Arizona Newszap.com
Phase II construction has begun to complete the redevelopment of the vacant and boarded-up Escobedo Public Housing site on University Drive between Center Street and Mesa Drive, just north of downtown Mesa.
It is a project of Affordable Rental Movement of Save the Family Foundation of Arizona in partnership with Gorman and Co., West Mesa Community Development Corp. and the city of Mesa, according to a press release.
This 10-acre site housed African-American, British and U.S. Air Force pilots during World War II. After the war ended, the development was converted into segregated public housing for minority households living in poverty. It was desegregated in the 1960s and later vacated and boarded up in 2007 and 2008. The final phase of redevelopment will complete the demolition of the remainder of old housing, making way for 62 additional units of modern, energy-efficient, and fully accessible income-based housing for qualifying individuals/families, according to the release.
