The City of Phoenix Housing Department and affordable housing developer Gorman & Company recently celebrated the groundbreaking of Girasol Apartments, formerly known as Sidney P. Osborn Apartments. Girasol will replace 145 outdated public housing units with 364 new affordable and market-rate apartments in the Edison-Eastlake community.
Named "Girasol" (Spanish for "sunflower") by members of the Edison-Eastlake Community, this transformative housing community is designed with accessibility, sustainability, and inclusivity at its core. Gorman & Company is the project's developer, general contractor, and architect, which will provide one-, two-, and three-bedroom mixed-income apartment homes serving individuals and families.
Girasol Apartments represents a new chapter in Phoenix's affordable housing initiatives, a critical next step in revitalizing the Edison-Eastlake Community through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Choice Neighborhoods (CN) program and the Edison-Eastlake Community’s Neighborhood Transformation Plan known as the One Vision Plan.
“Girasol Apartments are a shining example of how we’re addressing our housing shortage and revitalizing our aging stock of public housing,” Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said. “We’re layering local and federal funding, cultivating strong senses of community, and embracing diversity and sustainability along the way. Most importantly, we’re creating nearly 400 new homes for our residents.”
Girasol is funded in part by Phoenix voters, who passed the Phoenix City Council-approved 2023 General Obligation (GO) bond program. Approximately $21.3 million of GO Bond funds will be used to ensure the completion of these much-needed new housing units by helping to cover rising construction, labor, and material costs.
“This project signifies a new chapter in the historic Edison-Eastlake neighborhood; it is a meaningful community investment and provides much-needed affordable and attainable housing opportunities for individuals and families to thrive for generations to come,” District 8 Councilwoman Kesha Hodge Washington said. “I am grateful for our partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; with their support of $42.5 million in Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant funds, we are seeing impactful changes.”
The new community will serve as a model for sustainable, affordable housing. It will blend design innovations that meet the community's needs while enhancing its residents' quality of life.
“Gorman & Company is committed to transforming this site into a vibrant, inclusive community," said Sally Schwenn, Gorman & Company's Arizona Market President. “The collaboration with the City of Phoenix and the local community has been instrumental in shaping Girasol Apartments into a home for hundreds of families and a source of pride for the entire city.”
The new development will be completed in three construction phases from 2026 to 2027. The Girasol Apartments groundbreaking marks the commencement of the fourth phase of the Edison-Eastlake Community's redevelopment, building on the successes of Soluna Apartments and Harmony at the Park Apartments.
Girasol Apartments is financed and supported by the following partners: the City of Phoenix Housing Department, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Arizona Department of Housing, Gorman & Company, and Cedar Rapids Bank & Trust.