Housing Coalition records continued growth going on fifth year
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Future Growth
The work before us is tremendous to do the work to ensure that individuals and families in Tempe have a broad range of affordable housing opportunities available to them now and into the future.”
Tempe’s Coalition for Affordable Housing is seeing rapid growth and success as it works to put a roof over the heads of local residents.
On March 24, Tempe City Council held its first joint meeting with the Tempe Coalition for Affordable Housing, which was created in 2018 by the city’s public housing authority to identify, procure and manage living arrangements for individuals experiencing homelessness in Tempe.
Currently, the coalition manages almost $10 million in assets, according to the city’s website. The living units have been mostly purchased using federal grant funding while others were donated by the city.
At the meeting, the council met with members of the nonprofit to discuss the group’s duties and what has been accomplished coming up on the five-year mark of its inception.
Irma Hollamby Cain, president of the coalition’s board of directors, led a presentation on the group’s work, focusing on overall performance and financial effects.
As it stands, the city has 55 rental units owned through the coalition with 94% of the units currently occupied. Cain said five of the units are offline for rehabilitation and another six are being used by partner agencies like the Foundation for Senior Living.
“The units are designated affordable housing so that 0-80% AMI, or area median income, and the net income generated from these units is used to support the affordable and workforce housing that are in it,” Cain said.
Looking into expansion, the coalition recently purchased Watson’s Flowers to turn into more affordable units, however the land will now be used for the Tempe Community Action Agency’s social services campus.
Other updates included a new hire responsible for bookkeeping and MEB Affordable Management Services taking over property management effective May 1.
Cain also talked about the financial data on Hometown for All, the 2021 initiative passed by council to accelerate the growth of Tempe’s affordable housing.
According to her, this effort has accomplished two things: creating a dedicated funding support where 50% of permitting fees support the coalition’s activities and inspiring the development community to financially support the coalition’s work.
“In the past two years, much has been accomplished,” Cain said.
The presentation showed Hometown for All has received a total of $4.5 million in city investments, $3.3 million in donations and $17.5 million in pledged funds, which reflect the year they are recorded and may be used at a later date or over a period of time.
Speaking of its investments, Cain showed that $2.3 million went into improving properties while $146,400 has been put into acquiring land for housing units.
“The work before us is tremendous to do the work to ensure that individuals and families in Tempe have a broad range of affordable housing opportunities available to them now and into the future,” she said.
Delving in
Closing the presentation, the council and other board members from the coalition engaged in a discussion about affordable housing priorities for the city in the future, talking about where city money has been allocated and how pledged and other funding is managed.
Cain explained that each donation pledged is unique in how and when the money is donated to the city, depending on “what the donation parameters are as offered by the developer.”
Because of how fast the coalition has grown, a standardized system of effectively tracking donations has yet to be created, but it is something the coalition is looking to solidify going forward.
Mayor Corey Woods chimed in, noting that the data on Hometown for All was not fully reflective of all the work that the city has done since 2021 to contribute to affordable housing city-wide.
Listing examples, the mayor highlighted a $10.7 million investment that acquired the old Food City and the recent $4.4 million investment into a property where Haji Baba is. These were both purchased using general fund money, after council’s consideration.
(Courtesy of Kyrene School District)
Tempe Mayor Corey Woods, pictured here at a Kyrene School District event, engaged in discussion with the coalition about the opportunities for increased affordable housing units and how the city can accomplish that.
Woods also spoke of other projects not included in the data because city property was repurposed into affordable housing instead of acquiring a new space.
“There are a lot of other projects that fall typically outside of the Hometown for All program but are still part of the city’s overall affordable housing and Hometown for All strategy,” Woods said.
Following this discussion, Interim Strategic Management Director Wydale Holmes and the mayor went over the city and coalition’s joint goals for affordable housing. The mayor led with a data point that Tempe requires 11,000 additional units to keep up with demand.
Council goals identified are ensuring ample affordable housing stock, providing housing for Tempe workers — such as teachers, hospitality, etc. — and working collaboratively with the coalition on affordable housing strategy.
“We have to talk about how we can afford to grow up because we’re not going to be able to create more single-family home developments in the city of Tempe,” Woods said.
In order to meet the goal of 11,000 more housing units, the city is looking at its options for building up, but it is also considering the desires of Tempe residents who are hesitant to support solutions that drastically change the city’s character.
Other future considerations the council and coalition talked about included considering more properties close to public transportation to facilitate commutes and fostering diversity in affordable housing.
Slated for the groups’ next meeting, they will be talking over a full list of the coalition’s properties and purchase amounts, the operating procedures for tracking donations received and pledges along with a list of vacant or unimproved lots that could be used for affordable housing.
Reporter Caroline Yu can be reached at cyu@iniusa.org
To voice your opinion on this story, connect with us at AzOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Caroline Caroline Yu joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2020 as a summer intern covering Scottsdale. As an intern, she continued her coverage of Scottsdale, Paradise Valley and Tempe. After graduating in 2022, Caroline became a full-time reporter for Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. She is currently reporting for the Tempe market.
Community: She is a supporter of the environment and tries to get involved with related community events.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications, with a minor in French.
Random Fact: She used to be a ballet dancer for 10 years.
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