Over the past couple of years, the Mercado District, thats just west of Downtown Tucson, has grown and developers are planning to expand the area even more.
Now equipped with a streetcar, restaurants and shopping, the Mercado District didnt always look like this.
I think it was a landfill, there was never anything here, said Tucsonan, Anna Steiner.
Developers are hoping their latest project will have the same effect as the recently built Monier complex.
Its so walkable now, Tucson is becoming way more walkable which is nice, said Steiner.
The manager of Bloom Maven, located at the bottom of the Monier, said as a flower business, theyve seen more in-person customers rather than just online orders.
Weve definitely noticed a lot more traffic since the other businesses moved into the Monier, said Hannah McCarthy.
Next on the list for the Mercado District Expansion is the Bautista complex bringing in more than 250 apartment units as well as more businesses.
Its also bringing another 16,500 sq. feet of a commercial which will be service oriented, retail, commercial and food and beverage providing another layer of goods and services, said President and CEO of the Gadsden Company, Adam Weinstein.
The Bautista Apartments will open in 2025 intending to attract more Tucsonans and visitors to the Mercado District.
You can tell that the communitys growing and its nice to see that you know, said born and raised Tucsonan, Natalia Valencia.