Peoria is homing in on bringing new, affordable housing developments to the city, as it recently partnered with Greenlight Communities to break ground on Streamliner 87th.
(Greenlight Communities/Submitted)
By Joe McHugh Peoria Times Staff Writer
Peoria and Greenlight Communities recently broke ground on a new affordable housing development — Streamliner 87th.
Located off West Peoria and 87th Avenue, the 190 new units will help bring in modern, attainable living to the Northwest Valley.
“I started out with a 10-by-30 storage unit; I started small, and I lived in an apartment when I first moved out here — we all do,” Peoria Mayor Jason Beck said. “Housing is not affordable, and it’s not attainable. We have to be able to start somewhere, and this project is very important to not only Peoria but the state of Arizona. We need more projects like this.”
Streamliner 87th marks the first affordable housing project in the city of Peoria. Expected to be finished and operational by the end of the year, Streamliner is bringing a simplified architecture philosophy to meet the expected deadline.
In total, the project will bring 71 studio, 72 one-bedroom and 47 two-bedroom apartments — with prices starting at $1,099 a month.
“With a lot of people working together and believing in the concept and believing in doing attainable housing, workforce housing — whatever you want to call it — we’ve really grown together as a team and this is a great milestone for us,” said Rob Lyles, co-founder and partner at Greenlight Communities.
One of Beck’s main goals since taking office in 2023 was to revitalize Downtown Peoria. With the recent investments into economic development opportunities in the area, Beck sees Streamliner87th as a prime opportunity to house workers and consumers in the area.
“No matter how much we want to revitalize Downtown Peoria, if we don’t have rooftops here, we don’t have people going and having coffee or spending their time and energy and money in our downtown — none of that revitalization counts,” he said. “You can’t just pick people up. You have to have people that are actually going to be in the community that are going to spend money and time and be able to have a sense of community. And I think that’s what this project is all about.”
Greenlight Communities has taken notice of the growth in the Northwest Valley, recently breaking ground on two developments in Glendale. With the impending growth that Peoria is expecting, the partnership between the public and private sectors will help both agencies to attain their future goals.
“The average median income here is about $76,000. So now you’re bringing in the $40,000 (income residents),” Lyles said. “So that takes that median income down … and that’s what we’re trying to get to.
“To have a politician say let me help you, and then help you — not just say they’re going to do it, but then help you do that — is so important.”
Beck feels the Streamliner 87th development is the first of hopefully many affordable housing projects to come and is proof that the noise that Peoria is making about attaining affordable housing is being heard.
“From us in the city of Peoria, we really want to thank all of you for putting your time and effort and energy into this,” Beck said. “We hope you look at other projects in the city of Peoria, not just this one.
“TSMC is not the only major factory that’s moving up (to North Peoria), and we need affordable housing for our employees and just people that are actually starting their lives out; it’s important. So, thank you for everything you guys are doing.”