Congratulations to A New Leaf, which celebrated the groundbreaking of La Mesita on December 5! A New Leaf and it’s development partner Native American Connections participated in CSH’s 2011 Supportive Housing Institute. The resulting project will transform the aging La Mesita Campus in Mesa, Arizona to focus on long-term solutions to homelessness.
The first phase of the project, which will be completed by the end of 2013, includes 80 units of affordable and permanent supportive housing and community space. La Mesita’s new affordable apartments will serve very low income families and will offer integrated services including behavioral health care, employment services, on-site child care, financial literacy and education classes. The project will also include 30 permanent supportive housing units for chronically homeless individuals with special needs such as physical and behavioral health issues that require more intensive and longer term supportive services. Financing is from private equity through the sale of federal tax credits administered by the Arizona Department of Housing.
Phase 2 will follow in 2013 and will include a newly developed family emergency shelter on the La Mesita Campus. During construction on the Campus, families served by the emergency shelter program have been moved off-site into a newly refurbished apartment complex. Child care remains on-site and now includes Head Start.
CSH also facilitated A New Leaf’s acquisition of Desert Leaf Apartments, a 20 unit 1-2 bedroom complex for chronically homeless individuals. Residents are moving in this month!
