New Phoenix apartments to be built for grandparents raising grandchildren

PHOENIX - A new kind of apartment complex will soon be built in Phoenix especially for grandparents raising their grandchildren.

Grandfamilies Place of Phoenix Apartments will replace a complex built in the 1960s at 16th Street and Roeser Road, according to a City of Phoenix news release.

The existing 29 buildings of Roeser Apartments will be demolished to make way for a new two-building complex with 56 units of affordable housing, including 44 two-bedroom and 12 three-bedroom units.

According to grandfactsheets.org , seven percent of all Arizona children live in grandparent-headed homes.

"This development will bring new life to the area and recycle an aging property that had become a neighborhood focus of crime and blight," said District 8 Councilman Michael Johnson. "Its future legacy will be providing safe, affordable housing and services to grandparents raising their grandchildren."

The total cost of construction is estimated to be $11,470,270. Funding will come from Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) awarded through the Arizona Department of Housing, private financing, deferred developer fees, and a $2.2 million City of Phoenix HOME Investment Partnerships Program loan, according to Phoenix Housing Director Kim Dorney.