Work is expected to begin by early next year on the building of an affordable housing community in a city in southern Arizona that is very much in need of affordable housing.
The Minnetonka, Minnesota-based Dominium company has announced plans to build a new affordable housing project in Marana that will include 200 residential units.
According to the site Rentcafe.com, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Marana is now in excess of $1,550, up from less than $1,200 three years ago.
The new project will go up on a currently vacant 18.6-acre site at 8740 N. Silverbell Road, on the southeast side of the city.
The complex, to be called The Safford, is partly being funded by some $49 million in bonds approved by the Arizona Industrial Development Authority, and will include two, three, and four-bedroom units.
The project represents just the latest move on the part of Dominium to establish a presence in the Grand Canyon State. Last month the company opened a 308-unit affordable community in Phoenix called Vista Ridge and made up of a dozen three-story buildings with one, two, and three-bedroom units.
Dominium, with more than 38,000 apartments to its name in 19 states, is also planning to build two separate communities with a total unit count of 657 in Goodyear.
One of the reasons for the increase in Marana’s rents have to do with the dramatic increase in its population from around 2,200 in the 1990s to some 52,000 today. Located roughly 90 miles to the south of Phoenix, Marana is listed as one of the top ten fastest growing cities in the state.
By Garry Boulard
