the project. For more information, please see the attached.
