How artist feels about new Starbucks in front of Midtown whales mural

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — For three years now, the iconic mural featuring whales flying over the desert has been the backdrop of an empty lot at the corner of Campbell and Grant in Midtown.

That empty lot will soon be another Starbucks drive-thru with a large parking lot, meaning a partially blocked view of the whales.

“Luckily, the building that’s going in is gonna be set off from the wall, so you’ll still be able to see the entire mural,” said Joe Pagac, who painted the 6,000 square foot landmark.

“For the mural, I think this is best case scenario. For people who want a local restaurant or something like that, it’s probably worst case scenario.”

Pagac tells KGUN 9 he knew development would pop up here eventually, but it’s bittersweet.

“It’s always a bummer to hear that one of your murals is getting covered up for one reason or another,” said Pagac. “Unfortunately, the best walls are usually right behind an empty lot. And those are also the best places to build. So it’s always a risk.”

The mural was commissioned by Banner Health, which owns the old Catalina Theater building and parking garage just south of the new Starbucks site.

“They’re just not interested in selling right now,” Tucson City Council member Steve Kozachik said of Banner. “Nobody has had the opportunity to amass that whole corner into what would be a better, higher-density and higher use for the corner.”

Kozachik says that opened the door for Starbucks, through ‘GrantCampbell SBUX, LLC,’ to buy the roughly one acre lot for $1.8 million this summer.

There is already another Starbucks just a half mile north at Campbell and Glenn, and another new one being built at Speedway and Country Club, two miles away.

“We probably have four or five different Starbucks going in simultaneously somewhere around Midtown,” said Kozachik. 
“Starbucks is expanding. And I guess if they weren’t selling coffee they wouldn’t be doing that, right?”

While the business won’t be uniquely Tucson, the backdrop still will be.

“I see music videos shot in front of it,” said Pagac. “People do wedding photos and engagement photos in front of it. So, it gets a lot of use by the community. Luckily there’ll still be a parking lot there that you can stand in and take photos.

“The whole reason that I do this job is because it gives back to the community and people love it… So that’s what keeps you going. You know, knowing that people appreciate it and are gonna love it for years to come.”