phoenix determined to increase affordable housing stock

In a move to provide more options for its lower-income residents, the City of Phoenix has issued a Request for Proposals asking for ideas on how to build and/or rehabilitate affordable rental housing.

In a growing city where the average rent today is just a little over $1,100, up by nearly 13 percent over last year, the issue is pressing.

City officials note that while the Phoenix Housing Department currently has available affordable apartments and single-family homes for up to 35,000 residents, another 33,000 are on the waiting list for such space.

Earlier this summer, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego announced that the city was launching an effort to find new housing sites in defined Opportunity Zone areas as well as “lands owned by various city departments, such as the airport, to determine if they are ripe for housing development.”

According to reports, an initial goal is to build more than 1,000 new public housing units in the next two years, with work most likely beginning in early 2020.

Deadline for the RFP is February 20.

By Garry Boulard

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