Affordable apartment development planned at Idaho, Scenic in Apache Junction

By Richard Dyer
Mail | X: @RHDyer

A 300-unit, three-story multifamily residential affordable-housing rental community — with rents $1,262 for a one-bedroom unit to $1,950 for a four-bedroom unit including utilities — is planned in Apache Junction.

The project will use the Section 42 low-income housing tax credit program, which allows developers to offer affordable housing to residents earning up to 60% of the area’s median income.

A conditional-use permit request by Roers Cos., represented by Greg Davis of Iplan Consulting, will be discussed at the 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 2, meeting of the Apache Junction City Council in the council chambers, 300 E. Superstition Blvd.

The Apache Junction Planning and Zoning Commission on Oct. 28 voted 4-1 to recommend the council approve the permit with Commissioner Sandra Mykland voting no. Commissioners Ari Kalan and Nicholas Kelley were absent.

The proposal is consistent with the city’s general plan land-use goals for multifamily living to support the downtown business community, Senior Planner Nick Leftwich told the commission prior to the vote.

The primary entrance will be on the property’s south side with a shared access on Idaho Road. A right-only emergency gate on Idaho Road is planned, he said.

“The applicant is also providing plenty of on-site amenities,” Leftwich said. “There is open space with tot lots, there is a clubhouse ... dog park, open spaces, a community pool.”

A multiuse trail is planned outside the community wall on Idaho Road and Scenic Street that connects to the more rural area of the city to the east, he said.

A market-rate multifamily apartment development is planned, Davis of Iplan Consulting told the commission prior to the vote.

“Our density is about 22 units per acre. The zoning district allows up to 40 so we’re well under that. The height limitation is 60 feet; we’re building three stories, which comes out to be a little less than 40 feet so we’re compliant with that requirement as well,” he said.

Western-style elements such as vertical board and batten like a barn and corrugated steel like from a trough out in a field have been added to the buildings, Davis said.

“We’ve been through a few iterations trying to get the magic clue of what Western architecture is. We met with the council — everyone had a different opinion of what that might look like,” he said. “I think (what) the architects drew upon is there are a lot of different elements that feel Western, and we may not be able to make a three-story apartment building look Western but we can certainly introduce a lot of those elements to these buildings.”

Bela Flor Enterprises LLC is the owner of the 13-acre development near the southeast corner of Idaho Road and the Scenic Street alignment.

The development plan proposes 14 three-story buildings. The residential units will include 48 one-bedroom/one-bath, 132 two-bedroom/two-bath units, 84 three-bedroom/two-bath units and 36 four-bedroom/two-bath units. Parking is to include 370 surface spaces and 300 covered parking stalls.

The buildings are clustered around community open space areas or along the perimeter, including along Idaho Road, it states in a written project narrative from Iplan Consulting.

The single-story office/clubhouse structure is off the project entrance in the southwest portion of the property. A small, single-story maintenance building is also planned in the northwest corner of the property, it states.

The primary duties of the planning and zoning commission include community contact regarding items including a zoning change request, to an application from a developer for a shopping center development or housing project. Also included are conditional use permits with the final decision being handled at the planning and zoning commission level, according to the city’s website.

Richard H. Dyer can be reached at rdyer@iniusa.org, or on X @rhdyer. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines, https://www.yourvalley.net/civility-checklist/.

Richard Dyer
Managing Editor | East Valley

rdyer@iniusa.org

Meet Richard
Richard Dyer has worked at Independent Newsmedia Inc. USA since 1987, starting his career in Apache Junction as a copy editor and being promoted over the years to work as the editor of the Mesa Independent, news services editor for the East Valley office in Apache Junction, managing editor for the East Valley office, news services editor for the East Valley office and eventually also for the newspapers at INI’s then-Chandler office, managing editor again and as a news editor covering Apache Junction/Gold Canyon and Queen Creek. He helped start the Florence Independent while the news editor covering Apache Junction and Mesa news. In January 2023, he became associate managing editor for the East Valley newspapers and in August 2023 became managing editor for the East Valley newspapers of Chandler/Tempe, Gilbert, Queen Creek, Florence, Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, while also reporting on Mesa and Apache Junction/Gold Canyon.  

Community: Since 2009, he has worked as a volunteer to design The Blue Guitar Magazine, Blue Guitar Jr. magazine and Unstrung magazine, which are projects of The Arizona Consortium for the Arts; and since 2014, has been overseeing the art submissions. 

Education: University of Arizona with a master of arts in journalism and a bachelor of science in agricultural communication. Also continuing education at Mesa Community College in welding in a metal art sculpture class.

Random fact: Saw his first tornado on May 31, 2010, which was classified as an EF-2, as part of a stormchasing tour group.

Hobbies: He is an artist of welded-steel sculptures, selling his artwork at juried and non-juried art shows.