Gov. Katie Hobbs was on shovel duty Wednesday as developers, bond issuers and local officials kicked off construction on Salt River Flats 2, a 168-unit affordable housing complex planned for south Phoenix. The project will reserve apartments for households earning up to 60 percent of the area median income and is scheduled to wrap in the first quarter of 2028. Developers say the new community will rise directly west of Ulysses Development Group’s original Salt River Flats, which opened in spring 2024.
According to a press release from Ulysses Development Group on PR Newswire, the deal is stitched together from both public and private dollars. The financing stack includes $34.5 million in tax-exempt bonds issued by the Arizona Industrial Development Authority, $23.5 million in federal low-income housing tax credits and $2.5 million from State Housing Trust Funds through the Arizona Department of Housing. U.S. Bank is contributing LIHTC equity along with $700,000 in solar investment tax credits, while Merchants Capital is providing tax-exempt construction financing plus bridge and permanent debt.
At the groundbreaking, Hobbs called Salt River Flats 2 a key piece of the state’s broader push to beef up its affordable housing supply, saying, “The State of Arizona is proud to support the development of Salt River Flats 2.” Dirk Swift, executive director of the Arizona Industrial Development Authority, said the agency is “thrilled” to partner on the bond financing, according to PR Newswire.
Project Details and Timeline
Plans call for one- to four-bedroom apartments with a family-friendly slate of amenities that includes a pool, playground and community room, with units designed with full kitchens and in-unit laundry. That mix and those features are reported by In Business Magazine. Construction is expected to run over the next two years with a targeted delivery in early 2028, and the site will sit immediately west of the existing 192-unit Salt River Flats complex, according to Ulysses Development Group.
Why This Matters
Salt River Flats 2 is part of a wider Maricopa County push to use American Rescue Plan Act funds, along with tax-credit financing, to lock in long-term affordability. County officials report that about $118 million in ARPA dollars have been committed to local housing projects and that 35 ARPA-backed efforts are on track to add or preserve roughly 3,596 units through 2027, as detailed by Maricopa County. Local officials and developers describe this blend of bond financing, LIHTC equity and state trust funds as the go-to formula for getting new affordable rentals built in the Valley.
Ulysses Development Group and its management partners say they will share construction updates and future leasing information on their respective websites, with current listings for the adjacent Salt River Flats property available through the community’s management portal. Speakers at the event cast Salt River Flats 2 as a template for how public and private players can team up to turn affordable housing plans into actual keys in residents’ hands.
