EXTRA: Council Corrects Misreporting by Explorer, Releases Specific Info on Declined EDA with Town West

Town responds to false reporting regarding the proposed EDA for the Oro Valley Marketplace

Last night, the Oro Valley Town Council released information on a proposed economic development agreement in which they had declined participate in July. We believe that the reason for releasing this information was because of misreporting by the Explorer on what was the agreement.

The Explorer had reported the following incomplete and misleading information about the proposed EDA

"To build the district, Town West would have to bury that drainage, at an estimated expense of more than $3 million. It [Town West] asked the town to enter into a public-private cost-sharing agreement for such work. But, in July, after a town council executive session, town staff informed the company Oro Valley would not enter into such an agreement at this time."

This information is not even partially correct

Thus the town released the following statement at last night's Council Meeting: 

"Due to public statements which have been made which have caused confusion about the proposal for a public-private partnership between the Town and the developer of the Oro Valley Marketplace, Council would like to share the following items from the July 19, 2023, item 2, Council session that discussed this issue: The town granted zoning entitlements for 532 apartment units and hotels, recreational open space requirements for the apartments was partially to be satisfied by a central common area. The total cost of the project was estimated at least $9.5 million. The developer wanted their contribution capped at $3 million. The town would also be responsible for taking over and maintaining an acre of grass and some infrastructure. Town Council did not believe the common area improvements justified the cost to the town and declined to enter into this agreement”

We believe, and LOVE has always followed this principle, that accurate reporting of information is critical for you, our readers. To report only some of the information as was done in the Explorer article, is truly irresponsible. LOVE holds ourselves to the highest standards and we expect our peers in the industry to do the same.

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