(The Center Square) – An affordable housing development for seniors opened in a Phoenix suburb with the help of nearly $10 million in federal funds.
The Cascalote is a 148-unit housing facility located on 4.4 acres in Glendale.
Shelly Marquez, the president of Mercy Housing Mountain Plains, which owns Cascalote, told The Center Square that it felt “wonderful” to have the new affordable housing facility open last week for residents. Mercy Housing is a national affordable housing nonprofit.
The project took over three years to complete, Marquez said. She added that Cascalote marks the 14th senior affordable housing property Mercy Housing has opened in Arizona.
To help Mercy Housing complete Cascalote, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors allocated $9.5 million in federal funds.
Tamara Bridwell, the county’s director of Human Services, told The Center Square the county was “proud to have invested” this money in Cascalote.
The funding allocated by Maricopa County allowed Mercy Housing to complete the project, Marquez said. The nonprofit also received funding from the city of Glendale.
Seniors on fixed incomes are the only ones who qualify for this new housing development. Residents need to make anywhere between 30% and 60% of the median area income and be over 62 years old, Marquez noted.
She said Cascalote began leasing in January and continues to accept applications for the housing complex, but noted the “number of applications far exceeds the number of units.”
Marquez noted 50% of the units “filled up fairly quickly,” and the complex still has units available for people who make 60% of the media income in an area.
The need for affordable housing for seniors in Arizona is “significant,” according to Marquez.
Bridwell agreed.
“The current housing situation for seniors in Maricopa County is increasingly dire,” she said. “Rising housing costs have pushed many older adults to the brink, and unfortunately, some are now experiencing homelessness for the first time in their lives.”
Fixed incomes have not kept up with rising rent prices, which has left “many seniors with few viable options,” Bridwell said.
“This makes affordable, age-friendly housing developments like The Cascalote not just helpful but urgent,” she explained.
The demand is high. There are wait lists of over a year at Mercy Housing’s 13 other senior affordable housing properties in Arizona, Marquez said.
She added that residents are “living paycheck to paycheck.”
To illustrate, Marquez noted seniors who make 60% of the average income in an area may have a part-time job.
In addition to housing, Mercy Housing provides its residents with food pantries and mental health and educational services.
“We say at Mercy Housing, ‘Getting folks housed is the first step,’ ” Marquez noted. “Keeping them housed long term is just as important.”
Mercy Housing residents will face difficult choices with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program set to be suspended on Saturday because of the federal government shutdown, Marquez said.
“ ‘Do I pay rent? Do I buy medication? Do I purchase food?’ And so we’re trying to bring resources so they don’t have to make those tough decisions, but there’s only so much we can do as an affordable housing developer,” she said.
The White House Council of Economic Advisers estimated after 30 days of the government shutdown, approximately 887,000 people in Arizona who rely on SNAP, formerly known as food stamps, could face a disruption.
Marquez said Mercy Housing is working on a “couple of projects that are in the very early stages of feasibility,” which means the nonprofit is looking at land that would be available to purchase. It also is analyzing what types of funding may be available from city, county and state governments.
Completion of an affordable housing facility can take three to four years, Marquez said.
Bridwell said Maricopa County “remains committed to supporting affordable housing through strategic partnerships and other available resources.”
“Continued collaboration with nonprofit developers and leveraging additional funding sources will be essential to building on the success of projects like The Cascalote,” she added.
