 Pima County awards $5 million for nine affordable housing projects
PIMA COUNTY, Feb. 17, 2026 – The Pima County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 at its Feb. 17 meeting to award $5 million to nine projects to develop or preserve 527 affordable housing units.
This marks the fourth round of approved gap funding based on recommendations from the Pima County Regional Affordable Housing Commission, which was established in October 2022 under the County’s Community & Workforce Development Department (CWD).
The approved gap funding will support the construction of 32 single-family homes, 390 new rental units, the preservation of 82 units, and 23 units for bridge/transitional housing. Those units will provide stable affordable housing in Pima County for a 30-year period for those earning at or below 80% of the area median income.
County gap funding plays a key role in bridging financial shortfalls and ensuring developers can begin or complete affordable housing projects in full.
“The County is excited about the completion of Round 4 of funding,” said Sofia Blue, CWD’s affordable housing division manager. “Together with our partners, we are making an impact on the critical affordable housing crisis and making a real difference in people’s housing needs.”
The following projects were approved by the Board of Supervisors:
New development, rental:
- El Pueblo Housing Development, Main Ave. and Davis St., 67 units, $500,000
- El Pueblo Housing Development, Stone Ave. and Speedway, 56 units, $500,000
- COPE Community Services, Shasta Apartments, 100 units, $1,000,000
- Mercy Housing Mountain Plains, Limberlost Family Flats, 95 units, $500,000
- Spire Development Inc., Drexel Commons, 72 units, $500,000
New development, homeownership:
- Tohono O'odham Nation Housing Authority, San Isidro Subdivision, 10 units, $500,000
- Habitat for Humanity, Mountain View Development, 22 units, $500,000
Existing, preservation
- El Pueblo Housing Development, Craycroft Towers and Lee Street Duplexes, 82 units, $500,000
Bridge/transitional housing, new development
- Old Pueblo Community Services, OPCS Veterans Center, 23 units, $500,000
With this round of funding, the County has supported 28 affordable housing projects. Seven are complete and 21 — including the nine approved Feb. 17 — are in construction or planning. The County has invested $20,984,361 over three years to support 1,859 units of affordable housing.
A list of all the projects is available at pima.gov.
The Board has further strengthened its commitment to these priorities, having approved $250 million for affordable housing over a 10-year period beginning in Fiscal Year 2026-27.
“These are local dollars producing local impact,” Blue said. “Stable housing is the basis for health, learning, jobs, and community well-being — and when families are stable, the community is stronger.”
The approval supports the Board-approved One Pima Initiative, which identifies stabilizing housing and preventing homelessness as a priority area. The action also aligns with the housing pillar of the Board-approved Prosperity Initiative, a regional partnership to reduce generational poverty.
CWD received responses from 18 firms in the fourth round of request for proposals. The Regional Affordable Housing Commission evaluation panel reviewed applications over three weeks and met on Jan. 14, 2026, to review cumulative scores and determine recommendations. The Commission endorsed those recommendations on Jan. 16.
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