It seems like the City of Tempe is always undergoing some type of construction, whether it is knocking down the Super 8 by Wyndham on Apache Boulevard or getting rid of beloved bars and restaurants on Mill Avenue.
With ASU at the heart of Tempe, this rapid growth brings concerns regarding affordability, gentrification and cultural changes that affect ASU students and the Tempe community as a whole.
According to housing inventory and data, Tempe's housing needs in the next 30 years are estimated to be at 13,000 units, said Community Development Director Jeff Tamulevich.
In the last six years, the City of Tempe has issued permits for a total of 5,605 units, averaging to about 934 units per year, Tamulevich said.
While one of the Tempe City Council's top priorities is to create housing, there is also an emphasis on making affordable options, according to Tamulevich.
Affordable housing is defined as housing that only costs approximately 30% of the resident's gross income.
Inclusionary zoning, a tool that requires developers to set aside a certain number of units for affordable housing, could facilitate this process. The issue is: Arizona is the only state in the country where this type of zoning is illegal.
This means the city cannot designate the zoning by law. However, the city encourages affordable housing for developments on a regular basis via conversations between developers and the city council, Tamulevich said.
The city currently has two requests for proposals, also known as RFPs, which are documents that announce a project, describe it and solicit bids from qualified contractors to complete it, according to Investopedia.
The first is located at the Tempe Center for the Arts, which will be made into housing with a "very large portion of it to be affordable," Tamulevich said. The RFP includes affordable and workforce housing units to help the city meet its affordable housing strategy, according to Tamulevich.
While workforce housing is aimed for people who earn between 80% to 120% of the area median income, meaning they are above the low-income threshold but still face challenges with finding affordable housing in their area.
The second RFP is for a site on Apache Boulevard where there once stood a Food City. This location will be a mixed-income, multifamily housing project, with 50% to 90% of the units designated as affordable, Tamulevich said.
This project will provide food, education and accessibility to the Envision Center on Apache Boulevard, which serves as a community hub offering resources from employment, education, technology access and support, health and wellness and more.
In addition to these two projects, private developers are working on over 5 housing units in the Tempe area, according to The Tempe Tribune.
However, of the developments coming to Tempe, only one housing unit is specifically aimed for ASU students.
While these developments bring in more money, tourism and prestige to the area, often students are among the residents struggling to find affordable housing.
READ MORE: New Tempe residence hall for students of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts
Victoria Bishop, a senior studying communications, currently lives at Atmosphere Tempe and said she noticed the current rent prices increased over her years at ASU.
"I am paying so much for a box, for lack of a better word, and I think it's crazy," Bishop said.
There needs to be more affordable options near ASU because there are so many students who visit campus daily and transportation can be inaccessible, Bishop said.
Regarding other commercial developments in the area, Bishop said she is optimistic they will bring more opportunities for students to have jobs near campus, but in doing so, it would make Tempe "more city like and less college bubble-esque."
Along with rising rent costs, Tempe has lost some of its iconic landmarks, specifically ones students frequent. Among these closures are Devil's Advocate Sports Grill, a popular bar that served the community for 15 years.
READ MORE: Luxurious apartment towers to replace Devil's Advocate Sports Grill
Tamulevich said when dealing with private property, there is not much the City of Tempe can do to stop developers.
"They can come in and propose whatever they want and that's exactly what happened," Tamulevich said.
While Tempe's expansion creates problems for some, it also boosts the local businesses that do remain.
Abaer Jai, owner of Honey 2 A Bee, a cafe located on Apache Boulevard, said these new developments will affect the shop positively by bringing more people to the area.
Jai waited years for this specific spot under The Carmin, a student living complex, to open because of its busy streets. Finally, in July 2023, Jai was able to acquire the space and has been growing the business ever since.
"This location was my dream," Jai said. "I've been waiting for this spot for a couple years to be empty."
Edited by Senna James, Sophia Ramirez and Natalia Jarrett.
Reach the reporter at nrodri74@asu.edu.
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Natalia is a sophomore studying journalism and mass communication with a minor in creative writing. This is her second semester at The State Press.
