In 2019, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and the then Phoenix Council unveiled, of the COVID 19 Pandemic and Recession that dominated in 2020, the Housing Phoenix Plan that was designed to create or preserve 50,000 housing units by 2030.
Fast forward five years and Gallego and the current Phoenix City Council announced that the 50,000 goal had been met this year, in 2025.
According to the city and reporting from KTAR, twenty percent of the houses are affordable units and twenty five percent are workforce.
In remarks at the Reserve at Thunderbird, Mayor Gallego said:
“I’m proud that the city has surpassed our 2019 housing, Phoenix plan, goal to create or preserve 50,000 units, five years ahead of schedule. And it is wonderful to to share this at a community that really celebrates the values behind the plan. 90% of the units here are affordable and can house families with up to four bedrooms so you can have a larger family here…When we passed this plan, many market forces were acting against us. Phoenix’s population, was booming. The pace of construction was slow. Mortgage rates, labor and supply costs were increasing rapidly. But we knew that with some political will and determination to drive forward solutions, we could make a real impact on our community. We had to because the future ready city we want to build is bustling with economic activity that can only continue flourishing if we have the support to house our workforce…Creating and preserving these units meant that the Working Families have a place to call home instead of living in uncertainty about whether they can afford rent. They can lift up their entire family and focus their energy on setting themselves up for future success. Supporting their kids at school securing a great job, accessing new opportunities. I’m proud that Phoenix stepped up and more than one way to achieve our goals…”
In her social media posts celebrating the event, Mayor Gallego recognized a beneficiary of the Housing Plan, Cecilia, who spoke about how the housing at Thunderbird was “her saving grace” from “domestic violence and mental, financial, and emotional abuse.” Saying that finding residence at Thunderbird has allowed her “to dance with her children while she cooks and watch t.v. with them peacefully,” Cecilia said that the reserve at Thunderbird “has given her hope” and “I can now stand on my own two feet. I can provide for my children on my own. I can do this Mom thing.” She finished by saying that the experience at Thunderbird has proven “her story matters because places like this are made so that people with stories like mine can start over.”
Another resident the Mayor and her team saluted was Elizabeth, a victim of postpartum and mental depression whose family of five were thrown into homelessness. Calling the chance to live at the Thunderbird Reserve “A dream opportunity,” she said that her closer and happier family “has fallen in love with our community” and expressed her gratitude to the local government entities that made this possible, saying “Instead of fear and frustration, we feel pride and empowerment.”
The day before the housing announcement, the Mayor and her team posted a separate video on social media, featuring Stephanie, another victim of homelessness with her two children who found a second chance through the Phoenix Family Self Sufficiency Program that enabled her to buy a home through Habitat for Humanity (that she helped build) after four and a half years.
Crying with joy that this was really happening to her, saying to herself “Is this mine…It was like a dream…It didn’t feel real at all…this house is ours. It can stay in the family. It will give them a place that they can always call home. Somewhere that they can always come to.”
In an op-ed for Phoenix Business Journal on the city’s housing program, Mayor Gallego, along with Jessica Raymond, wrote:
“This (The Housing Plan) did not happen in a vacuum. To reduce barriers to development, increase the supply of public housing, and leverage financial assistance for residents, the city needed to innovate its policies, programs and initiatives. Intentional collaborations with housing developers and nonprofit organizations working in accessible housing were a must…”
“…The city created specific jobs within its housing department to help expedite building permits and construction, removing typical roadblocks. City-owned land is being sold to developers committed to affordable housing. Since March 2019, Phoenix has approved more than 64,000 housing units through the rezoning process.
Phoenix also is among the first cities in the West to work with HUD to utilize the 223f financing tool for low-income development and, with Atlantic, created a pioneering financial model that takes advantage of lower than market long-term mortgage rates in order to further leverage and maximize the city’s investments
This matters not just from a human rights perspective but also from an economic standpoint. The city is creating thousands of good jobs by building semiconductor manufacturing plants, expanding medical schools, and opening new public safety facilities.
These workers need places to live, but if affordable, workforce, and market-rate housing is missing, the labor pool to support a thriving economy will be, too.
Phoenix has come a long way, and there’s reason for optimism. In addressing an urgent housing crisis, the fifth-largest city in the U.S. has shown itself to be surprisingly nimble, collaborative and innovative.”
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