Request for Release of Funds for Dunbar School Project
Published on May 22, 2025
On or about May 23, 2025, the City of Tucson Housing & Community Development Department will submit a request to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for the release of Community Project Funding (CPF) funds under Division L, Title II, of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 (Public Law 117-103) (the FY2022 Act), and the superseding provisions of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (Public Law 117-328) (the FY2023 Act), to undertake a project known as the Dunbar Pavilion/Dunbar School Rehabilitation (DP/DSR) Project.
The project consists of interior and exterior site improvements at a locally important property currently operated by the Dunbar Coalition. The DP/DSR Project is funded by an Economic Development Initiative Community Project Funding (EDI CPF) grant through the City of Tucson and is specific to activities conducted at Building One (northwest building, “John Spring Junior High School”). The DP/DSR Project activities will support building rehabilitation and improvements at Building One.
Project activities include design and engineering, administration and management, and building rehabilitation and improvements. Interior and exterior rehabilitation will convert disused locker room areas on the first floor of Building One into a new business center featuring leasable small office spaces and meeting and recording rooms. Structural repairs, including the installation of helical piers, will be made at the building’s northeast corner to correct differential settlement. The piers will have no exterior component above ground, and all disturbed paving materials will be restored in kind. No changes are proposed to the building height, setback, site utilization, building form or rhythm, or to landscaping, fences/site walls, utility connections, or parking. No changes are proposed to existing roofing or building projections/recessions.
Separate improvements are being conducted at Building Two (northeast building, “Paul Laurence Dunbar School”) funded by USEPA Brownfields funds, property insurance, and the Arizona SHPO, and are not included in this review.
Total Estimated Project Cost: $1,146,028. Estimated project funding: $1,146,028 in Economic Development Initiative - Community Project Funding (CPF) funds, grant number B-22-CP-AZ-0023 through the City of Tucson.
The Dunbar Pavilion/Dunbar School Rehabilitation Project is located at 325 West 2nd Street, Tucson, Pima County, Arizona 85705, Pima County Assessor Parcel Number 117-03-180A. The project is in the Dunbar Spring Neighborhood Association and the John Spring Neighborhood Historic District, on the southeast corner at the intersection of North Main Avenue and West 2nd Street, between of West Speedway Boulevard and West 6th Street. The property description is: TUCSON LOTS 1 2 3 4 5 8 9 12 & ABAND RD BLK 33.
The Notice of Intent to Request Release of Funds and the Environmental Review Record (ERR) that documents the environmental determinations for this project are available at www.tucsonaz.gov/Departments/Housing-and-Community-Development/Documents/Environmental-Review.
Any individual, group, or agency may submit written comments on the ERR to the City of Tucson Housing & Community Development Department, PO Box 27210, Tucson, Arizona 85726 or by e-mail to rolanda.mazeika@tucsonaz.gov. All comments received by May 22, 2025, will be considered by the City of Tucson Housing & Community Development Department prior to authorizing submission of a request for release of funds. Comments should specify which Notice they are addressing. A copy of the public notice language regarding this project is attached.