Albuquerque Journal
This is encouraging news.
The city's 2018 report on "Vacant and Abandoned Buildings" identified 1,300 vacant and substandard buildings throughout the city. Several blighted properties have already been repurposed, providing important housing; El Vado , Imperial Inn , De Anza, Sundowner, and Luna Lodge . These projects exemplify public/private partnerships, and address multiple city goals, including historic preservation, and the revitalization of Route 66 .
Although some affordable housing projects have received negative press for their costs, let me share the cost to taxpayers of one project we redeveloped a decade ago; the Sundowner Apartments , and why it is a good model to replicate.
The Sundowner was a derelict, abandoned, asbestos-ridden 110 unit former motel on East Central. It was a community eyesore, subject to fires and vandalism, whose claim to fame was that the Microsoft founders, Bill Gates and Paul Allen , lived there for four years in the mid 70s.
The acquisition and redevelopment cost was $9 million , funded primarily by out-of-state private investors. The city's contribution was $2 million , funded through a competitive Workforce Housing grant.
The city's contribution was critical for outside investor commitment, and leveraged an additional $7 million in other funding sources.
We converted the 110 motel units into 71 studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, serving 100 residents, the majority of whom are on Social Security Disability Income of under $1,000 a month.
Many have a mental or physical disability, and were formerly homeless, and would be on the streets without the housing.
The cost to city taxpayers was $28,000 per unit — 15% of current construction costs per square foot. Given the costs to provide care for the unhoused, such as trips to emergency rooms, and the costs in call-outs for fires/vandalism at abandoned properties, this was a prudent use of taxpayer dollars.
Furthermore, few residents have vehicles, and are loyal patrons of local businesses, supporting the immediate local economy. The city's tax base is improved, along with adjacent property values.
Albuquerque has but a handful of affordable housing developers well-versed in the intricacies of the competitive application process, many having worked for the funding agencies before becoming developers.
Unfortunately, most focus on the upper tier of the affordable housing spectrum, whereas a major need is to serve those with annual household incomes under $28,000 , who can't afford current market price housing.
There are few developers serving the population we serve at our nine Albuquerque properties. We welcome queries from nascent nonprofits wishing to develop housing to serve those most in need. The city needs more developers, more competition, more collaboration. We have archives of successful and many unsuccessful grant/tax credit submissions that we are happy to share.
Renowned city planner and author Richard Florida in his book "The Creative Class" ranked Albuquerque top of the list of medium-sized cities, having the technology, talent, and tolerance to be a world-class city. A central ingredient in being a world-class city is how we treat our more vulnerable fellow residents.
Conversions of blighted buildings that are community eyesores into affordable housing community assets is a win-win for all of us.
John Bloomfield is executive director of NewLife Homes , which develops and manages supportive housing for the most vulnerable.