Mesa gets bit of boost in low-income housing
By Gary Nelson | The Arizona Republic
The northern side of University Drive near downtown Mesa used to be, figuratively speaking, the other side of the tracks.
Seventy years ago, Mesa chose the neighborhood as the site of its first low-income housing project financed with federal money.
During World War II, the low-slung bungalows housed airmen training at Falcon Field.
But after the war, the Escobedo Apartments reverted to their original purpose: providing roofs for many who otherwise wouldn’t have one.
Faced with a monumental bill to rehabilitate the decaying units, Mesa closed them in 2008. The tenants got vouchers for reduced rents in other quarters.
Now, Escobedo is being reborn.
