Maricopa County officials, the City of Glendale, and Mercy Housing have marked the opening of The Cascalote, a new affordable housing community for seniors in the West Valley. The development consists of 148 units designed to serve seniors who are either exiting homelessness or living with disabilities, with veterans receiving priority placement.
Supervisor Kate Brophy McGee, Vice Chair of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors for District 3, said, “Seniors on fixed incomes across Maricopa County are finding it harder to afford housing. Developments like The Cascalote provide these seniors comfort and stability. Best of all, they can remain part of their community.”
The Cascalote is situated on a 4.4-acre site at the northwest corner of 49th Avenue and Glenn Drive in Glendale. The project received $9.5 million from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), approved by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in April 2022 for land acquisition, predevelopment, and construction.
Shelly Marquez, President of Mercy Housing Mountain Plains, stated, “We are thrilled to open The Cascalote and provide 148 new affordable homes for seniors in Glendale. This is an exciting milestone for Mercy Housing Mountain Plains, and we are thankful to our partners at Maricopa County and the City of Glendale for making this development a reality!”
The property offers studio, one-, and two-bedroom apartments with rents ranging from $963 to $1,389 per month for households earning between 30% and 60% of Area Median Income (AMI). All units are fully accessible. Amenities include a bocce court, dog park, laundry facilities, fitness center, community room with kitchen, picnic areas with grills, community garden, and navigation services intended to help residents transition out of homelessness.
This marks Mercy Housing’s first new affordable housing project in Arizona in over a decade. Maricopa County has invested more than $128 million in ARPA funds toward housing programs and projects as part of its ongoing commitment to affordable housing efforts. More information can be found at Maricopa.gov/Housing.
Recent data show that educational outcomes remain a challenge within Maricopa County schools: during the 2022-23 school year 62.9% of students in grades 3 through 8 did not pass the mathematics section on standardized tests; 65% of high schoolers failed math on the ACT exam; 57.2% failed English among younger students; while 57% failed English among high schoolers as well.
