Lillian Lopez-Grant
Longtime Menlo Park resident and Downtown advocate Lillian Lopez-Grant will receive the "Heart of Downtown" Award from Mayor Bob Walkup at 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, August 30, 2006. The ceremony will be held on the development site of the Mercado District of Menlo Park project, located in the 800 block of west Congress Street.

The Mayor's "Heart of Downtown" Award was established to honor an individual, group, organization or business that provides exceptional contributions to the improvement of Downtown Tucson. The award is given three times each year and is an element of the Río Nuevo project that is revitalizing our Downtown - the "Heart of the City."

"Lillian has been an advocate for Downtown for decades - before most people were even thinking about Downtown revitalization," said Mayor Walkup. "She remembers how Downtown used to be and at the same time she embraces the Downtown of the future. Lillian's input and support for the residential and cultural projects on the west side have been invaluable, and for that I'm very pleased to present her with the Mayor's 'Heart of Downtown' Award."

Lopez-Grant has lived in the same house in Menlo Park since 1945. Over the years she has held various positions with the Menlo Park Neighborhood Association and is currently serving as President of the West Side Coalition. Other accomplishments include helping found the El Rio Community Health Center, involvement in anti-poverty and desegregation initiatives in the 1960s, and participation in crime prevention programs and other neighborhood improvement efforts today. She is also actively involved in Río Nuevo.

"I think Río Nuevo is moving along just great. I'm very, very interested in Origins, the museums, and the science center - they're very important to our children," said Lopez-Grant. "We're also very pleased with the Mercado District of Menlo Park. Overall I think Río Nuevo is going to do great things for the west side and for Tucson in general."

Lopez-Grant has five children, four of whom live in Tucson, and nine grandchildren. Before she retired and dedicated herself nearly fulltime to neighborhood activism, she had a professional career in politics, having worked for both Congressman Jim Kolbe and Senator John McCain.

Previous winners of the Mayor's "Heart of Downtown" Award include Suzana Dávila, owner of Café Poca Cosa; the Rollings family, which has restored several historic buildings in Barrio Viejo; Mary Lou Focht, co-owner of Old Town Artisans; Albert Elias, owner of Old Pueblo Printers; ceramic artist David Aguirre; UA English professor Chris Carroll; Johnny Gibson, Downtown business entrepreneur; Carlotta Flores, Chief Operating Officer of El Charro Café; Herb Stratford, Executive Director of the Fox Tucson Theatre Foundation; and Richard Oseran, owner of Hotel Congress.

Río Nuevo is the comprehensive Downtown revitalization project funded by the State of Arizona, the City of Tucson, and private enterprise. Its goals are to create a vibrant experience in Downtown Tucson for citizens and visitors through the development of new attractions, shops, restaurants, office space and housing and to ultimately make Downtown Tucson into the "Heart of the City."

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