New affordable housing is slated to go up in Flagstaff on land that formerly belonged to the Flagstaff Unified School District.
Members of the Flagstaff City Council have now given their approval to the City to purchase nearly 19 acres belonging to the school district to get the project underway.
That property is located near the Sinagua Middle School at 3950 E. Butler Avenue, on the east side of the city.
During a council meeting on November 18, Mike Penza, superintendent of the district, revealed that there were no plans to use the property in question for school purposes, helping to launch what has been described as a “multi-step process.”
That process will include trying to secure Low-Income Housing Tax Credits to facilitate the building of housing at the site.
In making its final vote on December 2, the council approved a land use restriction agreement. The land transfers and subsequent project is being overseen by the Arizona Industrial Development Authority.
In agreeing to the school property being used for housing purposes, Penza remarked that the Flagstaff Unified School District is “directly impacted by the housing crisis.”
He further defined the crisis as one that is “impacting our FUSD employees, our families, and staff,” before adding, “and it’s an entire community challenge.”
A group called the Friends of Flagstaff’s Future has maintained that Flagstaff has “had a chronic affordable housing shortage for many years,” noting that the shortage is one that has impacted every part of the city.
A study published last year by the Phoenix-based Vitalyst Health Foundation revealed that nearly half of the employees who work for the Flagstaff Unified School District are regarded as housing-cost burdened, spending over 30% of their income on housing.
December 18, 2025
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of Unsplash
