The City of Tempe is expected to begin construction later this year of new affordable housing at 1338 E. Apache Boulevard.
What is being called the Dorsey Station Affordable Housing Complex will see the building of upwards of 400 residential units in a six-story structure. A 10,000-square-foot grocery store is planned for the ground floor of the building.
To go up on an 8-acre site, the project, according to the City of Tempe website, will feature “mixed-income multi-family housing with 90% of units designated as affordable.”
Tempe purchased the site in 2021 for $10.7 million, after a structure on the site housing a Food City store closed its doors. The larger strip mall site, which was built in 1978, has included a Family Dollar store, among other retail outlets.
The structure was demolished last week.
City officials have particularly emphasized the importance of the planned grocery store in the new complex, noting that with the closing of the Food City outlet the neighborhood was at risk of becoming a food desert.
In a statement at the time of the City’s purchase of the site, Mayor Corey Woods remarked: “We are excited about the opportunity to bring a grocery store back to the neighborhood,” while adding that the overall goal of the project is to “see this area thrive.”
August 4, 2026
By Garry Boulard
Photo courtesy of City of Tempe
