Category: Historic Preservation

Armory Park continues to attract new construction and renovation projects. The regular 17 January meeting was presented with two projects to review, one a formal review and one informal.

The informal review was for a small development on the lot at 140 E. 18th Street , between 5th and Arizona Avenues on the south side of 18th Street. The project proposes four single family houses on a resubdivision of the original large lot into four lots. As proposed, all four would face 18th Street. This was the board’s second look at the proposal which considering earlier feedback had been modified from two stories each to 1 1/2 stories with the appearance of being a single level. There was discussion of the appropriateness of the house closest to 5th Avenue facing 18th Street. Nearly all AP houses on such corners face the major avenue. The arrangement of doors and windows also attracted comments. An informal review is merely a communication between a project proponent and the board to make the formal review go smoothly and to avoid misunderstandings regarding historic zone requirements. Continue reading “APHZAB Looks at Two Projects”

Armory Park has many distinctive qualities but the most important is its historic character and legal status. As the most prominent Anglo-Territorial  and “railroaders” community in Tucson at the turn of the 20^th century, it has historic value recognized by the federal, state and city governments. The City of Tucson has enshrined in the city code many provisions supporting preservation of our historic character. Locally, the APHZAB (see the glossary) has responsibility for applying provisions of the code in its review of proposed structural changes in our community. If we didn’t have a few Armory Park people willing to take on this challenging responsibility, the historic character of the community could be lost. Continue reading “APHZAB Has a Difficult & Important Job”