Big Brothers Big Sisters to Sell Downtown Offices, Eyes New Location

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southern Arizona has announced plans to sell its downtown office building, with an eye toward developing and relocating to a new campus to allow the nearly 60-year-old youth mentoring nonprofit to grow its programs and impact on the community. 

BBBSSA has operated at its current site (160 East Alameda, downtown Tucson) since it was purchased and renovated in 1993 with a grant from Angel Charity for Children. The building was significantly remodeled and updated in 2013 with support from the Bert W. Martin Foundation.

“Our building has been a good home to us for three decades,” said Marie Logan, CEO of BBBSSA. “But as our board and staff leadership developed our long-term strategic plan in 2021, two things became clear: we want to do even more to help children and families in our community, and to do so, we need a new campus that supports that growth.”

“Over the next few years, we will sell the Alameda building and relocate to a site that is more easily accessible and centrally located for those we serve,” Logan said. “Our vision is that our new campus will be a welcoming destination and center of activities for our children, their mentors, and their families.”

Mentoring matches in the organization’s free community-based program feature an adult volunteer, called a “Big,” paired one-to-one with a child, known as a “Little.” Bigs and Littles spend a couple of hours together, a couple of times a month. On average, matches made by the nonprofit last about three years, and they are supported by the agency’s trained staff.

Youth in the program overwhelmingly report positive outcomes from their participation, including better grades, improved confidence, a stronger sense of belonging and purpose, and the avoidance of negative behaviors like drug and alcohol use and skipping or dropping out of school.

The search for a new campus is being supported in part by The Connie Hillman Family Foundation, which provided $300,000 to increase the organization’s capacity to serve more children while also providing funding for an expanded mentoring center in the new location. 

The foundation is currently matching first-time gifts to BBBSSA from new donors, as well as gifts that reflect an increase in individual giving from the previous year by current supporters.

To facilitate the sale of the existing building, BBBSSA has retained the professional services of Isaac Figueroa, CCIM, director of leasing and sales at Larsen Baker in Tucson.