Mayors urge feds to increase affordable housing funding

• A 2022 report by the Arizona Department of Housing found the state needed 270,000 new housing units. 

The big picture: Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Mesa Mayor John Giles and Tempe Mayor Corey Woods on Tuesday joined Andrew Ginther, their counterpart from Columbus, Ohio, who also serves as president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, to call for increased federal funding for affordable housing. 

• The mayors and others from the conference toured The Reserve at Thunderbird, an affordable housing complex that opened in north Phoenix in March, which they touted as a success story made possible by federal funding. 
• "No matter who wins, the U.S. Conference of Mayors will be leading a charge for historic new federal housing legislation that spurs investment in housing like never before," Ginther said.

State of play: One of every four households nationwide that's eligible for rental assistance receives it, Ginther said.

• Gallego said the formula used to determine how many vouchers are available for cities is antiquated and needs updating to ensure more resources go to cities with greater needs. 
• An increase in Low-Income Housing Tax Credit funding alone would result in additional housing units, Giles said. 

Yes, but: Ginther said recent discussions the conference has had on Capitol Hill make it clear that if cities want the kind of "unprecedented" federal investment they're seeking, they'll have to update zoning and land-use codes.

Zoom in: The Reserve at Thunderbird wouldn't have been possible without federal funding, as well as assistance from the city and state, said Jessica Raymond, executive vice president at Atlantic Development and Investments, which built the project near 30th Avenue and Thunderbird Road. 

• Some residents in the 242-unit complex use housing vouchers and other assistance, while others pay rent on their own, she told Axios. 

What's next: The conference's tour will head to Philadelphia on Thursday and Detroit next Tuesday.