Extremely high traffic counts and demographics. and represents the last parcel (that wasn't a parcel lol) available in this retail sector.

UIC is a bit far to be considered close if that makes any sense, not just in distance but also the demographic of the neighborhood compared to say University Village or Little Italy.

Depends on the property class and your demographic.  

What do you think about the longer-term trends, demographics, jobs, etc, for Tuscon vs Phoenix?

Focus on those that have strong economic and demographic fundamentals.

Most commercial businesses there are mom and pop and not national tenants because the demographics are not there and the town is loyal to the small businesses.Strong suburban will be a mix of mom and pop and national tenants as the area gets better with demographics it will start changing and growing.

@Will SpruillJust throwing in my 2 cents, although a lot will likely be redundant.As an agent, of course, I'm limited to how I may comment on a neighborhood :-)  That said, I always encourage folks to do their due diligence and research crime statistics, demographics, etc. since everything is so accessible online.  

I am also very familiar with the geography and demographics of both Los Angeles County and Southern Louisiana.  

I have had better returns when I own rentals in a neighborhood where they are very few homes available for rent & more of a owner occupied demographic.

You might try Trulia.com or city-data.com to narrow down some demographics.