But after struggling to find a rental property locally in 2018, Andersen and his wife moved to Tucson instead.

He still wants to live in Santa Cruz County, he said.

Andersen, who works for the state, is waiting for his student loans to be forgiven. This is what a civil servant can receive after his 10 years of monthly payments. He and his wife are also waiting for housing prices to drop.

They could then work to buy a house in Rio Rico, he said.

Meanwhile, affordable housing options continue to be tight in the county and appear to be getting tighter.

In an article published last month, a local real estate expert explained, with high demand and limited inventory in the local market, especially for renters. Community members expressed frustration with the search, citing long waiting lists and high cost of living.

So what can Santa Cruz County do to alleviate the affordable housing shortage?

To explore possible housing solutions, NI solicited responses from members of the housing industry across Arizona. Representatives from local cities, towns, and counties discuss ongoing strategies, while nonprofits and private sector experts discuss the number of homes manufactured from sweat equity houses, motels converted into multifamily homes. Up to, I pointed out the existing tools and methods.

According to Frank Dillon, Santa Cruz County’s director of community development, county staff worked to “identify needs and some potential solutions” in three neighborhoods: Rio Rico, Sonoita Elgin, and Patagonia Suburbs. It is working.

Last February, Dillon wrote in an email that the county was given 120 hours of consultation by the National Association of Latino Community Asset Builders to develop an affordable housing strategy.

Dillon added that the county is planning “at least one affordable housing forum with key stakeholders” in May or June. Pass said the city is currently working on updating the development standards code.

“With this update, we have a lot of code that gives us more flexibility for infill housing based on neighborhood retreats,” he wrote in an email.

Patagonia town chief Ron Robinson said the municipality wants to acquire land to pursue affordable housing solutions. rice field.

“You can’t put anything down on paper until you have a fortune,” Robinson explained.

Since the 1990s, the nonprofit Chicanos por la Causa has promoted affordable housing construction in Santa Cruz County, specifically Rio Rico.

Known as the Self-Help program, this initiative is rigorous. The prospective homeowner must provide her 65% of the labor to build her own home and other family homes in her group of programs. But in the end, buyers get the homes at well below market prices, explained her Corina Fragozo, CPLC’s director of rural development.

She added that under the Self-Help program, a four-bedroom, two-bathroom home could take out a $145,000 mortgage despite its market value of $263,000.

“So[buyers]are moving into their property and getting all the equity,” she said.

In the nearly 30 years since the program began, CPLC estimates that it has worked with over 250 low- and very low-income families to build and own homes through self-help programs.

The organization also provides housing assistance to low- to moderate-income buyers. In addition, CPLC’s construction subsidiary, La Causa Construction, can build custom homes for buyers from all income streams.

However, due to high demand for housing, the self-help program has a waiting list of about a year, Fragozo said. But the need will allow the CPLC to ask for more grants, she added.

“Take this to the national office and say, ‘Hey, here in Santa Cruz County, we’ve always built about a dozen homes a year… Now we’d like to propose 25.’ It kind of helps,” she explained.

Still, Fragozo said more action is needed — from cities and counties — for affordable housing opportunities. The CPLC is “open” to expanding partnerships with these groups, she said.

Certain federal grants must be secured by local government agencies and nonprofits cannot apply, she explained. You can distribute your money.

“The city of Nogales has a lot of different grants to target. One is rural. One is colonial,” Fragoso said.

Federal grants, such as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and the HOME Investment Partnership Program, provide funding to state and local governments for a variety of housing initiatives.

The City of Nogales budget for 2021-22 shows that the city received CDBG for water and infrastructure projects, but nothing for housing opportunities.

“There is money lying there,” said Fragoso.

Earlier this month, the Nogales mayor and council heard an urgent call for a solution from Nogales resident and county Democratic chairman Francis Grad.

Grad took the podium during a public conference call and described conversations with local renters who lived for months without proper living conditions, such as access to water and electricity. A shortage of affordable housing has made it difficult for residents to move to more suitable housing, she argued.

When speaking to residents about the possibility of relocation, Grad said he heard the following responses:

“I have no money. It will take months to save. If I had money, where would I go?”

manufactured modular housing

From Camp Verde to Sawarita, modular housing projects manufactured in a variety of costs and models continue to proliferate across Arizona.

