A rendering of the east entrance of the 22nd Street Co-op, with construction planned to begin in late Feb. 2015 and completed in time for 2016 show.
TCC improvements completed, multi-million dollar
developments projected for 22nd Street and GJX Shows
By Lisa Marie Morrison
The nearly forty individual venues that comprise the Tucson gem and mineral shows have always had a certain fluidity. A favorite vendor from years past may switch show venues or simply not show up one year; shows disappear or venues change beyond recognition (i.e. the shows at Executive Inn, Holidome, Grant Inn, and Starr Pass Marriott). However, by this time next year, extensive construction projects will forever transform the face of the Tucson shows. By 2016, along with infrastructure changes already completed at the Tucson Convention Center, two projected multi-million dollar development plans should vastly improve the annual gem, mineral, fossil, jewelry and bead trade for many thousands of dealers and buyers at the Tucson shows in January and February.
Tucson’s completed projects
Already completed are $7.8 million dollars in renovations to the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Avenue. The facility that was built in the 1960s hadn't been updated since the 1970s and had fallen into disrepair. The new renovations include: a new sound system, lighting upgrades, new food concessions, the addition of 5,000 seats, a full restroom facilities overhaul, a new kitchen, and an LED scoreboard (for Arizona Wildcats hockey games played at the TCC). The updates will be a welcome improvement for both the high-end AGTA show and Tucson Gem and Mineral Society Main Show, two of the largest gem shows in February. Additionally, the TCC is now under new private management by the Pennsylvania-based firm SMG (a global heavyweight in the entertainment and convention venue industry), sure to bring new business and events to the remodeled facilities in the years to come.
Another monumental change is the completion of the SunLink Streetcar that has been up and running since July 2014. See the article on page 52 of the 2015 Tucson EZ-Guide for an in-depth report on the Streetcar and its impact on the gem shows.
$12 million 22nd Street View development
An empty 6.5 acre, dusty lot at the northeast corner of 22nd Street and I-10 will undergo a complete overhaul thanks to an innovative proposal by Lowell Carhart of Eons Expos, LLLP, who has run the 22nd Street Gem & Mineral Show in the big tent on that corner for the last six years. Carhart and his partners purchased the acreage for $1.6 million in October 2014 and plan to construct a 150,000 square-foot, two-story, $12 million dollar exhibition center on the site, to be called the 22nd Street View. The top floor will be a “Wholesale / Tax ID Required” show featuring jewelry and gemstone dealers. The lower level will be open to the general public and will feature mineral and fossil dealers. The existing tent will be enlarged to 100’ x 750’. Altogether, the venue will be able to host 750 dealers in climate-controlled comfort. The venue will host other shows and events year-round, thus helping to revitalize the southern portal into Tucson.
Phase 1 begins in May 2016 with the installation of a new sewer main between 18th Street and 22nd Street. Upon its completion the El Paso & Southwestern Greenway will be extended from Simpson Street to 22nd Street — thus connecting the venue to Downtown via an 80-foot wide dual bicycle and pedestrian thoroughfare. Finally, the tent asphalt will be extended 1,000 feet northward so that another large tent can be erected during gem show time. This work will be completed in time for the 2017 show. Phase 2 begins in March 2018 when financing, permits, and fast-track plans will allow the building to be completed in time for the 2019 show.
$100 million downtown revitalization project, new GJX show facility
Another major Tucson development sure to have long-reaching effects on the gem shows is the Rio Nuevo Board acceptance in August 2014 of a proposal for a mixed use, multi-purpose facility at the southeast corner of Congress and I-10 that is being touted as the "western gateway” to the city. It is an extensive plan that includes the development of a civic core combining a 140-room Hyatt Place hotel, a 120,000 square-foot exhibition hall (future home of the GJX Gem & Jewelry Show), a visual arts center with three museums (gem and mineral, photography, and art) and a theater/lecture hall, over 1,400 parking spaces in two four-level parking garages, office, retail and residential units, and an upscale restaurant. Designed with pedestrian and bicycle traffic in mind, a lovely series of walking and bike paths link the multiple structures, including a shaded walkway over Granada Avenue to the TCC and directly on the Streetcar Line.
Local Developer Allan Norville , manager of Nor-Generations and constructor of the winning proposal, can now purchase for $5.6 million the Arena Lot Site, an 8.5-acre plot of land bordered by the I-10 Frontage Road, Cushing Street, Granada Avenue, and Congress Street (the Greyhound Bus Station, a closed restaurant, and parking currently take-up the space). Norville already owns a 10-acre parcel of land adjacent to the new proposal, the property on which the GJX Show (also owned by Norville) has been held in a huge tent since 1993. It is on this property that the new permanent location for the GJX Show will be built, with groundbreaking in March 2015 and a completion date scheduled to coincide with the beginning of the 2016 show.
According to a press release: "Among other events, the Exhibition Hall will provide a permanent home for the annual GJX Gem and Mineral show which caters to over 600 exhibitors annually, 14,000 visitors, (and) provides over 50 jobs during the show and producing substantial tax revenue for the City every year. Currently the GJX show is held in a tent each year and the show has out-grown this space. The new Exhibition Hall will provide a permanent home for the local, family-owned and operated GJX show and allow it to remain in Tucson for generations to come."
With all these concrete developments taking place in this land of rocks and gems, perhaps we can finally put to rest the rumors that the show will move to Phoenix or Las Vegas and bring a new cohesion to this wonderfully fluid yearly gathering.
View the October 22, 2014, KOLD Channel 13 news video ...
