Home builders and commercial property developers are taking a close look at two ordiances being proposed in the City of Tucson to conserve water. For the most part, builders and developers support the concept of using rainwater and gray water, but they’re raising questions on some of the provisions.
The ordinance pertaining to gray water would require home builders to install a diverter valve "stub-out" in all new homes in order to collect gray water coming from clothes washers, bathtubs, showers or bathroom sinks - but not from kitchen sinks, dishwashers or toilets — for use in outdoor landscape irrigation.
 Main Gate Square, future home of Aveda Institute on the University of Arizona campus |
The ordinance would apply to all new single family and duplex residential units and would require a gray water system with multiple discharge points or central collection.
The ordinance says such a system "can save a typical household 13,000 gallons of potable water per year."
The proposal would add $500 to $750 to the cost of a new home, says Ed Taczanowsky, president of the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association, who said his organization had hoped the city would endorse a more limited collection system that would add $250 to the cost of a home and could be offered to buyers as a "sales tool."
"We believe it would have been more efficient and economical for small lot houses to have only the laundry rooms plumbed for gray water," Taczanowsky wrote in a July 8 letter to city officials.
The rainwater collection ordinance would apply only to commercial properties and multihousing units of three or more units. It calls for all new commercial properties to have rainwater collection systems as part of their plans, effective after June 1, 2010, and that a minimum of 75 percent of all landscape water used come from this system. The only exception would be in calendar years when the amount of precipitation has fallen "below the amount determined in the applicable development standards."
SAHBA is part of stakeholder groups that continue to work with the city on the ordinance, as is the Metropolitan Pima Alliance.
"Nobody says this is a bad idea," Michael Guymon, interim executive director of the alliance, said. "We just want a workable solution. We need to figure out the details." For example, Guymon said, there is some question about whether 75 percent is the appropriate percentage of irrigation required to come from rainwater.
In a newsletter to constituents, City Councilman Rodney Grossman, the ordinance’s main proponent on the council, said he was delaying consideration of the gray water proposal until September and the rainwater proposal until October "to ensure that there will be plenty of time to answer all questions and to ensure that these are ordinances the whole community can support. "
Aveda to launch institute to increase business here
Aveda, a provider of beauty products and services, will open a training institute later this month at Main Gate Square, 845 N. Park Ave. It is one of just 44 institutes in 21 states, Australia, Canada, England, Germany and Puerto Rico.
The company leased 2,975 square feet of retail space on the first floor of the five-story building from the Marshall Foundation. Tamra Williamson of Bourn Partners LLC represented the landlord. Terry Wintz of Re/Max represented the tenant.
The "grand pre-opening" is set for Aug. 21.
"This is a fabulous location for an Aveda Institute," said Dale Le Monds, co-owner/executive director of Aveda Institute Denver, where the first Aveda business was established. "It’s near the University of Arizona and Pima Community College campuses nestled between other great shops and restaurants. We think it will be very convenient for students and customers alike."
LeMonds said his company looks at three important components when deciding where to set up a new institute — presence of a major university campus, a city of at least one million population, and number of competitors. Tucson meets all three criteria.
Institutes near major university campuses are ideal, LeMonds said, because many university students are looking for high-end beauty services but often don’t have the money to pay full price for those services. Aveda Institute, which will be training about 150 students a year, provides those quality services at much lower prices than a typical retail salon.
LeMonds said competition for the kinds of services Aveda provides is almost nonexistent in Tucson. While there are a few quality Aveda salons here, he said, there aren’t enough. With the institute here, he said, it is hoped that graduates will stay with Aveda and salons and business will expand.
"We want to create such a great experience at school that they’ll never want to leave Aveda," he said.
The Aveda Institute was founded to "create the most successful entrepreneurs in the professional beauty and body care industry."
Aveda says it is committed to using "plants, flowers and the elements to promote beauty and health of the whole person." The institute curriculum incorporates "the practical knowledge from today’s most successful masters in hair care, skin care, makeup, total body care and retail service." LeMonds said graduates can realize incomes of $88,000 within four years.
"An Aveda Institute is an ideal use for this space," said Jane McCollum, general manager of Marshall Foundation, which manages Main Gate Square. "Not only does Aveda have great name recognition and wonderful products, but they also support local businesses, promote sustainability, and give back to the community."
Rockefeller plans rollout of warehouses near airport
Construction is expected to begin this year on the first of three industrial warehouse buildings totaling 409,500 square feet at Tucson Airport Commercial Center.
Developer of the buildings is Rockefeller Group Development Corporation (RGDC), an operating company of the Rockefeller Group, which developed Rockefeller Center in New York City.
The company purchased 22 acres at the center within the past year, according to Mark Singerman, who recently was named regional director of Rockefeller’s newly established Phoenix office.
Singerman will oversee six Arizona projects being launched by Rockefeller — the Tucson project and five others in the Phoenix area. Rockefeller develops corporate headquarters, landmark properties, multi-use urban complexes, multinational distribution facilities, suburban business parks and foreign trade zones.
Singerman said the company will begin construction on a 113,500-square-foot building pending acquisition of appropriate permits and analysis of bids from contractors. Two other buildings of 192,000 square feet and 104,000 square feet will be built later at the site, Singerman said, with timing dependent upon marketplace demands.
Singerman, who comes to Rockefeller after 11 years as regional president of Crosswinds National LLC in Phoenix, said Rockefeller’s new warehouse space will be high-quality, all-concrete construction featuring ESFR sprinkling systems and high 30-foot decks with plenty of room for truck maneuvering and outdoor storage.
"A lot of what we have seen in Tucson is older stock with insufficient docks," Singerman said. "We haven’t seen a lot of the kinds of warehouses we plan to build. They will be state of the art." Singerman said Rockefeller considers the location to be ideal because it is close to Interstates 19 and 10 and also close to Mexico.
The building space will be marketed by Picor Commercial Real Estate Services.
Submit items to Ed Egger at eegger@azbiz.com. Real Estate & Construction appears weekly.
Comments