By Roland Murphy for AZBEX
The Tempe Development Review Commission is scheduled to take up a series of requests from developer Greenlight Communities that would allow for the development of 229 workforce/attainable apartments on 7.69 acres near the SWC of Guadalupe and Kyrene roads.
In supporting materials for the Cabana Kyrene requests, Greenlight says the site has been unimproved for “several decades” and “will add needed attainable housing options in south Tempe.”
According to the submitted project narrative, “The intent of the Project is to diversify the mix of uses along the Guadalupe Road and Kyrene Road corridors by providing residents of Tempe and the surrounding area with needed new housing options. There have been very limited new housing options in this area of Tempe. Given the large amount of employment uses along the Kyrene Road corridor and the nearby Elliot Road corridor to the south, the proximity of public transportation…, and the proximity of the I-10 / Maricopa and U.S. 60 / Superstition freeways, there is demand for new housing in this area that allows persons to live near their place of work or near transportation infrastructure providing easy access to their place of work.”
The narrative claims the site is underutilized, given its location on two major streets and proximity to Interstate 10 and the US 60 freeway. It was originally planned for a commercial center but was bypassed when most commercial development in the area centered around Elliot Road one mile to the south.
Greenlight says its typical residents have annual incomes of around $40K-$50K and are often “essential workers,” including teachers, military members and retirees. “The multifamily residential community proposed for the site is defined as attainable housing. It is not affordable, in that we do not have any government assistance in the project. However, Greenlight builds these developments in a way that allows new, upgraded multifamily projects to be delivered at lower rent levels than surrounding market rate apartments,” the narrative says.
“This product is designed to apply to the missing middle in multifamily housing. Attainable and workforce housing are terms that are synonymous with Greenlight.”
Cabana Kyrene Plans and Requests
The company is requesting rezoning from commercial center to high-density residential, a planned area development overlay to set specific development standards and a development plan review for the site and landscaping plans.
Cabana Kyrene is planned as five three-story buildings with an onsite leasing office and indoor amenities building. Planned amenities include a pool, a lounging and shaded seating area, exercise equipment, hammocks and turf areas distributed across three courtyards.
The 7.69-acre development will have a density of 30 units/acre, with a planned unit mix of 90 studios, 93 one-bedroom and 46 two-bedroom apartments. The total bedroom count would be 275, and 369 vehicle parking spaces will be provided.
Greenlight Communities
Greenlight Communities is one of the few developers in Arizona concentrating on the affordable/workforce/attainable housing space.
According to the DATABEX project database, the company has a total of 17 projects in various stages of development. Fifteen of those are in the Phoenix metro area, while two are located in Tucson. Planned unit counts for the developments total 4,119.
While project valuations on older developments have not been adjusted for inflation since they were initially entered into DATABEX, Greenlight’s estimated construction costs across its various projects, not including Cabana Kyrene, total $566.9M.
Greenlight’s first DATABEX project dates back to Jan. 2018. The status breakdown for the company’s various developments shows:
Greenlight’s requests for Cabana Kyrene are scheduled before the Development Review Commission this week.
Greenlight Communities is the developer. WORKSBUREAU is the design firm. Landscape design is by RVi Planning & Landscape Architecture. The civil engineer is Jett Civil Engineering. The project is represented by Gammage & Burnham.