Mare Ceballos, who has worked at the Indian Village Trading Post for four years, packs up merchandise for a westward move to La Placita Village, in a section of Downtown that was torn up for urban renewal decades ago. The already-gone neon sign and dancing Indian have become become just a memory lodged in the minds of longtime Tucsonans.

Jeffry Scott / arizona daily star

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Bags, boxes and piles of yet-to-be-packed merchandise lay strewed about the back half of the former Downtown home of the Indian Village Trading Post.

Store owner John Atkinson is saying his reluctant goodbyes this week to the historic property at 72 E. Congress St., which has housed Indian Village since at least 1956.

Atkinson's shop, which sells American Indian crafts and other Southwestern-themed gifts, is moving to a smaller space in Bourn-owned La Placita Village, at 110 S. Church Ave., where it has a temporary lease beginning April 15.

Atkinson had hoped to buy the 110-year-old Congress Street building, which is called the Rebeil Block but is more widely known for the name of his business. Instead, Atkinson has been asked to relocate to accommodate a condominium development plan by Bourn Partners LLC — named "The Post" after the Indian Village's former building.

The development, expected to break ground in summer, will include 52 residences and additional retail space, said Oscar Turner, project manager for Bourn. The Rebeil Block building is to be restored, and Bourn plans to find an upscale restaurant to occupy the space, Turner said.

"Our vision is that Congress Street really needs to continue to grow as both an entertainment venue and also a street that really supports people living there," he said. An upscale restaurant would help accomplish that, he added.

Indian Village occupied about 7,000 square feet in the Rebeil Block building; the space in La Placita is about 1,500 square feet, Turner said.

"We have a lot of great history here. A lot of memories," Atkinson said about the former site.

Atkinson said he has tried repeatedly over the past few years to buy the city-owned building. At one time, he secured roughly $1 million in capital and financing to buy and restore it according to historical standards established by the U.S. General Services Administration.

But Atkinson said he has gotten nowhere in trying to bring his request to city officials, which he regards as unfair.

According to its agreement with the city, Bourn is buying the Rebeil Block and nearby vacant land known as the Thrifty Block for a total of $100 under the Rio Nuevo Downtown redevelopment plan.

"We were willing to pay thousands times that," Atkinson said. "We made that known to everybody. They continued to give it to Bourn."

The city initially accepted Bourn's proposal for the condo project in June 2004. The developer's formal plan, however, wasn't approved until April 2006. The holdup came because Bourn failed to acquire part of a property owned by the former Bank One that was in the original plan, Turner said.

Currently, the Rebeil Block building and Thrifty Block lot are still under the control of Rio Nuevo. The properties will be handed over to Bourn in a matter of days, said Karen Leone, Rio Nuevo special-projects coordinator.

Ward 6 City Councilwoman Nina Trasoff said the city had been unable to consider Atkinson's requests to buy the building because of its agreement with Bourn.

Turner said he was happy that Bourn could help Indian Village find a new location.

"We were excited that they chose to relocate to La Placita," he said. "It's really going to be an excellent location for them."