
Homewise plays outsize role in local efforts to battle affordable housing crisis
When he joined Homewise Inc. in 1992 — then known as Neighborhood Housing Services of Santa Fe — the nonprofit had a staff of three people, said Mike Loftin, the group's CEO.
Over the last 30-plus years, that number has swelled to 120.
The growth didn't occur overnight, but it began shortly after Loftin signed on, leading Homewise to eventually become the biggest and most well-known player in Santa Fe's affordable housing movement.
Since its founding in 1986, Homewise has evolved from a group that offered about a dozen home improvement loans each year to a housing developer that has constructed hundreds of homes — some affordable, some at market value — and has helped thousands of local people become homebuyers. It also has opened an Albuquerque office and has received tens of millions of dollars from local and national philanthropic organizations to further its mission.
Three decades after its first development — 10 homes in the Las Acequias subdivision off Airport Road — the nonprofit secured a deal in 2024 to serve as master developer of the long-awaited third phase of the Tierra Contenta community in southwestern Santa Fe. The project could include up to 1,500 homes, at least 40% of them affordable. Homewise plans to sell some tracts of the 216-acre parcel to other affordable housing builders.
All that change over the years has brought both accolades and criticism.
In spring 2023, Homewise became embroiled in a dispute over a Santa Fe County proposal to expand the village of Agua Fría, designated by the state as a Traditional Historic Community, to territory northwest of Santa Fe targeted for annexation by the city.
Homewise owns 200 acres of the 1,077-parcel known as Area 1B, which it has long planned to develop in a project dubbed Senderos. Officials with the nonprofit had hoped to see the land annexed by the city, rather than included in Agua Fría, and requested a 'carve-out' exemption in a county ordinance expanding the village.
The County Commission approved the exemption in June 2023, but only after considerable bickering among parties involved.
However, the village expansion effort failed.
The city, which opposed the ordinance, filed a lawsuit in state District Court aiming to block it, and a judge ruled in May 2024 in the city's favor.
Homewise's Los Prados development — a 161-home project on South Meadows Road — also drew fierce opposition in 2023. A zoning change request for the 22-acre site led to contentious, hourslong public hearings before the city Planning Commission and City Council, pitting residents against affordable housing advocates.
Previously owned by Santa Fe County, which had planned to develop a park there, the parcel had been used by neighbors as open space. The county sold it to Homewise in 2021.
Many nearby residents argued vehemently against Los Prados during the land use hearings. Still, city officials voted in favor of the zoning change.
The Planning Commission recently approved a preliminary plat for the development at a far quieter meeting.
This wasn't the first time the nonprofit faced pushback from neighbors over its development plans. It won a fight in 2007 over a 50-home project on 15 acres along Old Las Vegas Highway, near Quail Run. Despite residents' objections, the City Council approved the plans.
Focus on first-time buyers
Homewise's road to community lightning rod began with Loftin's arrival in the early 1990s. He said one of the first things he did was initiate a series of conversations with the organization's clients — not about what Neighborhood Housing Services was doing but what it should be doing.
What he learned was eye opening, he said. Most of the organization's clients were elderly and had owned their own house for years, which explained why they were in the market for a home improvement loan.
What they were most concerned about was their children, who had grown up in Santa Fe but found themselves priced out of the local housing market, Loftin said, adding he repeatedly was asked if he could do something to help them.
He went to the board of directors and posed the same question. The notion received pushback, he said, with many board members saying it was already too late to do anything about Santa Fe's runaway home prices.
Loftin disagreed. Despite having only lukewarm support from the board, he launched a low-interest home loan program at the organization — rebranded to Homewise in the early 2000s — and that became the first step in a series of significant changes it would undergo over the next three decades.
'What I realized is that we had to get really good at helping people buy their own home,' Loftin said.
Along with the low-interest loan program, he started an education program for first-time homebuyers — the group that became the target audience for Homewise.
'A lot of builders didn't want to do mortgages for first-time homebuyers,' he said, noting such reluctance provided his organization with the opening it needed to get a foothold in the market.
'Where can we add value?'
That combination of circumstances and ambition allowed Homewise to quickly reach another level. And within two years, Loftin said, the organization was ready to ratchet up its presence again, becoming a builder.
He continued to ask himself one question whenever he considered adding new programs to the organization's portfolio: 'Where can we add value?'
Homewise's first foray into the building realm was in Las Acequias, a development between Agua Fria Street and Airport Road on the city's south side. The project consisted of 10 homes — small by Homewise's current standards.
