City planners have cleared an initial hurdle for a new affordable housing project that will rise immediately north of the Acacia Branch of the Phoenix Public Library. The development, identified in filings as Acacia Affordable Housing, is proposed for a 0.58-acre parcel that has sat vacant alongside the library. Plans filed with the city call for a single building containing 20 residential units on the compact site just northwest of the intersection of Eighth Street and Townley Avenue.
The Acacia Branch of the Phoenix Public Library, shown here on-site; affordable housing is planned to be constructed adjacent to this building.
The library that will neighbor the new housing is located at 750 E. Townley Ave., a community branch serving the surrounding Phoenix neighborhoods. The vacant lot sits immediately to the north of that facility, leaving the proposed residential structure in close proximity to the library’s grounds and services. Site documents and public records identify the property as long-vacant, and the developer’s submission positions the housing directly adjacent to the library footprint.
Aerial mapping and assessor records accompanying the project submission show the parcel’s boundaries and its adjacency to the library building. The vacant lot has been outlined in project exhibits to illustrate the footprint available for development and the relationship between the proposed structure and nearby streets and public amenities. Those aerial images were included with the planning materials that moved through the city’s review process earlier this month.
Aerial view showing the vacant parcel outlined in blue where developers propose building the new affordable housing project next to the Acacia Library.
The property owner listed on the planning application is Footprint Properties LLC, a Phoenix-based company. Records show the firm sought city approvals for a preliminary site plan, and city staff recorded preliminary site plan approval for the project on July 6. That approval clears an early and necessary step in the municipal review process, allowing the developer to move forward with more detailed design, engineering and permit applications required for construction to begin.
Public planning documents filed with the city define the project by unit count and site area but do not disclose additional programmatic details in the materials submitted with the preliminary plan. What is clear from the application record is the basic scope and location: a 20-unit apartment building on a 0.58-acre, previously unused parcel directly north of the Acacia library branch. The project name used in the documents is Acacia Affordable Housing, identifying the development’s intended market as affordable housing.
With preliminary site plan approval in hand, the project will need to proceed through whatever subsequent administrative and permitting steps the city requires before vertical construction can begin. For now, the documents in the public file establish ownership, site dimensions, project name and the city’s initial clearance of the site plan. The proposed building’s adjacency to a neighborhood library places it within an area served by the library system and situates new housing within walking distance of that public amenity.
The proposal adds to a pattern of infill and redevelopment in parts of Phoenix where small parcels adjacent to existing public facilities are being considered for residential uses. In this instance, the footprint on the north side of the Acacia Branch will transition from a long-vacant lot to a multi-unit building intended to provide affordable housing options. The project record will remain available through city planning channels as the developer moves to the next steps of design review, permitting and, if approved, construction.
County and commercial property listings identify the vacant parcel as 8910 N. 8th St., Phoenix (Maricopa County APN 160-03-077C), shown on listings as roughly 25,132 square feet (about 0.58 acres) and marketed for sale at about $580,000.
Commercial marketing materials and listing platforms state the site is zoned R-4 and are advertising a three-story, 20-unit building concept for the parcel under the project name "Acacia Affordable Housing."
Broker information on the property listing shows the site being marketed by Commercial Properties Inc. (broker Dallan Randall) and describes the existing city entitlement work as an element that shortens the pre-construction timeline for a new owner.