Affordable apartments going up on former school land in west Phoenix
Metro Phoenix’s first apartments to go up on unused school land are underway in the Maryvale area and will add much-needed affordable rentals to the area.
The complex, called Bret Tarver Terrace, is going up on almost 3.5 acres on the southwest corner of McDowell Road and 31st Avenue in west Phoenix. Rents for the 96 apartments will be affordable for people making 60% of the area’s median income or less.
The project, almost three years in the works, is expected to open to renters in early 2025.
“Selling this excess land allows our school district to utilize funds from the sale of this property and reinvest them into our district,” said Mario Ventura, superintendent of Isaac School District. “Bret Tarver Terrace will become home to many families in need of affordable housing who have children.”
It took a partnership between the Isaac School District, Phoenix IDA, developer UMOM Helping Hands Housing Services, the Arizona Department of Housing, Maricopa County and Phoenix to make the project happen.
“It’s difficult for schools to sell excess land in Arizona," said Phoenix IDA’s Housing Director Cindy Stotler, which provided $18.4 million in housing bonds to help fund the apartments.
Arizona schools can sell land they aren’t using to the state, cities and counties — or they must ask the public to vote to sell land, and that takes a lot of time, she said.
Phoenix paid the school district about $2.9 million for the former school land. Maricopa County tapped $6 million of its pandemic stimulus funding to contribute to the apartments.
Stotler and other housing advocates have been working on turning surplus school land into affordable homes to address Arizona’s housing shortage. The state needs at least 100,000 additional homes, particularly ones that are priced for people making the median income or below.
She said Phoenix IDA is working on four to five other affordable apartment developments on unused school land in metro Phoenix.
Plans call for Bret Tarver Terrace, named after a Phoenix firefighter who died in an arson fire‚ to have energy-efficient amenities, a community room, picnic areas, a computer lab, a fitness center, garden space, a playground and access to public transportation.
“We worked hard to create a process that would allow for the district land to be purchased and the old, vacant school buildings to be removed so a new, energy-efficient affordable housing project can be built,” said Juan Salgado, CEO of Phoenix IDA. “There is great public need for more affordable housing in Phoenix, and this is an excellent example of reuse of the site.”
Reach the reporter at catherine.reagor@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8040. Follow her on Twitter @CatherineReagor.
Coverage of housing insecurity on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Arizona Community Foundation.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: West Phoenix affordable apartments going up on former school land
