Ten months after the start of a full rehabilitation, the first renovated floor at Tucson House is ready. Twenty-five households are moving into 24 newly remodeled apartments on the 15th floor of the 17-story public housing building, the City of Tucson announced October 16 (via City of Tucson).
The building at 1501 N. Oracle Road is being converted into 358 affordable apartments for adults 55 and older, from studios to two-bedroom units of roughly 464 to 975 square feet. Each apartment gets new flooring, countertops, cabinets, appliances, bathrooms, paint, light fixtures and an individual heating and cooling unit. The project also replaces the building's mechanical, plumbing and electrical systems.
The city's Housing and Community Development Department (HCD), through its nonprofit development arm El Pueblo Housing Development, is leading the work with Gorman & Company, which serves as co-developer, general contractor and property manager. Tucson firm Poster Mirto McDonald is the architect.
More than 25% of the rehab is complete. Three more floors (the 13th, 14th and 16th, with 70 apartments between them) are scheduled to turn over by the end of 2026, and overall completion is set for summer 2028. Some common-area amenities, including a new laundry room and lounge, mailroom, fitness room and community services spaces, are expected to open in late 2026 and early 2027.
Built in 1963 as private luxury apartments, the building later became aging city-run public housing with deteriorating infrastructure and outdated systems. A $50 million HUD Choice Neighborhoods Implementation grant awarded in July 2023 provided seed funding. The city says that grant has helped it leverage more than $300 million in additional public, private and nonprofit funding for housing and neighborhood improvements.
HCD Director Ann Chanecka called the project "a complex undertaking, with significant challenges along the way."
Why it matters for Contractors
Occupied, phased renovations, where residents are temporarily relocated while crews gut units and replace building systems, are some of the toughest jobs in the trade. Tucson House shows how federal grants and layered financing are paying for large rehabs of aging multifamily buildings. That kind of work creates steady demand for finish carpenters, plumbers, electricians and HVAC subs who can handle complex, scheduled turnovers.