PHOENIX — Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said there are multiple strategies city leaders are taking to provide a wide variety of affordable housing options to residents.
“It really is a priority to make sure folks can afford a good place to call home,” Gallego said during KTAR News 92.3 FM‘s Highlight on Housing special show on Wednesday. “We’re also trying to build products that will make sense for people across multiple incomes.”
Meeting the diverse housing needs of various populations is another one of her top priorities, she said.
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“Our most excitement right now is about a new affordable housing project we’re launching at Seventh Avenue in Washington,” Gallego said. “Folks who’ve lived here for a while will know our police headquarters has been in that area. It is going to be moving to a different building.”
City planners are currently in the process of exploring the idea, she added.
“We’ll have a chance to build a new gateway for downtown,” Gallego said. “My first big initiative I really rolled out was the Housing Phoenix Plan, which was to create or preserve 50,000 units. We had set a goal of 2030 and we have already reached it.”
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Gallego expressed pride over some of the affordable housing solutions the city has launched so far, such as the Edison-Eastlake community.
“We had pretty obsolete units with no air conditioning and now we have much larger units with air conditioning and views of Camelback Mountain and these are affordable housing projects,” Gallego said. “Some of the bedrooms are as many as five bedrooms. So we’re really building for today’s family and and we want to keep that momentum going.”
Another point of pride was the law that allows people to put backyard casitas in their home. She also said she’s happy that the city provides down payment assistance for teachers and firefighters.
“We’ve done a community land trust, which can help buy down the cost of land, so you can put all your dollars into the actual house and get more bang for your bucks,” Gallego said. “So we have wonderful tools in the city of Phoenix.”
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Officials are also considering using city-owned land for future affordable housing projects. One such example is land between downtown Phoenix and Sky Harbor Airport.
“We’ll have another one at 19th Avenue in Montebello near great shopping,” Gallego said.
It’s important for her to make sure there is housing that serves people throughout the different stages of their lives. For instance, while younger people may prefer the urban environment downtown, older people might need accessible housing. All of this should be available within the city, she said.
“One of the things I love about cities is that they’re diverse and so you want people from all different income levels and backgrounds to be able to find a great place to call home,” Gallego said. “We don’t want every part of the city to be the same, but we want you to be able to find your place in Phoenix.”
The post What is the city of Phoenix doing to make housing more affordable? appeared first on KTAR.
