66 Apartments Are Finishing on Stone Avenue's Old Bum Steer Lot
Sugar Hill on Stone brings 66 income-restricted apartments to 1910 N. Stone Ave. in fall 2026. What's built, who qualifies, and the bus rapid transit plan.
A 1.38-acre corner that sat empty for a decade is about to hold three- and four-story buildings, and the street in front of it is next in line for dedicated bus lanes.
For about 40 years, 1910 N. Stone Ave. was the Bum Steer, a barn-like restaurant and nightclub with an entire airplane among the memorabilia on its walls. It closed, sat vacant for roughly a decade, burned in 2017 and was torn down in September 2020. Six years later the same lot is in the last weeks of becoming Sugar Hill on Stone: 66 apartments in three- and four-story buildings that the City of Tucson has targeted to finish in October 2026. Reporting in June put the finish at November, so a date in that window is the realistic read.
- 66
- Apartments, one to three bedrooms
- 108
- Bedrooms across the 66 units
- 1.38 acres
- Size of the former Bum Steer lot
- Oct. 2026
- City's target completion date
- 50 years
- Minimum period the units stay income-restricted
- $21M+
- Private investment expected from Low-Income Housing Tax Credits
What Is Going Up on the Lot
The project is 66 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments totaling 108 bedrooms, in three- and four-story buildings. Every unit gets an in-unit washer and dryer and a dishwasher, and the building comes with free Wi-Fi. Parking is covered by solar panels, the roofs carry solar too, and there is secure bike parking, a barbecue area, and multi-purpose and community rooms used for resident services. A mural co-designed with residents is planned for the building. The ceremonial groundbreaking was August 27, 2025, and the city's estimate then was about 16 months of construction.
Who Can Rent Here, and Who Paid for It
This is not market-rate housing. Of the 66 units, 37 are set aside for households relocating from Tucson House, the city's largest public housing complex, which is in the middle of a $188 million renovation. The remaining 29 are for households earning up to 50% of the area median income. All 66 stay income-restricted for at least 50 years.
The developer is El Pueblo Housing Development, the nonprofit arm of the city's Housing and Community Development department, with Gorman & Company as co-developer. The city bought the property in 2023. Most of the money comes from Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, expected to bring in more than $21 million of private investment. The rest of the stack includes part of a $50 million, eight-year federal HUD Choice Neighborhoods grant the city won in 2023 for the area it calls Thrive in the 05, plus a $500,000 grant from the Housing is Healthcare Fund.
The Bigger Change Is the Street Out Front
The site sits on the city's planned bus rapid transit corridor. The city picked Stone over Oracle Road as the route for Tucson's first bus rapid transit line after 61% of respondents to its route survey said they preferred Stone, a majority Mayor and Council acted on in adopting Stone Avenue as the locally preferred alternative on January 23, 2024. It runs about five miles from the Tohono Tadai Transit Center near Tucson Mall down Stone to the Ronstadt Transit Center downtown, with its own travel lane, signal priority and stations spaced farther apart than ordinary stops.
The Federal Transit Administration's April 2026 project profile puts the capital cost at $137.10 million, of which the city has requested $82.26 million — 60% — from the federal Capital Investment Grants program. The local 40% is $51.84 million from the Regional Transportation Authority and $3.0 million in city general funds. Pima County voters approved RTA Next, a 20-year, $2.67 billion transportation plan funded by a half-cent sales tax, on March 10, 2026. The city expects the north segment to be built between 2028 and 2031, and says the line will be about 25% faster than regular buses and carry up to 150 passengers every 10 minutes.
What This Means If You Own or Are Buying Near Stone
First, an empty, fire-damaged lot on a main corridor is about to be a finished, landscaped, occupied building. For homes on the side streets around 1910 N. Stone, that is a concrete change in what sits at the end of the block, and it is visible on a drive-by rather than a plan sheet.
Second, the transit project means construction on Stone itself is still ahead, not behind. If you are buying near the corridor, ask where the stations are proposed, since station location survey results are posted on the project's site, and how a dedicated bus lane changes driveway and turn access for a specific parcel. Those answers are knowable now.
Third, for investors, keep the scale in proportion. At groundbreaking the city said it needs about 13,000 units affordable to households under 30% of area median income over the next decade, and that about 1,200 units were coming in the next couple of years. Sixty-six apartments is a real addition to the corridor, but it does not reset the rental market around it.