'We were all really nervous,' Loftin said, adding few builders were constructing entry-level houses — one- or two-bedroom homes with one bathroom — in that era.
Homewise followed the lead of Borrego Construction, a family-owned builder in Santa Fe, in constructing those small homes, he said. In fact, Homewise bought the lots for the Las Acequias project from Borrego.
While Homewise has since begun constructing larger homes, especially the ones it sells for market value, Loftin regards the decision to start with small homes as a big gamble that paid off.
'One thing I really like about Homewise is, we're not afraid to try stuff,' he said.
Conventional wisdom held that there was no resale market for small houses. But when Loftin looked around, he saw plenty of single people or childless couples who might buy a small house.
Many families had stopped having two, three or four children, he said, but most builders hadn't taken notice, leaving buyers with little choice but to invest in a much larger house than they needed — something a lot of them couldn't afford.
Homewise continues to build smaller houses, Loftin said, noting Miraflores, one of its new developments in southern Santa Fe, features some one-bedroom, 524-square-foot houses.
'For a single person or couple, it's perfect,' he said.
'If we're ever going to make housing more affordable," he added, "we've got to have increased density and less square footage. We had to have a wider range of house types.'
The organization also has managed to trim costs — and sales prices — by challenging other bits of conventional wisdom in the industry.
Loftin said it has has eliminated mortgage insurance on the homes it sells, a requirement for most federal loans that protects the lender. It can significantly increase monthly costs for buyers.
'Nobody ever pays mortgage insurance at Homewise,' he said. 'We're working with the homeowner now. If they're successful, we're successful. … I really like the way we approach this. Basically, we saying to them, 'We're with you the whole 30 years.''
The Homewise staff has to work hard to maintain success, he said. If a homebuyer falls 10 days behind on a mortgage payment, they can expect a phone call from a Homewise staffer, inquiring what can be done to get back on track.
'If you do this the right way, there's no reason this is riskier,' he said.
Charitable foundations have taken notice of Homewise's efforts to create affordable housing and aid homebuyers.
It became the recipient of a $25 million, no-strings-attached gift last year from Seattle billionaire MacKenzie Scott's Yield Giving organization and a $10 million 'impact investment' from the Anchorum Health Foundation in Santa Fe.
Loftin called the Scott donation game-changing and said none of the money would be spent on the organization's operational costs.
Missteps along the way
Not everything Homewise has tried has worked, Loftin acknowledged, laughing when he recalled the infamous 'upside-down' houses the organization tried building several years ago.
It was obvious to him the views and lighting on two-story properties were always significantly better on the second floor, he said and he felt it was a waste of that potential to put bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs.
He had Homewise build some condos featuring an upstairs living room and kitchen, with the bedrooms downstairs.
That design did not catch on, to put it mildly.
Loftin recalled the puzzled look on the faces of potential buyers when they entered the properties on the ground floor and were confronted with a hallway instead of a living room.
'People couldn't get their arms around it,' he said. 'We built a few of them, and it took us a while to sell them.'
Another idea that failed was the Homewise Affordable Parade of Homes. The organization tried renting vans and driving groups of potential homebuyers to its projects all over the county to give them an idea of the available options.
'It was not what people wanted,' Loftin said. 'If somebody found something they liked, they wanted to spend more time there. From that, we learned you have to do more individual attention.'
Ironically, the Affordable Parade of Homes was cited prominently in a national publication that wrote about Homewise, he said, creating the impression it was a success.
'The truth is," he said, "it really didn't work at all."
Working in collaboration
While the nonprofit housing developer may be best known for its efforts to assist first-time homebuyers, Loftin said, the organization has devoted much of its work in recent years to broader community development.
Even in the affordable housing arena, he said, buyers want mixed-use developments that prioritize walkability — such as El Camino Real Crossing, Homewise's first mixed-use project at Agua Fría Street and Harrison Road. The community includes the popular Escondido restaurant.
'People don't just buy a house — they buy a neighborhood,' he said.
He cited the upcoming Tierra Contenta project, approved last year, which will include a school site and park. He expects some of the homes in the development to be built by organizations such as the Santa Fe Community Housing Trust and Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity. That kind of collaboration is important, Loftin said.
The large number of organizations devoted to battling high housing costs in Santa Fe provides the community with a diversity of delivery systems and forces everyone to be accountable, he said.
'Having that accountability matters,' he said. 'And I'm sure there are organizations out there that are better at certain things than we are.'