Both manufactured and modular homes will be built off-site. Proponents say the practice saves builders construction costs. For example, builders can avoid weather-related complications when building offsite, said Ken He Anderson, president of the manufactured housing industry in Arizona.

The MHIA works with retailers in the manufactured home business, but in Santa Cruz County, he argued, retailers have to overcome too many obstacles to get approval to build.

“There are no retailers out there because it’s so restricted,” Anderson said.

Another construction method, known as modular housing, involves retailers building units off-site and then shipping homes to be assembled on land.

But modular housing projects are not an option in Santa Cruz County.

This is because modular housing is not recognized by the county’s zoning code and is not permitted. Dillon explained that the county’s zoning rules would have to be changed to allow modular housing.

Dillon added that his department is “currently investigating best practices related to how other jurisdictions are incorporating modular structures into their land use and zoning regulations.”

Last fall, Northern Arizona Housing Solutions, a Flagstaff-based nonprofit with a serious shortage of affordable housing, bought an abandoned motel. The building is now slated to become an affordable housing complex.

“Each room is transformed into a studio apartment,” explains Rommy Sekhon, director of development at Housing Solutions.

Facilities accept Section 8 vouchers from eligible tenants or are charged a monthly rent equal to 30% of their income, Sekhon said.

Upcoming projects in Flagstaff will primarily focus on temporary housing for periods of up to 24 months. But the idea of ​​converting motels into apartments has spilled over into communities in Arizona.

Earlier this month, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors released a federal COVID-19 relief fund to support several affordable housing projects, including converting a downtown Phoenix hotel into a permanent housing unit. approved $17 million in

In late 2014, Patagonia’s nonprofit community homes (CHOP) purchased land in Patagonia. CHOP head Tod Bowden estimates the land covers about 0.6 acres. So he envisions affordable housing units. Rent, Residential, or a combination of both.

“It’s a vacant lot now,” he explained. “But it’s a nice open space.”

Boden said the organization is exploring ways to build homes on the land.In the meantime, CHOP is helping low-income people with home repairs. He added that capacity building for large-scale housing projects would be made possible through partnerships.

“You can’t do it with just one entity,” he said.

Sekhon, development director for Housing Solutions in Flagstaff, noted that the organization purchased properties through grants, loans and partnerships.

“We partner with other agencies where they buy properties, act as property managers, and[the agencies]provide services,” he explained.

The organization currently has 21 rentals listed under its management, but all are occupied. These units will cost tenants 30% of their gross income, Sekhon added. This fits the definition of affordable housing under federal standards.

“If you’re paying more, it’s out of reach,” Sekhon added.

Nearly six years ago, Bowman Senior Residence, a 48-unit facility on North Grand Avenue, opened its doors to senior tenants. The years-long project repurposed previously abandoned Bowman and De Anza buildings, transforming the structure into a large scale living space.

Announced in 2016, the project received praise from state and local officials. Mayor John Doyle at the time saw Bowman as a “first step” in the revitalization of downtown Nogales.

Yvonne Delgadillo, former director of Nogales Community Development, led the Bowman Residences effort as project manager. She told NI that the project will require millions of dollars in funding and years of preparation.

These days, Delgadillo splits his time between Nogales, who runs a consulting firm and volunteers at NCD, and Los Angeles, where he works for an affordable housing development company coordinating projects in the Midwest.

Delgadillo outlined several factors driving affordable housing, including tax credits for developers.

“There are several ways affordable housing projects can be exempt from paying property taxes,” she explained.

The low-income housing tax credit exempts property owners from paying federal taxes. To earn the credit, development owners must make available a percentage of their property for residents with incomes less than the area’s median total income, according to the Arizona Department of Housing.

And Delgadillo added that these achievements served as “tools” to bring Bowman to life. The project, which was priced at $12 million at the breakthrough point in 2014, received a $10 million federal tax credit.

Other ideas, such as converting other empty buildings into housing, have been under consideration by the NCD for years, Delgadillo said. , she explained, can be difficult.

“It’s a complicated issue,” she said, adding, “I think the opportunities are there.”