The proposal marks several firsts:  

• Tempe's first investment from the voter-approved 2024 Affordable Housing Bond  

• The City’s first major south Tempe land purchase for affordable housing  

• The first planned combined housing and fire station development in the greater Phoenix area 

On Thursday, the Tempe City Council approved nearly $6.6 million to buy the property at 950 E. Baseline Road, which houses a vacant Big Lots store and two other current tenants. 

“This proposed development allows us to deliver on two critical promises to our community,” said Mayor Corey Woods. “The first is improving our residents’ quality of life by expanding affordable housing. The second is continuing to keep the community safe and secure with a modern fire station that strengthens our emergency response.” 

Tempe is at the very early stages of planning how to co-locate both housing and a new fire station. The project, as envisioned, calls for:   

• A minimum of 50 affordable housing units near essential services and employment opportunities 

• A new fire station  

• Design that accommodates co-location of the two uses, such as noise reduction measures  

• Maximizing land use and effectively meeting broad community needs 

Two current tenants have leases through 2028 and no changes are imminent. During this time, Tempe’s Community Health and Human Services Department and Tempe Fire Medical Rescue will begin to reimagine the site and eventually seek a development partner.   

Investing in affordable housing

In 2024, Tempe voters approved a $32 million bond to increase affordable housing supply. Two others approved at the same time enhance community safety public safety and roadway improvements and improve quality of life in Tempe neighborhoods.  

With Thursday’s City Council action to purchase the Baseline Road property, all three resident-approved bonds are now supporting significant improvement projects throughout Tempe. 

Boosting emergency services

A fire station location study completed in 2021 recommended placing a fire station near Rural and Baseline roads, with a second station planned farther east at a future location. 

This approach allows Tempe Fire Medical Rescue to better position firefighters and paramedics as the city continues to grow and change, helping crews reach emergencies more quickly. 

Hometown for All

Hometown for All, an innovative initiative approved by the Tempe City Council in 2021, accelerates affordable housing growth through a sustainable funding stream and developer donations. The initiative ensures that the City of Tempe and our nonprofit partner Tempe Coalition for Affordable Housing can create the next generation of affordable and workforce housing opportunities in the city. Get involved.