TRANSFORM TUCSON
INITIATIVE
In partnership with the City of Tucson, the Tucson Industrial Development Authority has developed an economic justice growth strategy to ensure that all residents, businesses, and neighborhoods have access to the resources they need to reach their full potential.
Regina Romero,
Mayor of Tucson
The investments I will be asking my Council colleagues to make will help us to power the future of Tucson with creating green jobs and infrastructure, greater entrepreneurial diversity, generational wealth creation, upward mobility, support for our small business ecosystem, and investments in a 21st century workforce.
This partnership will help us build our equitable, sustainable, thriving city.
GOAL ONE:
Invest in Tucson's climate resilient future.
GOAL TWO:
Close the wealth gap.
GOAL THREE:
Improve community resources through equitable development.
GOAL FOUR:
Increase the number of quality, future-proofed jobs.
"The Transform Tucson Initiative represents a multifaceted, five-part, catalytic investment, a "Green New Deal" for the city of Tucson.
These efforts sit in the cross-roads of economic and climate justice."
- Dre Thompson, CEO Tucson IDA
Projects
Corner
Stone
For a diverse economy
Promoting inclusive development for community-driven, equitable economic impact.
The City of Tucson Launching Arizona’s first Green Bank, GROUNDSWELL Capital
Supply-Chain Financing for diverse, local Infrastructure Construction
AVANZA
Targeted investment in underserved small businesses through the AVANZA Empowerment Fund
Affordable, sustainable housing for all residents.
Dre Thompson,
Tucson IDA CEO
The initiatives bundled into the Transform Tucson Fund represent groundbreaking municipal fiscal innovation to build a lasting legacy. The City of Tucson has the opportunity to meet the climate crisis head on, fully leverage new federal resources, while vastly expanding access to capital for the city’s underserved entrepreneurs, and create sustainable economic growth through local real estate ownership and affordable housing for our residents.
Innovative capital investment is badly needed in our community, especially as it relates to addressing historical inequity. Despite our strong Latino heritage, Tucson ranks 79th among US cities in Latino small business ownership, communities hit hardest by the COVID-19 pandemic. A sizable City of Tucson investment would put the city ahead in enabling transformative change, while promoting a full recovery and expanding opportunities for Latino and other underrepresented entrepreneurs currently excluded from traditional bank lending.
The Transform Tucson Fund as a package is designed to position Tucson to maximize the impact of future federal dollars, especially the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act’s historic green energy investment, to create jobs, grow incomes, and lower costs for Tucson residents.