The ceremony opened with Steve Greenbaum, the developer in striped tie, giving a special shoutout to Robin Landers, Armory Park Senior Center Director - above in red - who has worked with Armory Park Seniors for 20 years and assisted with the successful move to the new location. Robin is fantastic! Mayor Rothschild is third from left and Regina Romero is fifth from right

CITY COUNCILOR REGINA ROMERO'S REMARKS AT OPENING CELEBRATION

We are here to celebrate the development of Sentinel Plaza, an affordable, beautiful, modern, environmentally-friendly building that will serve downtown Tucson's seniors for at least the next 30 years. 

Here you are standing in one of the oldest neighborhoods in Tucson and one of the newest neighborhoods in Tucson. On this site there was once a Sports Center offering professional events, a Food Giant and then a Bayless grocery store.

Now we have a six stories and 143-units of affordable senior housing. I have always said let’s have a downtown for all of us and that means affordable and market rate housing, it means students and seniors. It means long time residents and new faces.

The public part of this public/private partnership includes the magnificent 320 foot span of the $6.5 million Cushing Street bridge and the $200 million dollar streetcar project.

Gadsden Company, developers of the land surrounding Sentinel Plaza,  intends to fill in the rest of this nine-block Mission District with three residential buildings to house 400 people; 250,000 square feet of retail; a boutique hotel and two more markets to join the recently completed Mercado San Agustin.

This public/private partnership would not have been possible without support of Federal Housing and Urban Development, AZ Dept. of Housing volunteer efforts from the Tucson Armory Park Foundation, the Tucson Housing Foundation, the Armory Park Senior Center and the dozens of volunteers from those organizations and the initiative shown by Gadsden Company, Evergreen Partners and Senior Housing Group. 

Architects for the project are Lizard Rock Designs and it was built by W.E. O'Neil Construction Company.

Here are just a few of the many benefits of this project:

• Brought in more than $28.5 million in investment to downtown Tucson.

• Generated significant local tax, permit and fee revenue

• Attracted out-of-state investment capital - Senior Housing Group from Chicago

• Employed 200 Tucsonans during construction

• Jump-started development during a difficult and uncertain economy

• Preserved much-needed and in-jeopardy affordable housing

• Provides seniors a one-bedroom apartment that is 60 percent larger than their former 400 square foot efficiency