The $6.8 million in funding will result in the construction of 835 additional units in eight projects across the metro area.

This is the second round of “gap funding” approved by the Pima County Regional Affordable Housing Commission, with the first round awarding $2.625 million to two housing projects in June 2023. According to one report, county news release.

“This allocation of gap funding makes sense within the budget priorities of this board,” said board member Dan Sullivan. Community and workforce development About the county in recent news releases. “This is local money going to local people, and improving opportunities and outcomes for low-income renters and homeowners will help stabilize the economy for all of us.”

The approved proposals from both rounds of funding are expected to ensure a total of 1,038 units are developed or preserved. This includes a 30-year housing affordability commitment, with property managers ensuring households earn no more than 80% of the area median income, according to the release.

The eight approved projects are divided into three categories: new rental development, new home ownership development, and preservation or renovation of existing housing.

Belvedere Terrace: $1 million

When open, Belvedere Terrace will be located on East 22nd Street between South Columbus Boulevard and South Swan Road.

Construction on the project is expected to begin as early as June. david wall, president of developer Newport SW, LLC. Wall said construction will likely continue until late 2025. That means tenants could move in as early as early 2026.

Belvedere Terrace will offer 72 units for low-income senior renters. Fifty of the units will have a rent cap based on a percentage of the area median income. The remaining 22 units will be reserved for seniors experiencing homelessness, and rents will be set based on the renters' actual incomes, Wall said.

Rent for these 22 units will be capped at 30% of the tenants' “actual income,” Wall said. In 2,024 dollars, the cheapest one-bedroom apartment would start at $610, he said. Up to about $1,100 for the most expensive two-bedroom units.

Wall said the $1 million from the county will be used to install rooftop and carport solar panels, with the goal of covering renters' utility bills with the solar panels.

Desert Dove Apartment: $1 million

For long-time Tucson residents, Desert Dove apartments may be familiar. GHK properties Not only is the project named after Desert Dove Church of Christ in Tucson, but it is also located in the same location.

Desert Dove Apartments is a two-story, 63-unit affordable housing complex with a rent cap of 40% to 60% of the area median income, said Christopher Ortega, managing partner of GHK Properties. This is said to be the goal. Of the 63 units, 16 will be three-bedroom units and 30 will be two-bedroom units, he said.

Ortega said the project used the church's name to keep it part of the community. “There's no demolition or anything like that, and we're using the extra land,” Ortega said.

Ortega said the gap funding will go toward construction in about 60 days. If all goes well, tenants are expected to move in as early as late 2025.

Emery Park Place: $500,000

Emery Park Place will be located off Drexel Road and will feature four duplexes for a total of eight units. Housing resources for families Executive Director Megan Headings.

FHR and Southern Arizona Land Trust (SALT), which develops primarily single-family affordable housing, was awarded $500,000 to help pay for the construction of Emery Park Place.

Headings said all units will be ADA accessible and will be available to individuals and families making 80% or less of the area median income.

Tenants are expected to begin moving in as early as March 2025, but “if we're lucky it could be sooner,” Headings said.

“We really appreciate the funding from Pima County and the Board of Supervisors to address affordable housing efforts and put general funds into these efforts,” she said. “I think it's very important at this time and what they're doing is noteworthy.”

200 apartment units will be built in Safford, Marana with financial assistance from the Section 42 Low Income Housing Tax Credit program.

Construction on The Safford, located at 8470 N. Silverbell Road, is expected to be completed in 2025.

Rent limits for new apartment complexes will be $1,096 for a two-bedroom apartment, $1,266 for a three-bedroom apartment and $1,413 for a four-bedroom apartment, Arizona Republic report.

West Point Apartments II: $1 million

West Point Apartments II is being developed at 20 E. Ochoa St. near South Stone Avenue in downtown Tucson.

first West Point Apartmentsthe old Westerner Hotel, formerly located in downtown Tucson, was purchased. La Frontera Partners It has been transformed into an affordable housing complex. La Frontera demolished the back half of the hotel and built a tower.

According to La Frontera President and CEO Dan Ranieri, West Point II will be identical to the first Point with the same amenities and design, “just bigger.” That's what it means. The first West Point complex will consist of 50 one-bedroom/one-bathroom units. For people over 55 years old. In that complex, all utilities are included in the rent.

Construction on the 86-unit West Point II is scheduled to begin next month. It will last about a year, Ranieri said, meaning the complex is expected to be full of tenants by spring 2025.

Ranieri said it's too early to start revealing rent numbers, but the plan is to specify a certain number of units with certain income criteria.

The complex will serve low-income seniors who earn between 40% and 60% of the area's median income, according to Hisay Group, a development and consulting firm working on the project.

The project has cost $31 million to date, Hisay Group said on the project's website.

El Camino Affordable Homes: $375,000

The former El Camino Hotel on East Benson Highway was built in the 1940s and was purchased in March 2023 by Casa Maria, a longtime South Tucson soup kitchen.

The 20 units will be rented to people making less than 80% of the area median income, or between $600 and $700 a month, including utilities.

The nonprofit's goal in March was to raise $400,000 to add a kitchenette to every unit.

Tucson House is a historic 17-story luxury apartment building built in 1963.

Converted to public housing by the city in 1979, the 408-unit tower at 1501 N. Oracle Road is now the city's largest public housing site.

In July 2023, the city received a $50 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Neighborhood Selection Programwas designed to revitalize areas struggling with “distressed public housing or HUD-assisted housing,” the Star previously reported.

At the time, Tucson Mayor Regina Romero said she planned to turn the complex into a mixed-income community for people 55 and older.

Mars landing development: $1 million

Habitat for Humanity's Mars Landing will be a 30-unit subdivision located on vacant land near West Ina Road and North Thornydale Road in northwest Tucson.

Habitat for Humanity CEO Charlie Buchanan said the subdivision will consist of three-bedroom, two-bathroom “entry-level homes” with approximately 1,200 to 1,300 square feet. It will be sq.ft.

Each home will feature a shared-wall concept with its neighbors and will be open to potential homebuyers earning between 40% and 80% of the county median square footage.

Mr Buchanan said the subdivision was still in the pre-development stage and it was too early to begin construction discussions. The $1 million awarded by the county will be used to accelerate the project's timeline, he said.