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Westside Tucson

Photo Credit: David Bean and MTCVB

Want affordable property? Go west, young man. With the Tucson Mountains as a dramatic backdrop, Tucson’s Westside offers one- to five-acre homesites typically priced from $50,000 to $150,000. Despite some low-income neighborhoods, the area also features gated subdivisions where lot prices climb as high as the low $200,000s.

Homeowners can choose between suburban communities or isolated parcels of land. Westside residents also enjoy the beauty of open desert spaces, close proximity to Downtown and I-10, and a secluded, rural feel. Nearby attractions include the 360-acre Old Tucson Studios theme park, the cactus forests of Saguaro National Park West, and the zoo and garden of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

Westside Tucson’s neighborhoods include:

“A” Mountain
Barrio Hollywood
Menlo Park

“A” Mountain
This cone-shaped hill represents different things to different people. Archeologists say the “birthplace” of Tucson lies at its foot, dating back three millennia to a Native American settlement. University of Arizona fans gave the “A” Mountain nickname to the mound, officially named Sentinel Peak. And those living at its base—in a neighborhood also called “A” Mountain—see an easy landmark for navigating their way home.

Originally one of two African-American neighborhoods in Tucson, “A” Mountain drew minority veterans after World War II due to the low-cost housing available to them. In the 1970s, incentives attracted middle- and upper-income families to the area. Today, the “A” Mountain neighborhood is a diverse ethnic community with affordable housing, vacant land, and a third-place 1997 award for the nation’s Most Improved Neighborhood.

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Barrio Hollywood
Don’t look for glamour and glitz, despite the name. Barrio Hollywood shares Menlo Park’s lofty rates for unemployment and poverty. At least the neighborhood association has learned that keeping the community clean and its children active keeps crime down.

A predominately Hispanic neighborhood of families and retirees, Barrio Hollywood is bounded by Speedway, St. Mary’s, Silverbell, and the Santa Cruz River.

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Menlo Park
Ironically, Menlo Park in California has been called the “center of the venture capital universe.” Tucson’s Menlo Park neighborhood, however, is characterized by high poverty and low incomes. Its troubles stretch back to 1968, when it drew the attention of Lyndon Johnson’s Model Cities Program for fighting poverty.

After World War II, Menlo Park shifted to mostly Hispanic demographics. The neighborhood features a dense mix of apartment complexes, single-family homes, strip mall shopping centers, and small businesses. One such enterprise, Grande Tortilla Factory, has earned citywide kudos for its fresh tortillas. Menlo Park is roughly bounded by Silverbell, Fresno Street, Bonita Avenue, and Cedar Street.

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