Ground has been broken on Mesquite Terrace, a multifamily affordable housing community in the Solano Neighborhood on 19th Avenue, one block north of Camelback Road near the light rail.
Catholic Charities, through its Housing for Hope, Inc. affiliate, and Trinity Development, LLC will co-develop Mesquite Terrace.
When completed at the end of 2023, the three-building property on nearly 4 acres will offer 297 units: 129 one-bedroom, 78 two-bedroom and 90-three bedroom apartments ranging in size from 575 to 1,050 square feet.
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Eleven of the units are reserved for veterans as part of the City of Phoenix HOME Program and rental rates for all apartments will be based on the tenant’s income.
The first building is expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
“Mesquite Terrace addresses the desperate need for affordable housing in the Valley,” said Catholic Charities President and CEO Paul Mulligan. “As a community, we’re a long way from overcoming the shortage, but that’s why we developed Housing for Hope, Inc., in order to take an aggressive role in the effort and partner with other Valley organizations and developers to provide solutions.”
In addition to Mesquite Terrace, Catholic Charities owns and operates eight affordable housing communities – seven in metro Phoenix, one in Cottonwood – that provide 400 apartments. Catholic Charities also provides a range of services to tenants.
The City of Phoenix Affordable Housing Initiative reported a shortage of 163,067 affordable housing units and, according to a recent report by the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the Valley is one of the top five metropolitan districts in the nation for a shortage of extremely low-income rentals. Sixty-five percent of the 555,013 households in the City of Phoenix fall into the extremely-low-to-low or low-to-moderate income levels.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development reports that the average rent in metro Phoenix has increased more than 60% during the past 10 years while media household income has gone up by less than 20%.
Tofel Dent Construction, Inc. is the general contractor for Mesquite Terrace and Architectural Resource Team will provide architectural services. Biltmore Properties, Inc., which currently manages 4,304 affordable housing units in Arizona, will manage the community.
Mesquite Terrace amenities will include secure bicycle parking, a sports court, outdoor children’s play area, resident community rooms and outdoor patio spaces.
Total cost of the project is approximately $63.6 million through financing that includes tax-exempt bonds through the City of Phoenix Industrial Development Authority, Low Income Housing Tax Credits from the Arizona Department of Housing, $1 million for the Phoenix Community Development and Investment Corporation, $1 million from City of Phoenix HOME Funds and deferred developer fees.
For more information about Catholic Charities Community Services, visit www.catholiccharitiesaz.org.
