Up to 500 new affordable housing units may soon see construction in Tempe, not far from the main campus of Arizona State University.
Members of the Tempe City Council have now given their approval to a plan calling for up to $1.2 million to be spent building the units adjacent to busy Apache Boulevard.
What is being called the Apache Boulevard Redevelopment project will see the building of both rental units and commercial space, with some parts of a four-acre parcel being given over to defined open or park space.
The land is owned by the City of Tempe, with officials noting from the start that the idea has always been to build more affordable units in a city where the average rent, according to the site Rentcafe.com, is now at just under $1,900.
Two of the projects on the designated land will be developed by Artspace, a national group devoted to building affordable housing for artists and art students.
An exact schedule for when work will begin on the Apache Boulevard Redevelopment project has not yet been announced.
By Garry Boulard
