ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – In just a year and a half, the city has blown through more than $20 million in funding set aside for affordable housing projects. So where has that money gone and is any more on the way? “We’re very excited about the total amount of funds that we’ve used, we’ve used 100 percent of the funds,” said Deputy Housing Director, Joseph Montoya.
$23 million was used up in a little over a year and a half with the goal of turning around the city’s housing problem by renovating old hotels into affordable housing. “We snapped on it right away got on it right away and our making it happen so we’re very proud of the progress,” said Montoya.
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So far, the city has cleaned up one space the old SureStay Hotel near Lomas and Eubank into what is now the Los Altos Lofts. “It will be completed here by July but we’re already taking applications,” said Montoya.
That project used $6 million of housing forward funding to make 90 units. Deputy Housing Director Joseph Montoya says the city’s also close to breaking ground on another complex near West Mesa High School on Coors for eight million.
“We’ve done different things in terms of being able to provide interim financing for multi-family development. We use a tax credit process and we’re able to fund apartment complexes,” said Montoya.
They’re already budgeting nearly $6 million for another project they are hoping to take on, converting the old Quality Inn at Gibson and University into apartments. “We’re in negotiations now the city is doing it’s due diligence in terms of making sure we know exactly what we’re getting there,” said Montoya.
Now that the money is gone, what happens next? “We’ve done a full analysis and we’re requesting twenty million new dollars for this next fiscal year,” said Montoya.
Montoya says that twenty million is just a starting point. “If you think about one development as forty million dollars, that’s just one development of 130 units right? The use of twenty million has to be leveraged considerably in order to be able to come up with the kind of numbers we want to be able to produce for affordable housing,” said Montoya.
The city says it’s confident in the work they’ve done so far. “We’re looking forward to getting a new triage of money this next coming fiscal year to be able to use and increase the production and the types of housing that we’re able to assist,” said Montoya.
The city also has another four million dollars earmarked right now for possible hotel and office-to-apartment conversions on Central between Nob Hill and Juan Tabo.
