The first intergenerational, affordable housing community will be coming to Mesa in 2027. The goal is to create a housing village where two unique populations can come together to live.
They’re called Heirloom Communities, and the first is set to break ground in Mesa later this summer. Sidnee Peck is the founder of this intergenerational collective.
"Multiple groups can come together, in particular, for this first pilot, is young adults who are aged out of the foster care system, roughly 18 to 24, and individuals 55-plus who are in a low income range, on fixed income," Peck said.
Peck says this first community will house 18 individuals.
"We are scaling by number of properties, not by number of people on a property. And that's done on purpose because we believe that community is built through these intimate settings," Peck said.
Everyone will have their own home that faces an interior plaza to create what she calls, “organic friction.”
"We've learned a lot from our friends at Mirabella at ASU, which is the senior living on-site on the Tempe campus, that proximity and organic bumping-into is some of the most powerful ways to build relationships," Peck said.
Peck says rents will be based on low-income housing limits, and vouchers will be used whenever possible.
