Anzhe Zhang
In an effort to mitigate high rent and lack of available housing in the Phoenix area, the Board of Supervisors at Maricopa County approved in April the construction of more than 600 affordable housing units, which will receive $17 million in funding.
The funding, which draws from the American Rescue Plan Act, will be allocated towards building 368 housing units in West Valley, 192 units in Central Phoenix, and 50 units in a hotel conversion, also located in Central Phoenix.
Conversions for the hotel rooms on Van Buren Street will cost $8 million and will provide 50 units for individuals and couples to live in. As an affordable housing compound designed to help those transitioning out of homelessness, the building will offer management services meant to assist residents seeking employment and social services, with construction set to be finished in the summer of 2023.
In West Valley, the Gorman Group received $6 million for the construction of “Centerline on Glendale,” which will feature 368 affordable units and be built in two phases – with 186 units being built first followed by another 182 units after. Meanwhile, “Salt River Flats,” the 192-unit development, is set to be built by Ulysses Development for $3 million and is scheduled to be completed by early 2024.
The 192-unit development is also specified to be available to residents who make 60 percent of the area median income, which is $42,660 for a family of three, according to the county.
“From preventing evictions through rental assistance […] to these construction projects that add more than 600 new affordable units to the housing stock in the Valley – the County is committed to finding innovative housing solutions,” said Jacqueline Edwards, Director of Maricopa County Human Services in a press release.
In related housing news, Maricopa County recently announced a $35 million plan to buy homes, using funds from the American Rescue Plan Act, to resell to low-income residents.It’s estimated that over 5,000 people are homeless in Phoenix, a 33 percent increase from just two years ago, while the latest Census Pulse Survey suggests that 65,000 Arizona renters live in fear of being evicted in the next two months.
