INSIDE TUCSON BUSINESS: Mon., Nov. 6, 2006
Common Ground Hails Community Achievements
A full house of about 500 people were on hand Friday night at the Marriott University Park for the Metropolitan Pima Alliance's second annual ceremony celebrating the good things that happen when organizations and individuals work in collaboration with others to overcome challenges.
Special awards were handed to both the Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) and Tucson Regional Economic Opportunities Inc. (TREO). This year's category award winners are:
- Architecture: Feliz Paseos Park, 1600 N. Camino de Oeste. A 50-acre park focused on inclusion. It has a universally accessible native-soil trail system and a large ramada with ADA-accessible family restrooms.
- Historic renovation: Lalo Guerrero Barrio Viejo Senior Housing, 123 W. 18th St., converted the former Drachman School into 62 one-bedroom apartments clustered around small courtyards to create a village environment.
- Commercial project: Rillito Corporate Centre/Davidson Elementary School redevelopment at East Ft. Lowell Road and Alvernon Way, exchanged for another piece of property further away from the heavily traveled corner.
- Economic D evelopment: Grade Checker Apprenticeship Program in which 12 public and private entities partnered to provide entry-level laborers with training and employment opportunities on a career path to an occupation that pays $18 to $20 an hour.
- Open space: Burrowing owls new digs, a partnership of Wild At Heart and the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association to capture and relocate Burrowing Owls from an area near Phoenix where their habitat was endangered and moving them to new locations at six different sites in Southern Arizona.
- Public policy: Town of Marana Residential Design Standards, a collaborating process adopted in September 2005, providing for a unique and vibrant community avoiding the cookie-cutter subdivision typical of suburban communities.
- Residential projects: Armory Park del Sol, a 90-home development on South 3rd Avenue, between 13th and 16th streets. The John Wesley Miller development was designed to be predestrian-friendly while conserving energy and natural resources.