Tempe neighbors to Copa Health affordable housing project: ‘Yes, in my backyard’

Copa Health’s La Victoria Commons is about a month away from its official groundbreaking, but with the extraordinary predevelopment work and relationship building to meet goals of integrated health care and community benefits for existing neighbors, the project already is a mixed-use affordable housing development like no other in Arizona.

The $40 million, transit-oriented development project in east Tempe is an innovative, inclusive response to an urgent need for affordable housing in the Valley and a next-level practice of a Copa Health guiding philosophy that housing is health care. 

“You cannot treat a person on the health care side as it relates to their psychiatric services, as it relates to their behavioral health conditions, as it relates to their intellectual and developmental disabilities — really the complex needs of our members — you cannot meet it without the housing support side,” Shar Najafi-Piper, CEO of Copa Health, said.

La Victoria Commons is the first time Copa Health has used the highly involved Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). It won’t be the last. LIHTC application success encourages planning for more projects like La Victoria Commons. Najafi-Piper said Copa Health initiatives for the next five years will focus on LIHTC projects done with a health-care component of outpatient services and health-related social needs. 

In a time when NIMBY forces squash much-needed affordable housing development, La Victoria Commons on city-owned land near Apache Boulevard and Loop 101 and the Valley Metro light rail route is a prime example of what YIMBY looks like. Authentic community engagement fundamentally impacted the look, feel and function of the project. 

Because of intentional design and inclusive planning, La Victoria Commons will be a bona fide community asset for a proud, underserved east Tempe neighborhood that was cut off from the rest of Victory Acres with the construction of Loop 101. With a grant from LISC Phoenix, COPA Health embraced the unique brand of RAIL CDC community engagement. 

“We approached it from a neighborhood perspective, not just specific to the development site,” Augie Gastelum of RAIL CDC said. “So, people’s interest in providing feedback was a lot more and a lot better because it wasn’t just focused on this singular development site.”

In response to neighbors’ feedback, La Victoria Commons will have pedestrian lighting and shade trees lining streets that will serve as a new gateway to light rail. It will feature a restaurant staffed with employees who are members of Copa Health, a community resource room and a health clinic open to the public. A navigator will be on site to help community members connect to services and eligible benefits. 

COPA Health deserves credit for listening and learning from the community, traits that bode well for the actual development of the project, Gastelum said.

“They went about this knowing they didn’t have all the answers and then bringing someone on board that could help them get those answers in an authentic way, with real engagement and feedback,” Gastelum said. “Because they started that way, I would imagine that they would continue working in that way. … If a developer started inauthentically, there’s a better likelihood that they’re going to continue being inauthentic along the way.” 

Copa Health has a long history in Arizona of serving people with intellectual and developmental disabilities or who have behavioral and mental health diagnoses. It offers employment day programs and stand-alone outpatient programs. Copa Health maintains 30 housing properties for its members, ranging from group homes to small apartment buildings. 

“For many years, we’ve been working with Copa Health, trying to get them to expand their affordable housing work,” Pat McNamara, a senior program manager at LISC Phoenix, said. “They’ve been doing affordable housing for many, many years. I’m very proud of what they’ve been able to put together for La Victoria Commons. It took a little bit to get here, but they’re on the right path.”

La Victoria Commons, named after the Victory Acres neighborhood, is what happens when mission-focused public and private sector entities, including the city of Tempe, LISC Phoenix, RAIL Community Development Corporation, Newtown Community Development Corporation, Wells Fargo and Dominium affordable housing developers, leverage resources and strengths to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities. 

LISC Phoenix facilitated critical supports to help keep the project moving forward, including U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development capacity building grants, Arizona Community Foundation predevelopment loan, Home Matters Arizona Fund grant, Metropolitan Phoenix Affordable Housing Collaborative grant, National Equity Fund grant.

The 104-unit, multi-story apartment complex at La Victoria Commons will be Copa Health’s largest housing project, and it will be the first time all its services will be provided at one location. It’s also the first time some renters will be non-members. About 30 percent of the units will be set aside for people with a diagnosis and 70 percent will be income based. 

In addition to apartments, the project will include 19 townhomes for sale that will be developed by Copa Health’s partner, Newtown Community Development Corporation. The unusual opportunity for homeownership in an affordable housing project is a response to Tempe’s request for qualifications to develop the property.

La Victoria Commons should set the tone for future development on vacant land adjacent to it. Already, it is a shining example of the broad benefit of developers engaging in community engagement to create better design and a more useful final products, and to experience the positive reinforcement of YIMBY rather than the negative forces of NIMBY.