Getting housing costs under control locally is an issue that won't be solved quickly, Loftin said, noting he fears many of the policies the Trump administration is espousing will be antithetical to efforts to bring interest rates down — perhaps the biggest factor in making homes more affordable.
Still, he is pleased state and local government officials have dedicated resources to the problem. And he said the quality of leadership that has emerged at groups like the Community Housing Trust and Habitat for Humanity gives him faith that a well-rounded, collaborative approach is possible.
That leaves Loftin free to avoid worrying about anything but how Homewise is performing, he said.
'You keep focused on the North Star of your mission,' he said. 'If you do a good job of completing your mission, the other stuff takes care of itself.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Yahoo
Some Zeeland neighbors want to block Mead Johnson expansion
ZEELAND, Mich. (WOOD) — While some property owners have gotten more than $1 million from Mead Johnson for land that the company needs to expand on East Main Street, Margie and Earl Klein aren't selling. Some neighbors say they hope the holdouts will help block the expansion, which they fear will destroy their neighborhood. The Kleins have lived since 1973 in their home about 150 yards west of the baby formula plant — at the heart of the company's controversial expansion plans. They raised two kids there. Her parents lived there in the 1920s. 'We still walk on the hardwood floors that my parents did,' Margie Klein said on Friday. In January, she answered a knock on her door. It was a stranger from Mead Johnson. 'He sat down on our couch and said, 'We want your property.' 'Really?' 'And all of this on both sides of you, and we want everything on Washington Avenue, also,'' she recalled. Mead Johnson, now owned by a United Kingdom-based company, says it needs to modernize. Its $836 million plan calls for an expansion that would mean leveling several homes on the north side of East Main Street, including the Kleins'. The company, which makes Enfamil, released renderings at a meeting this week. The plan requires the city to rezone some of the land from residential to industrial. A hearing is scheduled before the city's Planning Commission Thursday. The company is the third-biggest taxpayer in Zeeland and employs 500 people. 'Mead Johnson Nutrition takes pride in our deep roots in the Zeeland community where we have been producing some of the nation's most trusted baby formula products for more than 100 years,' the company said in a statement released on Friday. 'This investment in modernizing our operations in Zeeland reflects our commitment to sustained job creation and economic growth here in our local community, while also ensuring we maintain industry-leading quality standards and remain a trusted partner in pediatric nutrition.' 'Mead Johnson is important to the community, we want to keep them here,' City Manager Timothy Klunder said. 'We certainly don't want to see a desire where they would have to leave, but we also want then to do it in the right way.' Neighbors have planted signs and launched a website in opposition. Already, the company has bought out most of the Kleins' closest neighbors: One said he sold his home for $600,000 and must be out by July 31. Property records show the company paid $1.5 million for a house and barn a few doors away with an assessed value of less than $300,000. Two properties around the corner went for a combined $3.7 million — about 10 times their assessed value. The Kleins won't say exactly how much Mead Johnson has offered. It's somewhere between $500,000 and $1 million. 'We love our place, but we don't want to sell to Mead Johnson because they are pushy and demanding,' Klein said. Asked if she was holding out for more money, she responded: 'Oh heavens, no.' 'This has nothing to do with the money,' she continued. 'It's the whole principle of the thing. We have lived here for decades. We are so involved in the city of Zeeland, chamber of commerce back in the day. We love this town.' Jonathan Funckes lives on the south side of East Main Street. His home would face the expanded factory. 'I'll be looking at Industrial 2 (zoning),' he said. 'When we bought this, this was all residential.' When Funckes moved in 16 years ago, he said, the neighborhood was mostly rentals, some marred by graffiti. 'We've all in the last dozen years really improved it and brought the neighborhood up and are doing things to improve and make it look better, only to have the city just destroy our property values,' he said. Some neighbors said they fear city leaders have already decided. 'Why would you purchase these (properties) way above tax-assessed values if you didn't have some sort of promise?' Sue VandenBeldt, who lives a few doors away. 'My concern is that the city has sold our neighborhood out. I think my big concern is that we've lost trust in our officials we elected.' As for Jonathan Funckes, 'We're going to be fighting it, but at this point I'm preparing to sell, because I've had enough.' Perhaps, he said, the best hope is the Kleins not selling. 'That's the only saving grace at this point,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.


