In a move to tackle the housing crisis in the metro area, the Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved the “BernCo Builds Communities” initiative at its administrative meeting last week.
The plan will leverage $150 million in state funding to expand sorely needed housing access across the county.
The initiative comes in response to New Mexico state leaders allocating $150 million to address housing needs statewide, with $110 million stemming from House Bill 2 and an additional $40 million for capital and operating expenses.
County leadership, in collaboration with the Middle Rio Grande Housing Collaborative and the City of Albuquerque, has developed a project list. This list encompasses a variety of strategies to increase housing availability, including the construction of new affordable housing and its necessary infrastructure, expansion and preservation of existing affordable housing, strategic property acquisitions for improvement and community revitalization efforts that include converting properties into transitional housing.
Key projects identified for funding consideration include:
- Affordable Housing: Tierra Linda, West Mesa Ridge, Lomas Tower (the former Wells Fargo Building), and Uptown Connect apartments.
- Affordable Housing Expansion/Renovation: Poblana Place Apartments (2818 Fourth St. NW), Don Quixote (1811 Lead Ave. SE), and Mehran Lofts (517 Gold Ave. SW).
- Transitional Housing: Comfort Inn Hotel (411 McKnight Ave. NE), Days Inn Hotel (1520 Candelaria Road NE), Quality Inn Hotel (1315 Menaul Blvd. SE), and the Tiny Home Expansion (101 Texas SE).
The project list will now be forwarded to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office for feedback on prioritization. Funds will be disbursed once the state confirms county reimbursement. Projects receiving gap financing could begin construction as early as July, with the ultimate goal of quickly housing 2,138 residents in affordable units and 1,050 in transitional housing.
“This is a significant and commendable step toward addressing the critical need for affordable and transitional housing in Bernalillo County,” County Commissioner Barbara Baca said. “It is just the beginning of an ‘all hands on deck’ mission in which the community works with us to provide ideas, strength and support for this initiative.”
As part of the rollout, the county plans to engage residents in dialogue to explain the function of transitional housing and ensure each site integrates as a good neighbor within its community.
County Manager Cindy Chavez has been authorized by the board to execute all necessary agreements to develop these priority projects, following the resolution’s unanimous 5-0 adoption.
