Every community deserves investment
Every community deserves investment.Â
Located in Tucson’s Barrio Nopal, Ward 1 neighborhood. The Desert Vista subdivision is a success story for innovative models of affordable housing.[mk_image src=”https://habitattucson.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/desertvista_wallraising_img_7791.jpg” image_size=”full”][mk_image src=”https://habitattucson.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/housemodel_front.jpg” image_size=”full”]A once-abandoned subdivision transformed.
A casualty of the Great Recession, this subdivision was abandoned and became a hotspot for blight and crime.
SALT purchased the Desert Vista subdivision as a part of its mission to stabilize neighborhoods and provide quality, single family, affordable housing in So. AZ.
In 2016, the Southern Arizona Land Trust (SALT) decided to partner with residents, local agencies and government entities to attempt to transform the neighborhood.
Agreeing to a land-swap with Habitat Tucson. Habitat for Humanity Tucson focused on the neighborhood planning 10 affordable homes with mostly volunteer labor.
Seamless collaboration between SALT and Habitat Tucson demonstrates how working together in one neighborhood provides an innovative solution to the housing crisis. Through the combined efforts of homebuyers, community sponsors, and volunteers, we can break the cycle of poverty through homeownership. Neighbors, donors, community leaders, and volunteers all work together to build lasting communities that are strong, stable, and self-reliant.
Thanks to an innovative multi-sector collaboration, Habitat Tucson joined hands with other community organizations including Southern Arizona Land Trust (SALT), Tucson Electric Power, City of Tucson, Wells Fargo, The Home Depot, St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, and more to establish the Desert Vista neighborhood.
Working side by side with Habitat homebuyers and hundreds of volunteers, we broke ground on World Habitat Day in October of 2017 and raised the walls on ten new homes! But this was no ordinary Habitat neighborhood. The unique collaboration between SALT and Habitat Tucson created two different but complementary models of affordable housing production.
The Desert Vista community consists of 31 lots, all of which will be fully completed by June of 2019, including 7 brand new affordable rental homes developed by SALT.
This mix-used neighborhood provides opportunities both for homeownership and affordable rentals, and down the line, SALT envisions the rehabilitation of existing homes, common areas, existing infrastructure, and more to make this community shine.
The Desert Vista neighborhood stands as a testament for multi-sector collaboration, as well as a model for converting urban blight into urban bliss.