UMOM New Day Centers has received final approval to break ground on Salamanca Square, a 192-unit affordable housing complex planned for land once owned by the Alhambra School District in west Phoenix. The project, located on 39th Avenue between Indian School and Dysart roads, is slated to begin construction this fall and reach completion in 2027.
The approval marks a milestone in a partnership between UMOM New Day Centers and the Alhambra School District, according to KTAR News 92.3 FM. Salamanca Square is expected to include a mix of one-bedroom, one-bathroom units alongside larger four-bedroom, two-bathroom units, giving both smaller households and larger families housing options in the same development.
Sources differ on exactly which income bracket the complex will serve. KTAR's report states Salamanca Square will serve families earning at or below 60% of the area median income, while earlier project materials described in a report from inbusinessphx.com said the units would be priced for households making 80% or less of the area median income. The applicable threshold for the final project has not been independently confirmed.
A Land Deal Years in the Making
The Salamanca Square site traces back to a city land transaction first detailed in February 2025, when Phoenix moved to purchase 5.54 acres from the Alhambra School District for $2.3 million before reselling the parcel for affordable multifamily development, per inbusinessphx.com's reporting. That same reporting projected the transaction would ultimately produce 192 affordable units on the Salamanca Square site.
The Alhambra deal was one of two similar arrangements Phoenix pursued with local school districts. A separate purchase involved 4.56 acres from the Isaac School District for $3.1 million, which is expected to yield 72 affordable units at a companion project called Wild Rose Flats, according to the Copper Courier. Combined, the two transactions were expected to generate 264 affordable units across both sites, and construction on both projects was anticipated to begin in 2026.
The Copper Courier's report also notes that the City of Phoenix will incur no financial impact from these transactions, since the city's purchase and resale of the land is structured to be cost-neutral. That detail underscores how the deal was designed to move underused district property into housing production without burdening city coffers.
Addressing a Deep Housing Shortfall
The push to convert unused school land into housing comes against a backdrop of severe affordable housing scarcity in the city. A Phoenix housing needs assessment cited by the Copper Courier found the city is short about 59,000 affordable and available units for households at or below 50% of area median income, a gap that has pushed officials to look at underutilized public land, including school district parcels, as a resource for new construction.
UMOM New Day Centers, which is described as the largest provider of emergency shelter in Arizona, already operates more than 900 units and says it uses low-income housing tax credit partnerships to convert underutilized land or buildings into family-centered communities. Monique Lopez of UMOM said the organization has a responsibility to use every available resource to address affordable housing needs, framing Salamanca Square as part of that broader mission.
What the Project Aims to Deliver
Beyond adding housing stock, the project is intended to transform underutilized school district land into homes and community resources for the surrounding neighborhood. With construction targeted to start this fall and a 2027 completion date on the books, Salamanca Square stands as one piece of a larger citywide strategy pairing school district land with affordable housing development at a moment when Phoenix's shortage remains steep.
