SCOTTSDALE, AZ — A church in Old Town Scottsdale is planning an affordable housing complex – and it’s a project that won’t face the same hurdles other developments have.
Scottsdale United Methodist Church on Miller Road near Indian School Road has filed plans for an 82-unit apartment complex. The two three-story buildings would be located on what’s currently a parking lot along Miller Road.
According to the plans submitted to the city, the proposed housing is in response to the church’s decline in membership.
“... church leadership has identified an opportunity to activate an underutilized portion of the property and expand their mission by addressing a shortage of workforce housing in the downtown Scottsdale area,” they wrote.
SUMC will still operate the church on the campus, along with its existing day care.
ABC15 stopped by the church on Monday, but the pastor was not available to comment.
Affordable-housing developer Gorman & Co. will develop, build and manage the apartments. They also did not return a request for comment.
Scottsdale Councilman Barry Graham told ABC15 he has concerns about the project, saying that adding housing to places of worship could change what those spaces bring to the community.
“You're forcing, potentially, residents and neighbors to risk trading those amenities, those houses of worship, for dense housing that they never asked for and never knew might come,” he said.
The City Council has pulled back from approving new apartment projects in Scottsdale, but this development won’t go to the council because the city’s downtown zoning allows property owners to convert part of it to mixed-use developments that include multifamily housing.
“Residents should get more of a say in it, so I'm very concerned about that because ... whatever they want to do, they can do,” he said. “We don't get a say.”
Parking could also be an issue, especially on Sundays, Graham said, pointing to a new Whole Foods grocery story going up across the street.
“If parishioners can't find a place to park because residents and their guests are taking them all up, that's going to hurt the viability of the church,” he said.
According to the plans SUMC filed with the city, the project will include 166 parking spaces, more than city requirements, as well as a playground and landscaped courtyards.
Earlier this year, a bill that would allow churches across Arizona to lease parts of their property to developers for single-family homes failed to pass the House. The legislation originally would have allowed apartments.
Graham said he opposed the measure and will continue to work against similar bills next year, saying zoning for religious purposes shouldn't be mixed with zoning for dense housing.
“What it really does is create the opportunity for for-profit apartment builders to squeeze in as much housing as possible, to pressure these houses of worship to cash in,” he said.
