Tempe’s affordable housing initiative “Hometown for All” is celebrating its one-year anniversary this month.
Tempe Mayor Corey Woods told PBS’s “Arizona Horizon” that a study that showed Tempe’s need to meet affordable housing demands prompted the creation of the project.
“Before I became mayor, there was a study the city commissioned, because they were concerned about this. It basically said “we’re going to need another 11,000 units of affordable housing in Tempe by the year 2040 just to keep pace with current demand," Woods said.
Woods says that the program was a way to reach that city-set goal while avoiding state bans on things like rent controls.
“So, the Hometown for All program was, frankly, a response to that. It was trying to find a way, despite some of the legislative preemptions, to make sure that we could find a way to get to those 11,000 units by 2040,” said Woods.
Woods says the program has raised $6 million for affordable housing from permitting fees paid to the city for new construction, as well as donations from developers.
He says affordable housing projects also help increase diversity in Tempe’s communities.
“Our community is a diverse, inclusive place, and we want it to remain that way. We’re going to have to make sure that we keep enough housing in this community for people at all different income levels," he said.
The project reached the landmark of 100 affordable housing units in November.