Quick reference (October 13, 2026): Sugar Hill on Stone, 1910 N. Stone Ave., Tucson 85705 — 66 one- to three-bedroom apartments (108 bedrooms) in three- and four-story buildings on the 1.38-acre former Bum Steer site. Developer El Pueblo Housing Development with co-developer Gorman & Company. 37 units for households relocating from Tucson House; 29 for households earning up to 50% of area median income; restricted for at least 50 years. Groundbreaking August 27, 2025; city target completion October 2026, with November reported in June 2026. The site is on the Stone Avenue bus rapid transit corridor (Tohono Tadai Transit Center to Ronstadt Transit Center, about five miles, $137.10 million capital cost with an $82.26 million federal grant request, construction expected 2028–2031).
Sources
City of Tucson, Housing and Community Development — "City of Tucson Breaks Ground for 66 Affordable Housing Apartments in Historic Sugar Hill Neighborhood" — https://www.tucsonaz.gov/Departments/Housing-and-Community-Development/HCD-News/City-of-Tucson-Breaks-Ground-for-66-Affordable-Housing-Apartments-in-Historic-Sugar-Hill-Neighborhood — accessed October 13, 2026
AZPM — "City of Tucson breaks ground on 66-unit affordable housing complex in Midtown" (August 27, 2025) — https://news.azpm.org/p/azpmnews/2025/8/27/226202-city-of-tucson-breaks-ground-on-66-unit-affordable-housing-complex-in-midtown/ — accessed October 13, 2026
KVOA — "Sugar Hill on Stone gets $500K grant for Tucson affordable housing project" — https://www.kvoa.com/news/local/sugar-hill-on-stone-gets-500k-grant-for-tucson-affordable-housing-project/article_4977480b-b54f-455b-851b-405aa25100c6.html — accessed October 13, 2026
KGUN 9 — "Sugar Hill on Stone affordable housing apartments aims to address Tucson's housing crisis" (June 24, 2026) — https://www.kgun9.com/news/community-inspired-journalism/midtown-news/sugar-hill-on-stone-affordable-housing-apartments-aims-to-address-tucsons-housing-crisis — accessed October 13, 2026
KOLD — "Former Bum Steer demolished" (September 18, 2020) — https://www.kold.com/2020/09/18/former-bum-steer-demolished — accessed October 13, 2026
KGUN 9 — "¡Rapido!: Tucson's first Bus Rapid Transit route looks to speed up service between downtown, Tucson Mall" (June 17, 2025) — https://www.kgun9.com/news/community-inspired-journalism/midtown-news/rapido-tucsons-first-bus-rapid-transit-route-looks-to-speed-up-service-between-downtown-tucson-mall — accessed October 13, 2026
AZPM — "Public comment open for new Tucson rapid bus line" — https://originals.azpm.org/s/97588-public-comment-open-for-new-tucson-rapid-bus-line/ — accessed October 13, 2026
City of Tucson — Tucson Rapid Transit project site — https://www.tucsonrapidtransit.com/ — accessed October 13, 2026
City of Tucson — Tucson Rapid Transit, north segment — https://tucsonrapidtransit.com/north — accessed October 13, 2026
Federal Transit Administration — "Stone Avenue BRT" Capital Investment Grants project profile (April 2026) — https://www.transit.dot.gov/funding/grants/grant-programs/capital-investments/stone-avenue-brt-project-profile — accessed October 13, 2026
Arizona Luminaria — "Voters approve RTA Next plan to fund transit for 20 years in unofficial results" (March 13, 2026) — https://azluminaria.org/2026/03/11/early-results-show-voters-approving-rta-next-plan-to-fund-transit-for-20-years/ — accessed October 13, 2026
KOLD — "Pima County voters appear to give green light to RTA Next" (March 11, 2026) — https://www.kold.com/2026/03/11/pima-county-voters-appear-give-green-light-rta-next/ — accessed October 13, 2026
All details are current as of October 13, 2026; construction schedules, unit allocations, income limits and transit timelines on public projects change, so readers should confirm current information with the City of Tucson before relying on any single figure. This post is for informational purposes only and is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to purchase real estate. Kyle Berglund and Tierra Antigua Realty fully support and comply with the Fair Housing Act and the Equal Opportunity Act.
Topics
- New Development
- Housing
- Stone Avenue
- Central Tucson
- Affordable Housing
- Bus Rapid Transit
- RTA Next