Dr. Andrew Weil

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Tucson's lagging Rio Nuevo Downtown redevelopment project could use all the bright lights it can get — and it could be in line for a giant spotlight in the form of a wellness center run by world-renowned physician Dr. Andrew Weil.

Weil and developer Tom Warne have met with the mayor and several City Council members about a potential integrative-medicine center on the West Side as part of Rio Nuevo.

The goal is to create "health tourism" — a magnet to attract tourists and visitors seeking information about improving health and wellness and reducing disease.

Weil thinks such a facility could be the first of its kind in the United States and could draw affluent visitors from Europe, Japan and elsewhere in North America. The facility could include an exhibition center for lectures and information about alternative medicine, a center to help plan healthy vacations and a service to give referrals to physicians trained in integrative medicine near visitors’ homes.

It's unclear what such a facility would cost — although Weil made it clear in an interview that he would seek government assistance. That could include local funding, like Rio Nuevo redevelopment money, and, potentially, state money.

Known worldwide as the founder of integrative medicine — the melding of mainstream, cutting-edge science with ancient and traditional "alternative" remedies — Weil is drawing on Arizona's century-old legacy as a health destination for his Rio Nuevo project.

"It really goes back a long way," Weil said. "For many decades, people have been coming here to cure their asthma and other illnesses. People move to this desert to seek healing, and we want to continue that. We think Arizona should be a magnet for health tourism, with Tucson at the center of it."

The idea of Weil anchoring an integrative-medicine center in Rio Nuevo was first proposed by Mayor Bob Walkup, said Richard Baxter, Weil's business partner. Warne confirmed Weil was approached by the mayor.

"The mayor actually called us. And even though we are really still in the exploratory stage of this, there definitely seems to be a lot of support for the concept," said Baxter.

Walkup said he sought out Weil about a year ago. "All I was trying to do was tickle his fancy," Walkup said.

The mayor said he had not talked to Weil or Warne in about a year and was unaware Weil recently discussed with other council members a proposal to move to the West Side. Still, he said he liked the idea, adding, "He is a world-renowned guy. I'd love to see Andrew Weil as a part of this."

A Harvard-educated physician, Weil has traveled the world to explore cures and remedies used effectively by ancient cultures. As founder of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona in 1997, he has trained dozens of doctors in this discipline. They have gone on to open integrative-medicine clinics and teaching programs throughout the country.

Most recently, he was named one of the 100 "most influential people in the world" by Time magazine.

The Rio Nuevo project would not be a satellite clinic of Weil's UA program, where patients are treated and doctors are trained. Instead, it would be more of a center for public education about integrative medicine, healthy vacation planning and lifestyle assessments.

Weil said it's too soon to know what the facility would cost.

"It's hard to say, in terms of money. We don't know the square footage yet. Ideally, we'd like to have gardens to grow medicinal herbs, things like that, but this is not yet at the concrete design stage," he said. "We've had several meetings with the mayor and the city manager, but we're still in the discussion phase."

The site being considered is part of 15 now-vacant acres just south of Congress Street and west of Interstate 10, near the planned "cultural campus" of future museums. The property has been identified as a location where the city will seek informal bids from developers on what to build.

City Manager Mike Hein said Weil's proposal won't change that. He said Weil and Warne could submit a proposal to develop the land just like any other developer.

Hein said he met with Weil about six months ago and told him to find a developer to partner with because Weil had a lot of "great creative ideas" but needed someone in the development community to make them a reality. He said it was unlikely the city would provide Weil, or any developer of the site, with "millions of dollars on top of free land."

"Clearly Dr. Weil has name recognition and ties to Tucson," Hein said. "I'm sure it will create a lot of local buzz."

Councilman Steve Leal, who met with Weil and Warne last Friday, agreed Weil would need to submit a proposal to the city, just like anyone else. He said the city has a policy of no longer awarding land to a developer without a competitive process and should stick to it.

"I'd need to see more," Leal said of Weil's roughly 8-acre wellness center. "Of course, it's interesting."

Warne said Weil's center would tap into the growing world market for wellness. He said wellness is positioned for explosive growth the way organic foods were several years ago. Warne is a partner in Triangle Ventures LLC, along with developers Yoram Levy and Don Semro.

"Wellness attracts," Warne said. "It's growing by leaps and bounds. It's not a supposition, it's a fact."

"We think Arizona should be a magnet for health tourism, with Tucson at the center of it."