Demolition of Food City in Tempe makes way for affordable housing, grocery development

The Dorsey Station affordable housing development in Tempe saw a major early milestone after the Food City building it will replace was demolished, according to a Thursday news release.

The development, located near Apache Boulevard and Dorsey Lane, spans nearly 8 acres across two properties, including a ground-floor grocery store to account for what officials described as a “food desert” after the Food City closed in 2021.

The City of Tempe purchased the plots after the closure, in part, as a response to concerns from residents that luxurious, less attainable housing would replace the grocer.

“Residents have told us that expanding affordable housing is a top priority,” Mayor Corey Woods said in the release. “The same year we launched our Hometown for All affordable housing initiative, we invested more than $10 million to purchase the Food City property.

“This development will substantially increase affordable housing and provide opportunities for those who need it most in Tempe.”

City of Tempe continues affordable housing initiative

The Dorsey Station development includes 400 housing units; 360 units are designated as affordable and the other 40 will be sold at market rate.

The affordable units will be sold to households making between 30% and 80% of the area median income. In the case of Tempe, a two-person household is qualified when it earns between $27,000 and $71,950, according to the release.

Construction is expected to begin this winter before housing potentially opens by 2029.

The Hometown for All initiative that Woods first proposed in December 2020 has already seen a 104-unit development, La Victoria Commons, open to residents in March.

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