Surprise is tying up some loose ends with its partners on the new Heritage Senior housing project in the Original Town Site.
The Surprise City Council on Dec. 5 agreed to a series of measures to help push along Heritage Senior, which will bring 99 new affordable senior housing units to Surprise in the next couple of years.
Surprise is partnering with the Housing Authority of Maricopa County on land it owns in the Surprise Heritage District
The City Council approved a ground lease agreement with HAMC for 75 years with a minimum of two 10-year extensions. The amount of the lease is just $10 per year.
“This has been something that brings even more resources to that part of our community,” City Councilmember Aly Cline said at the Dec. 5 City Council meeting. “I think it’s just a perfect addition.”
The project is expected to cost $23 million. About $9 million of that will be coming from an awarded Housing and Urban Development 202 grant. And 9% of it is part of a Low Income Housing Tax Credit, or LIHTC award.
HAMC, an agency that develops and sustains affordable housing programs throughout Maricopa County, is responsible for the remaining funding.
The agency will also be responsible for operational and ongoing costs.
This facility is coming at a time that the National Low Income Housing Coalition reports Arizona has a shortage of 143,998 available affordable rentals.
As part of the housekeeping at its Dec. 5 meeting, the Council also agreed to a density transfer that will allow the project to go forward by shifting density totals from the nearby future multigenerational community center will go to the housing complex.
The deal calls for the city to have access to low-income senior housing with a preference of Surprise residents and veterans.
The Council also agreed to a shared parking agreement, which brings 96 dedicated spaces assigned to Heritage Senior. The agreement allows for residents of Heritage Senior to park in shared areas as desgnated.
A Council-approved Declaration of Restrictions stipulates residents must be 62 and older and the facility must be run as a nonprofit.
Surprise Human Resources and Community Vitality Director Seth Dyson said groundbreaking will take place in the next few weeks with a goal to have it all completed by summer 2025.
HAMC and partner Gorman & Company have previously collaborated on several projects throughout Maricopa County, including the Heritage at Surprise complex in the Original Town Site, not far from the planned senior housing.
The partners also teamed up for projects in Avondale (Madison Heights), Phoenix (Coffelt-Lamereaux), Tempe (River at Eastline Village) and Mesa (Verde Vista).
For information on how to live at the Heritage Senior community, log on to maricopahousing.org.
Jason Stone can be reached at jstone@iniusa.org. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Jason Jason Stone joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2019, after a distinguished three decade media career that included stops at the Arizona Republic, iHeart Media/Clear Channel and Beckett Sports Card magazine. He remembers when airports sold newspapers.
Community: He is a big supporter of the Valley's original sports team: The Phoenix Suns.
Education: Northern Arizona University with a BS in broadcast journalism and a minor in sports coaching.
Random Fact: The capital of Nebraska is Lincoln.
Hobbies: Surfing, backgammon and men who aren't afraid to cry.
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