Not Everyone Backs Tijuana Plaza Project
Not everyone backs Tijuana plaza project
By Omar Millan González
Monday, May 24, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.
TIJUANA - A $100 million project that would add public plazas, green space, a library and commercial areas to central Tijuana in an effort to change the city's image has spawned civil protests and debates in cyberspace over whether it's needed.
The ambitious project goes by the name Zócalo 11 de Julio. A group of civic boosters, investors and government officials hopes to build the 10-acre project between City Hall and the state government building, incorporating Benito Juárez Park and a portion of the Tijuana River canal.
The project would include an outdoor area where 35,000 people could gather, an 11-story building called Torre Emblema that would house a public library, and a private, three-level parking lot with capacity for 2,700 vehicles.
About 70 percent of the project's funding is expected to come from private investors and the rest from the state government, said Enrique Mier, the treasurer of Patronato 11 de Julio, the group that is backing the project.
"It's a project that will give residents of Tijuana a lot of identity, a sense of permanence," he said. "It's a public space that Tijuana badly needed."
According to Patronato 11 de Julio, which is led by television executive Carolina Aubanel, 28 Mexican architectural firms entered a design contest for the project. A panel of specialists selected five finalists, and another jury chose the winner, 7XA Arquitectos, the Monterrey firm operated by architects Angel López and Carlos Ortíz.
Construction is expected to take four years. The first phase began last November, when work started on an underground parking structure on the site of the old City Hall concourse.
Tijuana's new Roman Catholic cathedral is being built in the center of the project area.
"I feel this project is bringing the city up to date. There is a tremendous need for urban infrastructure, and this is an opportunity. The city is getting old; we need to modernize it just like any important world city does," said Jorge Berry, a member of the Patronato group.
Some residents are asking why the government plans to spend taxpayer money on such a project when Tijuana faces a 20-year debt obligation for street repairs and the city struggles with the recession and public safety problems.
"I don't understand why these people (the Patronato) and the government say that the Zócalo is a necessity for the residents of this area. What we really need is for property taxes to stop rising, better wages, more jobs, more schools and better training for the police," said Ana María Rodríguez, 42, a certified public accountant.
The project has also generated controversy because a citizens group maintains the construction will result in the felling of 900 trees. The group consists of 25 people who have been camping outside City Hall for about two months in protest.
"We've gathered 38,000 signatures of residents who oppose this project. They want to cut down these trees and build a parking lot, a concrete platform and a shopping center in this area. We want them to respect the trees," said Saúl Torres Barboza, 58, a civil engineer and a leader of the movement.
According to a study backed by the School of Agronomy of the Autonomous University of Baja California, there are 940 trees in the area at present and, at the conclusion of the project, there will be 1,200, and 2,300 more in surrounding areas, Berry said.
He said 47 diseased trees will be removed.