After soliciting public opinion in May, the Tempe City Council will lay out plans on how to spend nearly $3 million in federal funds.
The $2,741,788 comes from the Community Development Block Grant distributed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to help the city deal with issues of poverty.
Under federal regulations, a maximum of 15 percent of the funds can be spent on homeless shelters, domestic violence shelters and various non-profit organizations in the city, which totals almost $300,000, according to a staff report.
About $750,000 could be used for housing improvement and the city's first-time homebuyer program, according to the city's report.
The bulk of the money, though, is likely to be spent on purchasing and developing land for affordable housing, according to Terri Amabisca, Tempe Housing services director.
A problem with the area, as in most college towns, is that students take up most of the economical housing, leaving lower-income residents with fewer options, according to Kate Hanley, executive director of the Tempe Community Council.
"When you have college students competing for limited affordable housing, the affordable housing is less affordable," Hanley said. "Students' parents pay for their housing, driving up prices."
Amabisca said the city is planning to spend a large portion of the money on the Apache Boulevard area.
Town homes are under construction and dilapidated structures are being demolished in the Apache area, which the city has been working to redevelop since 1996, said Neil Calfee, principal planner for the city.
"This is a long-term project, and we've seen some dramatic progress in the last few years," Calfee said.
This year the city received about $150,000 more from the federal department than it had last year.
Hanley said the goal of having affordable housing is to strengthen communities.
"The hope is for more people to be able to afford their own home and remain for an extended period of time," Hanley said. "It's the best way to lift people out of poverty."
Reach the reporter at meagan.pollnow@asu.edu.
