Pima County officially opened a new air-conditioned COOLTainer at Augie Acuña Los Niños Park on June 29, increasing the county’s network of cooling centers to 48. The small, repurposed shipping container sits on park property at 5432 S. Bryant Ave. on Tucson’s South Side and will be staffed by community health workers who are tasked with offering immediate relief from extreme heat as well as distributing resources and information aimed at preventing heat-related illness. The county is positioning the unit as a neighborhood-level shelter where residents can find water and other heat-relief supplies during peak afternoon and early-evening hours.
The newly opened COOLTainer on Tucson’s South Side, showing the white container, solar-panel canopy and the fenced site near a neighborhood street.
The COOLTainer will operate on a set schedule to provide predictable access: Monday through Friday from 3 to 7 p.m., and on weekends from 1 to 7 p.m. Inside, community health workers will hand out bottled water, heat-relief supplies and other public-health materials. The staffing model emphasizes direct contact between county health personnel and neighborhood residents; the workers on site are intended to serve both as immediate assistance providers and as conduits to broader county services for those who may need more help. The container’s presence in the park adds a staffed, climate-controlled option to the list of places residents can go to escape dangerously high temperatures.
Side view of the COOLTainer at the South Side location, highlighting the accessible ramp, narrow windows and rooftop solar array.
On opening day and in the days since, community health workers have described the COOLTainer as a local refuge for families and individuals who need a quick break from the sun. “We have a cool space for families or anyone who needs to get out of the sun,” said Fernanda Alvidrez, one of the health workers assigned to the site. She said staff will also provide guidance and resources on preparing for heat and on what to do during monsoon season, along with other public-health information residents may need. Those on site are positioned both to meet immediate needs — like handing out water — and to offer practical advice and resources that address seasonal threats to health.
The COOLTainer at Augie Acuña Los Niños Park is the result of a partnership between the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Pima County Health Department. State officials are refurbishing used shipping containers to serve as these small cooling shelters; the effort includes repurposing some of the steel boxes that were formerly used as part of a border-barrier project. The county and the state have framed the program as a way to expand the distribution of cooling resources across neighborhoods that face high heat exposure and where other options may be distant.
Pima County health officials said the South Side location was chosen because the surrounding area has elevated rates of heat-related illness and because the nearest other cooling center is located more than four miles away. Pima County Health Department Director Theresa Cullen cited those factors in explaining the placement of the new unit, which sits in a park near South Alvernon Way and East Drexel Road and adjacent to Interstate 10. The county’s rationale for selecting the site was based on health data and access considerations meant to bring relief closer to residents who otherwise face longer travel to indoor, air-conditioned spaces.
For people seeking additional options, Pima County’s health department maintains a Beat the Heat webpage that includes an interactive map and a list of cooling centers across the county. The new COOLTainer is one of 48 counted in the county’s network; officials say the map and list are intended to help residents locate staffed cooling resources during spells of extreme heat. The COOLTainer program joins a broader roster of county-run cooling centers, some of which operate out of larger public facilities while others are staffed pop-up units like the shipping-container shelters.
Augie Acuña Los Niños Park’s COOLTainer adds a staffed, climate-controlled resource to a neighborhood that health officials identified as needing closer access to heat relief. The county has scheduled the unit for afternoon and early-evening hours through the summer, when temperatures regularly reach levels that increase risks to vulnerable residents. Community health workers will be on hand to distribute water and supplies and to direct people to other public-health information and services. Residents wanting the most current list of cooling center hours and locations are advised to consult the Health Department’s Beat the Heat materials for maps and contact details.
AZPM reports this marks Pima County's second COOLTainer overall, with the renovated shipping container designed to provide heat relief for up to 20 people at a time. It aligns with the county's 2026 Heat Season Plan emphasizing vulnerability mapping to place these units in high-need areas like the South Side. (Sources: AZPM, Pima County Newsroom)
Pima County’s 2026 Heat Season Plan explicitly identifies Augie Acuña Los Niños Park as the pilot COOLTainer site and calls for Community Health Workers to be trained to operate the unit, provide heat‑illness education, and ensure the unit is staffed and accessible during the hottest parts of the day.
The plan’s appendix details near‑term funding for the county’s heat‑relief work, including a five‑year CDC BRACE award of $40,000 annually through August 2026, a $50,000 contract with Solari, Inc. for transportation and resource navigation, about $55,000 from a CDC disparities grant for supplies and outreach, and roughly $30,000 from a Public Health Infrastructure Grant plus a $30,000 ADHS pass‑through allocation (the latter two combined for certain 2025–2026 uses).
The county’s public "Beat the Heat" cooling‑center map/list also shows other COOLTainer units by name — for example, the document lists a "Miguel COOLTainer" in Sells and a "North Komelik COOLTainer" — indicating the COOLTainer network includes units serving smaller communities outside central Tucson.