Apache Central Center

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Apache Central Center and two adjacent properties comprise a nearly 8-acre site that the city envisions as a living and shopping destination in the heart of the Apache corridor. Plans call for a significant expansion of affordable housing and new grocery store for the neighborhood.

The city is negotiating with Community Development Partners (CDP)/Juntos Community Developers on the development plan.

The Apache Central project is designed to help meet the goals of the city’s Affordable Housing Strategy and Hometown for All initiative to greatly expand affordable and workforce housing in Tempe. The city's Request for Proposal issued in March 2023 included:

A mixed-income project with as many as 400 housing units, with a maximum height of five stories
At least half of all units to be priced for people with low and moderate incomes
A new grocery store with job opportunities for affordable housing tenants
Sustainability elements to promote shade and energy efficiency, and roof-top solar panels to power the city’s nearby EnVision Center, a resource and resiliency hub, during emergencies
Promotion of public transit such as light rail and Tempe Streetcar through minimal onsite parking

The City of Tempe purchased Apache Central, the former Food City site, in 2021; the adjacent lots were previously owned by the city. The site is located near Apache Boulevard and Dorsey Lane.

Once a developer is selected, any proposal must go through all required public processes. The estimated timeline for construction is two to three years.

Apache Central Center RFP map Apache Central Center-740

The Apache Central Center site comprises 7.55 acres located at the northeast corner of Dorsey Lane and Apache Boulevard and southwest corner of Lemon Street and Dorsey Lane.

About the property

Tempe purchased the Apache Central Center in 2021 following the closure of Food City. Mayor Corey Woods said the city acted quickly to buy the property in response to neighborhood concerns about the possibility of unattainable housing going in. Neighborhood leaders also lamented the loss of a grocery store, creating a food desert in the area.

The city used $10.7 million in General Fund dollars to buy the property.

The city previously owned two parcels to the west of Apache Central that are part of the RFP. One is used as a park and ride lot and also houses the EnVision Center set to open later this year. The other serves as a school parking lot and overflow park and ride lot. Any new development plan must include replacement park and ride and school parking.

To accelerate development of the site, Tempe has already taken two important steps.

The city initiated an up-zoning process to align zoning on the three parcels and allow for a mixed-use, high-density project. The plan was approved by the City Council.

The city is also conducting site preparation work such as archeological remediation on several parcels along Apache Boulevard, including the three parcels in the RFP. Doing this work at the front end creates shovel-ready land for future development partners. The city is using about $1.8 million in funds generated through Hometown for All for this work.

Hometown for All

The Hometown for All initiative provides a dedicated funding stream to accelerate the growth of affordable and workforce housing and reflects the desire by Woods and the City Council to ensure that Tempe has a variety of housing types.

For every new development project built in Tempe, an amount equivalent to 50% of certain permitting fees paid to the city’s General Fund goes to support the nonprofit Tempe Coalition for Affordable Housing. Those funds are used to purchase land and properties and reimagine city-owned parcels for future development.

The energy behind Hometown for All has also propelled the city to take even more action. The city has identified other funding sources to make strategic purchases that can add hundreds of new affordable units in the future and compliment the work of Hometown for All.

Apache Central Center was purchased using General Fund dollars. But the city is also using funds generated through Hometown for All - approximately $1.8 million - to conduct site preparation work such as environmental remediation at city-owned lots for future development. Apache Central is included in that work. Giving development partners “clean dirt” accelerates the pace of building, to make affordable and workforce housing come online faster.

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City of Tempe, AZ

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