Phoenix updates Housing Phoenix plan: 66% of city parcels released for redevelopment, dozens of projects in pipeline
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Summary
City staff told the subcommittee the Housing Phoenix plan has moved more than 66% of identified parcels into RFPs or development, highlighted major projects (Columbus 'The Nest', Moreland, Edison Eastlake), and discussed financing gaps and the need to fund a housing trust to sustain momentum.
Deputy City Manager Gina Montes and Housing Director Titus Matthews briefed the Community Services & Education Subcommittee on Feb. 25 about the city’s strategy to redevelop city‑owned land for affordable and mixed‑income housing as part of the Housing Phoenix plan.
Matthews said the plan originally identified roughly 140 parcels in 2020 (updated in 2022) and that more than 66% of those parcels have been released via requests for proposals. "As a matter of pride...4 years ago, we were at 0% accomplishment... Today, we're at 66%, which is a significant milestone," Matthews said, and he reported more than 340 units are currently in progress on city‑awarded RFPs.
Staff highlighted several projects: The Nest (a 3.2‑acre site on Columbus with Halualoa Capital Management as master developer and plans for 250 affordable units plus a 40,000‑square‑foot health clinic and shared city parking); Hellandripe Village (rezoned to planned unit development for 80 senior affordable units); The Moreland (237 affordable/workforce units in two phases); and Edison Eastlake Choice Neighborhoods, a HUD‑funded transformation to replace 577 obsolete public housing units with over 1,000 mixed‑income units.
Neighborhood Services and Community & Economic Development staff outlined smaller homeownership and multifamily projects in Districts 3, 7 and 8, active solicitations of vacant lots in South Phoenix (proposal deadline April 3), and rezoning work that reclassified several sites to the Walkable Urban code to accommodate higher density near light rail stations.
Council members asked about financing and incentives. Matthews and colleagues said federal funding and ARPA supported recent progress, low‑income housing tax credit capacity has expanded, but gap financing remains a challenge. Matthews urged consideration of a housing trust fund as a stable city funding source; staff described differing dispositions depending on which department acquired a property (some sales produce program income for grant funds, others remain ground‑leased to preserve long‑term affordability).
The subcommittee also discussed geographic concentration of projects (many parcels currently active in Districts 7 and 8) and the limits posed by state‑owned land in other districts. Staff advised that project details and RFPs will be posted at investinphoenix.com and that interested parties can sign up for a development notice list.
The presentation followed a consent vote earlier in the meeting that approved the Housing Department’s HUD plans as part of consent items 2 and 3.
