The Arizona Department of Housing announced on Thursday, June 1, that it has allocated the full $22 million annual portion of the 2024 federal low-income housing tax credit to fund 15 affordable housing developments in the state. Total project cost is $34.6 million.

The two projects at Camp Verde are among them. The Yavapai Apache Homes VIII project on East Cherry Creek Road and the Sycamore Vista Phase I at 365 North Homestead Parkway.

“We are getting these credits each year to drive development, and in 2023 the flexibility to use all of next year’s batches will allow us to build more affordable housing communities in a shorter period of time. We will be revitalized,” said ADOH Director Joanne Service in a press release.

Yavapai Apache Homes

The project will begin along East Cherry Creek Road in the Tunli residential area east of the Conoco station on State Route 260 in Camp Verde and will be built at a cost of $21.8 million. The second phase of construction will also require a new east-west connecting road, according to the planning documents.

“There is a shortage of housing,” said Yavapai Apache Nation Housing Director Shirley Benson. “There are currently 120 tribe members on the waiting list, which means tribal families. of people live with their families, live with their parents, and have three or four generations living in one house.”

The tribe will receive $2.5 million annually from ADOH over the next 10 years towards the project. Benson explained that he is looking for investors to buy credits from the tribes to build the project.

Residents eligible for housing must have an income between 40% and 80% of the Yavapai County median income. Usually such projects cut people more than 60% of their income, but in order to serve more people, the tribe reduced eligibility to nine of the units by 80%, Benson said. It has chosen to expand to more individuals.

This is the tribe’s eighth major housing project since 2004, with 234 units built since then. The project includes 34 of his 40-unit buildings that can accommodate an estimated 160 tribe members.

“We have 28 single-family homes, 14 three-bedrooms and 14 four-bedrooms,” Benson said. “Then there is a demand for two-bedroom units, so he has six duplex units with two-bedroom units each. we have [had] We also have police officers from Phoenix, so this will be a way for them to be closer to the community here. ”

“We have a few officers who just graduated from the military academy and have nothing to spare… [The] The housing crisis is affecting patrolmen,” said Yavapai Apache Police Chief Nathan Hoybregtse.

Yavapai-Apache Nation Tribal Housing will act as your own general contractor for your construction project, giving you greater control over your project and significantly reducing costs.

“Overhead costs and profits [would] We’re going to have a developer go and build a community center, a gymnasium and some parks,” explained Luke Sefton, president of Sefton Engineering Consultants, the civil engineer on the project. “It’s reinvested in the community, not the profits.” The Cherry Creek Road project, for example, includes a new teen center.

“[The Yavapai-Apache] You’re also spending extra money on insulation, so it’s very efficient. Solar panels are also installed there. So by the time they’re done, [tribal residents are] You’re paying for water and sewerage, so you’ll probably have $20 a month in utility bills. ”

A groundbreaking ceremony is scheduled for the end of the year, with the first tenants moving in in June 2024 and full completion scheduled for June 2025. Benson said there are 10 more properties in Thunley, five in Clarkdale and one in the central Verde area, with a decision on the application expected by next month.

Sycamore Vista Phase I

Located at N. 365 Homestead Parkway in Camp Verde, Sycamore Vista Phase I is being developed by Atlantic Development and Investments at a total cost of $33.7 million. Arizona granted the Sycamore project a $2 million low-income housing credit and a $1 million state tax credit. The tax credits will be sold to private equity investors.

“This is the first step in our partnership with [Camp Verde] We will supply 338 homes as part of our economic development programme,” the City of Camp Verde said in a press release. “For larger projects, additional affordable housing and [market] Collect fees for homes built through the Federal Opportunity Zones Program. ”

A report on housing in Yavapai County released in September 2022 by the Arizona State University Morrison Institute for Public Policy found that Camp Verde and Clarkdale will have maximum densities to encourage multifamily development and attract land developers. It points out that the zoning ordinance needs to be updated to increase Access government funds.

“We began working on this project with the City of Camp Verde in 2021,” said Jessica Raymond, executive vice president of development and investment at Atlantic. “As part of our pre-development work, we worked with the town to rezoning the site to R2 to increase density and make the transaction financially viable.”

The land on which the project is located is located within the Camp Verde Opportunity Zone, which is defined by the Internal Revenue Service as “an economy where new investment may qualify for preferential tax treatment under certain conditions. Communities in desperate need”. One of the financial hurdles the project faced was incorporating Opportunity Zone funding into his LIHTC development.

“We decided to braid these programs,” Raymond said. “We were inspired by the ‘side-by-side hybrid’ LIHTC development model, which offers a separate but simultaneous funding plan for development. Sycamore Vista innovates its own 9% LIHTC/opportunity zone development Area 1 of the 28-acre parcel comprises a two-stage LIHTC development with a total of 160 units. [80 units in each phase] … Sycamore Vista Phase I will utilize a combination of 9% LIHTC, the state housing tax credit, the ADOH Gap Fund, the Camp Verde Gap Fund and Gap financing provided by the developer’s partner lenders. During Phase 1 and Phase 2 of Area 1, [developed]Area 2 will be developed as a separate but complementary building rental product as an eligible Opportunity Zone business. ”

The first phase will consist of eight 80-unit two-story residential buildings divided into 53 low-income units and 27 market-price units.

“All the units in the project are two-story townhome units with two or more bedrooms, and all units have two bathrooms,” Raymond said. “The project will meet the market demand for affordable rental housing for families with children in the area.”

We are also planning facilities for families with children, such as a swimming pool, playground and dog run. Phase II will add 80 units. Ultimately, a total of 338 units will be built in the development.

“In recent years, the rental market has become not just an option but the only option for many families in Arizona and across the country,” Raymond said in a press release. “This home is an integral part of Camp Verde and we look forward to getting to work.”

In other ADOH news, Gov. Katie Hobbs announced Wednesday that the state has awarded $20 million in grants to local governments that provide shelter and services to homeless people. Of this, Coconino County received $133,000.

“With ADOH funding, Coconino County will provide hotel vouchers to affected and unprotected populations affected by the closure of sobriety homes and residential facilities, the expiration of the Public Health Act, and individuals coming out of prison and unable to evacuate. “Find a shelter,” Coconino County Health and Human Services Commissioner Kim Musselman said in a press release.