The Arizona Supreme Court has given the Marana Downtown entertainment district the green light to proceed after months of legal wrangling, including a failed effort by a political action committee to get a referendum on Tuesday’s ballot.
On Monday, the court rejected a petition to review the town’s decision earlier this year to throw out referendum petitions challenging its plan to lease land for the project.
Town Manager Terry Rozema said Marana’s decision to lease 19 acres of town property to developers Scott Stiteler and Rudy Dabdoub to create a walkable entertainment and retail district was an administrative act, not legislative; only legislative issues can be referable to the ballot, he said.
Stiteler and Dabdoub’s Marana Downtown on North Marana Main Street and West Civic Center Drive will include restaurants, retail shops, a brewery, coffee shop, dance hall and rodeo arena.
People are also reading…
The Downtown Marana project, which will create a walkable dining and entertainment district in the northwest side farming community, is back on track after months of legal wrangling.
Rozema called Monday’s decision “an exciting milestone for our community” that will give the town “that sense of place, of this is who we are.”
“I think that's what this thing is going to do,” he said. “It's going to finally give our community a place that they can be proud of from a downtown standpoint.”
Rozema said Stitler can now bring in the architects to design the 870,000-square-foot project. The design process could take a year, which means construction won’t begin until late 2027 or early 2028.
Stiteler on Tuesday said he was excited to get started on the project that he first proposed to town officials in February 2025.
“Marana is so ready for this to happen,” he said. “I will do my best to deliver a real downtown from the ground up.”
Stiteler and Dabboub, operating as Marana Urban LLC, will be responsible for developing the project and bringing in tenants. The town will provide building infrastructure including electric and sewer, parking lots and the brick walkways and archways framing the district.
Stiteler has said the project is inspired by Mule Alley at Fort Worth Stockyards in Texas.
Stiteler and Dabdoub’s downtown Tucson portfolio includes AC Hotel Tucson, The Hub, Playground Bar & Lounge and the pickleball-themed restaurant and beer garden Corbett’s in the historic Corbett Building on North Sixth Avenue.
Contact reporter Cathalena E. Burch at cburch@tucson.com. On Bluesky @Starburch
Cathalena E. Burch
Reporter
Major development project could give Marana a true downtown
