JACOB KONST/Arizona Summer Wildcat Sahara was once a hotel, but owner Ted Mehr is in the process of converting the property into a privately owned dormitory. Mehr has met resistance from a neighboring community that fears college students will ruin the neighborhood.

Dorm-like apartments will not be ready this fall for student move-in; complex owner estimates losses at over $1 M

By the time August 1 rolled around, the owner and developer of the first private dorm in Tucson had hoped to have 275 of his 322 double-occupancy rooms filled. However, the Sahara Inn, 919 N. Stone Ave., still sits vacant and incomplete.

Owner and developer Ted Mehr said a halt to construction caused by the Dunbar Springs Neighborhood Association's appeal to the city has cost him $1 million and a year's worth of business.

In the appeal, the neighborhood association said the structure was not up to code on several issues, including the number of parking permits and landscaping.

According to Mehr, the appeal filed by the neighborhood association stopped the city from issuing permits to him, effectively shutting down construction.

Despite the city's Board of Adjustment rejection of the appeal on July 30, Mehr said he had no way to finish on time.

However, former president of the neighborhood association and current resident Barbara Bixby said construction had been behind since before the appeal had been filed.

"I can't imagine the appeal put him back that far. He's been very, very slow in the whole (construction) process," she said.

Bixby, a professor at Arizona International College, is against the construction of student housing at the location. She said the noise and traffic that will come from the students will be a constant problem for the neighborhood.

Bixby said the neighborhood has already had problems with another student complex down the street, and that the Sahara project will have the same effect.

"The negative impact will be substantial," she said.

Mehr said that due to the halt, the lender that funded construction backed out, forcing him to lay off his work crew.

While Mehr said he hopes to have the building completed by the end of the month, he added that he has now missed his time to market to incoming students.

"That's why we will suffer such a great amount of loss. Everybody gets committed (in the fall), and by spring there's very little movement," he said.

Although Mehr did not sign any leases with students, he said that in April he had had verbal interest from close to 300 students.

These students were scheduled to come and view models of the rooms and then decide. But the models were never completed, Mehr said.

Different interpretations of city code

In her appeal, Bixby argued that the Sahara had been rebuilt, and therefore fell under the new codes that call for additional parking and landscaping.

The removal of the doors, windows and toilets in the building constituted reconstruction, Bixby said.

However, Wayne Bogdan, principal planner for the city of Tucson, said the board agreed with earlier decisions made by the city that said the project was in compliance with all applicable city codes.

"The project was deemed in compliance with all zoning regulations applicable to the redevelopment of the site," he said.

The negative impact will be substantial. - Barbara Bixby Dunbar Springs Homeowner and Arizona International College Professor

In a letter to Bixby in June, Tucson Zoning Administrator Walter Tellez said that the construction on the building did not constitute reconstruction, as none of the load-bearing walls nor the building's roof had been removed.

The removal of the doors, windows and toilets were part of renovations that the city had previously approved, Tellez said.

Bixby also argued that there were too few parking spots for the number of tenants slated to live at the location.

"There will be up to 150 cars on the streets of the neighborhood," Bixby said.

However, Mehr said that due to the building's age, he is up to code with the number of spaces he has created.

The board agreed, citing that only the physical elements of the structure, such as its height, could be changed to make the building legal. Issues such as parking would not apply, the board said.

Bixby said the decision was upsetting.

"I think the denial of the appeal indicates that city staff have little or no understanding of the issues of historic neighborhoods," she said. "Where are those people going to park? They will spill out into the neighborhood."

Additionally, Bixby said Mehr has been uncompromising in dealing with the problem of parking.

Mehr said the building is up to legal specifications, and that he has done several things to address the neighborhood's concerns, such as the construction of a four-foot wall around the site and cutting down on the number of entrances to the complex.

However, Bixby said that the walls are not high enough and Mehr has not gone far enough to address the neighborhood's concerns.

"This city is full of such older buildings that are no longer in compliance with other codes. I don't have any obligation to the neighborhood to do anything for them at my cost, which is what they expect," Mehr said.

The "negatives" of student housing

In addition to parking, Bixby said that the neighborhood is worried that the complex will create crime and disturbances similar to those of Entrada Real, which is located just south of the Sahara on North Stone Avenue.

Bixby said that since Entrada Real opened, there have been drive-by shootings and students have fallen down drunk in residents' front yards.

While Bixby said she doesn't have a problem with students, she does have a problem with housing that is solely for them.

"When any group of people hangs out with people just like themselves, they're really missing out," she said.

Bixby said students live in the Dunbar Springs neighborhood, and that she would support diverse housing for all ages at Sahara.

"The studies really show this is a bad mix. It's like a dorm on campus. You can't do that in a residential area," she said.

For now, Bixby is out of options, as any new action taken on her part would require legal counsel and money that she said she does not have.

Mehr said that because of the delay, he will probably only have around 50 occupants at Sahara by the end of the school year.

In addition to actively searching out renters, Mehr said he trying to determine if the delay has warranted legal action.

"We will consider our legal options to see how we can recoup our losses."