A Valley nonprofit is beginning construction on an affordable housing project on land it purchased from a school district, a plan its leaders say could inject cash into school districts while addressing a shortage of affordable housing.
UMOM New Day Centers is leading the development of Salamanca Square, a 192-unit apartment complex near 39th and Grand avenues, on land it purchased from the Alhambra School District. The development is expected to complete construction in 2027.
Units in the complex will range from one to four bedrooms. The project will cost about $64 million to develop. The units will be made affordable through the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, which allows developers or investors to receive credit against federal income
taxes based on the amount they invest in affordable housing projects.
The apartment complex will be rented to people who earn up to 60% of the area median income. According to data from Phoenix, a family of four earning 60% of the area median income in 2026 would earn $67,440 per year. Housing is generally considered affordable if a person or family spends one-third or less of their monthly income on it.
UMOM acquired control of the site under a partnership with Phoenix and the Alhambra School District. Meaghan Rodeck, chief operating officer of UMOM, said the district determined it did not need the land for school purposes.
Phoenix bought the land for $2.3 million in early 2025, because Arizona law limits districts' ability to sell land to only public entities, like cities or another school district. UMOM then acquired the land from Phoenix at the same price.
The nonprofit has already completed a similar transaction with the city and the Isaac School District to develop 96 units of affordable housing.
“School districts have underutilized resources,” Rodeck said. “If the land is not used by schools to support kids, we should find a way to use it to support the community.”
UMOM operates emergency shelters and other services for women and families and has developed nearly 1,000 units of permanently affordable rental housing in the Valley.
“For us, solving family homelessness is a math problem,” Rodeck said. “There is a shortage of affordably priced housing. There is no one silver bullet solution.”
Rodeck said the nonprofit was uniquely positioned to develop the project because the transaction was complicated, but in line with the organization’s mission. The framework could be a scalable model for increasing affordable housing supply, while providing entities like school districts money in exchange for unused land.
“It doesn’t deter us if it’s more complicated,” she said.
Corina Vanek covers development for The Arizona Republic. Reach her at cvanek@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on X @CorinaVanek.
Like this story? Get more West Valley news straight into your email inbox by signing up for our free weekly West Valley Newsletter, which comes out on Tuesdays.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 192-unit Phoenix affordable housing project starts construction
