Comite gets grant for affordable apartment complex
SAN LUIS, Ariz. – At a time when construction costs are rising, the Comite de Bien Estar is getting some added help in the form of a $250,000 grant to build a 100-unit apartment complex for low- and moderate-income tenants.
The Comite, a nonprofit housing development organization in San Luis, is one of three recipients of grants from Home Matters to Arizona, a $100 million fund that finances affordable housing projects around the state.
The Valley View Apartments is the first phase of a 14.4-acre housing development planned on the city’s north side. The Comite also is planning to
build 51 condominiums at the site.
The project is the biggest to date for the Comite, which helps low- to moderate-income families secure financing for homes and provides them technical expertise to do the construction themselves. Last year, the apartment complex qualified for $2 million in financial credits from the state Department
of Housing.
The cost of the apartment complex, originally estimated at $21.9 million, has jumped to $23.5 million, owing in large part to increasing prices of construction materials, said Tony Reyes, executive director of the Comite.
“It’s very good for us that there are available grant funds like these,” he said, “because otherwise
we would have to look for more financing through credit, and that would increase the cost of the project even more.”
The Home Matters to Arizona fund was created through a partnership of members of Arizona Association of Health Plans, which contracts with Arizona’s Medicaid program to serve the health care needs of the poor. Fund founders are Arizona Complete Health, Banner-University Health Plan, Care1st Health Plan Arizona, Health Choice Arizona, Magellan Complete Care of Arizona, Mercy Care, the NARBHA Institute and UnitedHealthcare.
The grants go for housing projects serving tenants eligible for the state Medicaid program, the
Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, as well as seniors, low- to moderate-income people, individuals with disabilities, the homeless, military veterans and those adjudicated in the court system.
“Home Matters to Arizona is working to address health outcomes by increasing the availability of affordable homes for families who are severely cost burdened,” said Lorry Bottrill, chief executive officer for Mercy Care and chair of the committee that oversees the fund. “These deserving award recipients will create intentionally connected communities and foster healthier individuals, families and economies.”