A portion of it will help renovate historic Ghost Ranch Lodge for senior living
Longtime Miracle Manor resident Bill DeVinney stands near the historic Ghost Ranch Lodge at 801 W. Miracle Mile, which has stood as a fenced-in eyesore awaiting its renovation for the last few years. The plan is to convert it into affordable senior housing.
Pima County supervisors approved $5.3 million in bonds Tuesday for affordable housing and foreclosure prevention programs.
The board voted 5-0 to use revenues from a 2004 voter-approved $10 million bond package, including $623,000 to renovate the historic Ghost Ranch Lodge on West Miracle Mile.
The senior housing facility would be renovated and operated by a private Hartford, Conn., company that specializes in such ventures.
Three buildings at the landmark 8-acre property were destroyed by arson in November 2008. But those buildings were slated for demolition and will not impact plans for the facility, Scott Gillette, an attorney for the developer, assured board members.
The county committed about $475,000 to the lodge last year.
The lodge was opened by Arthur Pack in 1941 as a resort on the outskirts of Tucson.
It featured buildings by renowned Tucson architect Josias Joesler and signs by artist Georgia O’Keeffe.
It fell into disrepair and now sits vacant along what once was a glitzy western entryway to Tucson.
Funding for the lodge project, to cost a total of about $13 million, will come from the 2004 bonds, private investment and federal grants for affordable senior housing.
The work will consist of renovating 30 existing units and building 35 new ones. The units will be rentals.
The project is awaiting final federal approval, due at the end of this month.
Supervisors also approved using funds from the $10 million bond for other affordable housing and foreclosure prevention projects.
• $1.5 million will go to the Pima County Foreclosure Prevention Program, aimed at helping homeowners avoid foreclosure, and to acquire foreclosed properties for eventual return to the market as affordable housing.
• $1.17 million for the Esperanza en Escalante Veterans Housing Project, 3700 S. Calle Polar. There are 16 units at the location now and another 35 will be constructed. All will be rentals.
The overall project cost will be funded through the bond money, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System.
• $600,000 in bond funds for 40 affordable housing units at the Honea Heights Redevelopment Project. The project is on 37 acres in Marana, south of Sandy Street, between Sanders Road and the Marana Heritage River Park.
It will include 40 affordable housing units and 54 market-rate homes.