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Phoenix highlights two senior-housing projects as models for affordable care
Summary
City officials and developers celebrated two senior housing projects — a 40-unit ‘Senior Bridge’ prototype and the 80-unit Helen Drake Village adjacent to a senior center — emphasizing solar power, reused materials, public-private funding and plans to move residents in over the next year.
Phoenix officials and project partners on June 3 celebrated two senior-focused housing efforts the city said demonstrate new approaches to affordable housing for older adults.
Titus Matthew, who introduced the project as the city’s housing director, said the Helen Drake Village development — co-located with the Helen Drake Senior Center — will deliver about 80 apartments for seniors and is expected to finish roughly three months ahead of schedule. “Today we celebrate the culmination of years of work…including 80 units that we’ll be celebrating here today,” Matthew said.
City and state leaders framed the projects as both humanitarian and practical responses to demographic trends. A speaker at the opening framed the challenge as a coming demographic shift in which the U.S. population is aging, adding that housing instability among seniors is accelerating. Architect Brian Stark described one demonstration project, Senior Bridge, as “proof that progress doesn’t have to widen the gap,” noting the unit design reuses steel and includes solar and battery systems.
Cindy Stler, identified in the transcript as deputy director of the Arizona Department of Housing, described the state and federal funding underpinning the projects. She said the development received federal low-income housing tax credits in 2023 and that the state contributed housing trust fund dollars; at the event she noted the state provided “two and a half million in state housing trust funds” to the project.
Developers and council members emphasized the projects’ neighborhood engagement and replicability. Officials said the projects were meant to be part of a housing continuum that includes transitional and permanent homes and the city noted hundreds of affordable units are in development under the Housing Phoenix plan.
Next steps: city staff and partners said they expect construction to complete ahead of schedule and for resident move-ins to begin in the coming year. The event featured multiple city and state partners and developers who pledged to monitor operations and community impacts once residents move in.
