Phoenix leaders are re-evaluating how to use tax incentives to spur redevelopment and address the housing shortage. The Government Property Lease Excise Tax program is commonly referred to as GPLET. Several times, Phoenix has provided GPLETs for developers to build residential high-rises downtown.
Eighteen months ago, Ariel Enriquez found space for his five children at Park Place Condominiums in north Tucson. Soon after they moved in, the rent went up $200, to $1,700.
Rents are rising all over the country, but Tucson, once a sleepy, affordable city, has seen a particularly painful spike. And with rising prices, gentrification is pushing people out of neighborhoods that once were affordable.