By Rebekah Morris for AZ Builder’s Exchange, LLC
The Richman Group is proposing a mixed-use project called Town Commons that would encompass three separate parcels of city-owned land at the corner of Guadalupe Road and S. Avenida del Yaqui in the Town of Guadalupe. In a pair of firsts, this is the developers first major project in Arizona, and the first major development to come to the Town of Guadalupe in recent history.
The developer was one of three to respond when the Town put out a public development RFP in December 2022. The Town unanimously approved entering into an exclusive negotiation period with the preferred developer in March 2023. Jeff Kulaga, Town Manager of Guadalupe, stated that The Richman Group’s proposal was preferred due to its thorough approach in providing much needed housing, commercial and retail space to the town.
According to the most recent presentation to Town Council, the proposal includes 3KSF of retail, 5KSF of community space, and 230 affordable housing units.
Two of the three parcels are currently vacant. Some of the existing buildings on the southeast corner would be demolished and redeveloped while existing parking spaces would possibly be redeveloped into open space. The existing sports fields would remain and see improvements. While these elements appear in the presentation to Town Council, Kulaga cautioned that the final development agreement would identify the end result and whether the Town would be providing any of the offsite improvements and needed infrastructure for the development.
A total of 338 parking spaces would be provided for the development. Density does increase with three buildings each totaling three stories. The highest density would be realized on the northeast corner of Guadalupe Road and S. Avenida del Yaqui: that portion of the development is proposed as primarily one-bedroom senior living, with a density of 60.6 du/ac. The other parcels are designated as family dwellings with a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units.
The developer will be pursuing Low Income Housing Tax Credits through the Arizona Department of Housing. The earliest the project could break ground would be December 2024 but may be pushed out depending on the tax credit application and approval process. The project also needs to obtain rezoning through the Town, which is estimated to be complete in February 2024.
While The Richman Group has developed significant low-income housing projects across California, Texas, New Jersey and New York, this will be their first major project in Arizona. The Arizona office of The Richman Group opened in May 2022 with the hiring of Alex Popovic.
This project would mark the first significant new development in the Town of Guadalupe in more than seven years. Using the DATABEX online market research tool, no projects come up in the Town valued at more than $5M in total construction cost, whether they be publicly funded or private developer-led since its inception in 2016.