CBS News
6 days ago
- CBS News
Residents in Colorado's Elbert County fight Xcel Energy over transmission line running through their properties
As Colorado's energy infrastructure ages, Xcel Energy is aiming to build 550 miles of new transmission lines to accommodate the grid and Colorado's continuous growth. However, residents in Elbert County are resisting efforts from Xcel's proposition, as a portion of the project is intended to travel through the county, which they say will disrupt their way of life. Wednesday night, the Planning Commission voted to recommend denying Xcel's application to the Board of County Commissioners at the end of the month. Until then, Xcel has begun eminent domain initiatives as well as having already acquired nearly 50% of the land needed for the project voluntarily. Tuesday night at the county fairgrounds in Kiowa, Xcel presented their application to the Planning Commission. It went so long, it spilled over to Wednesday night. The Elbert County Staff of Community Development and Services deemed the application incomplete for not submitting more detail about wildfire protection, and recommended to the Planning Commission to deny the application, which they did. Route of Segment 5 The entire Power Pathway project consists of five segments, with Segments 2 and 3 completed and Segment 1 under construction. Xcel's $1.7 billion double-circuit 345-kilovolt electric transmission line will be used to increase reliability across Colorado. "If we lose one of our transmission segments, we have the ability to route electricity around the state," Andrew Holder, the Xcel Community Relations Director, told the commission during Tuesday's meeting. Xcel Energy's proposed line, Segment 5. CBS Colorado But for years, Xcel and those directly impacted or simply living in Elbert County have been at odds over the avenue of Segment 5. "The proposed route selected in Elbert County... is the least impactful compared to other route alternatives evaluated," said the Siting and Land Rights Manager, Jennifer Chester, in her presentation for Xcel to the Planning Commission. "A lot of folks are ranchers. It's our charge to take care of this land where we live," says Kerry Jiblits, who lives in Elbert County. Jiblits is a board member for the Elbert County Environmental Alliance (ECEA) with more than 400 people on its mailing list. While the transmission line isn't going through her property, Elbert County is her home. She "moved here for a reason," she says. The group formed to resist projects that harm the environment and wildlife in the area, Jiblits tells CBS Colorado. They are environmentalists who are all in for renewables. "We're not against the project, we're against this route." Xcel on the other hand, is looking to unlock solar and wind power potential with all that open space on the Eastern Plains. The utility company told CBS Colorado in a statement in part, "We have collaborated with the Elbert County community for four years, addressing questions, concerns and acquiring land rights voluntarily. We adjusted the project's location by 50 miles to accommodate community wishes while keeping project costs low for our customers." Those who participated in Tuesday's public comment say otherwise. "There was not one single person who spoke in favor of Xcel other than the Xcel representatives," Jiblits tells CBS Colorado. She and others in ECEA have met with Xcel many times and even with the president of Xcel Energy-Colorado, Robert Kenney. "Their idea of collaboration is to tell you that this is what [they're] going to do. They have not worked with us in the least." Risk of wildfire But the risk of wildfire is why the Community Development and Services staff in its presentation Tuesday recommended that denial. "The applicant has not submitted the request level of detail of information for proof of fire protection or risk associated with fire behavior." "Wildfire is a huge concern out here," says Jiblits. The Magic Dog fire last October near CO-86 used aerial firefighters, Jiblits tells CBS Colorado. The water came from a body that is adjacent to the proposed Segment 5 route. "They scooped water out of a pond nearby. The transmission lines will be going right next to that pond now. How are they going to be able to access that water?" CBS Colorado reached out to Elizabeth Fire Rescue about how they plan to work around the line in the future, but have not heard back. Elbert County fire districts cover at least 700 square miles and firefighters in the area are mostly volunteer. There's a way to avoid the risk. According to a 2021 study by Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the utility company is taking on the ambitious goal of burying 10,000 miles of above-ground electric distribution power lines in high-risk wildfire areas, which is called undergrounding. Even though PG&E has logistical and technical challenges awaiting it, as well as a near $20 billion price tag, it's possible and currently happening. The first speaker at Tuesday's meeting, Mike Walker of Elizabeth, said, "Xcel says it costs too much to bury the lines." What's in it for Elbert County? "There's no benefit. The power is for the Denver metro area," says Jiblits. Xcel told CBS Colorado, "While we do not provide electric service to Elbert County residents, the Pathway project will provide important tax revenue benefiting the county, cities, fire and school districts." Although Jiblits, and many in the county, aren't buying it. "The taxes that we will get from this project, will be offset by the money we lose in decreased property values and property valuations," says Jiblits. On its website, Xcel says they've used a third-party real estate appraiser analysis, and the transmission line will not impact property vales. Additionally, Holder said on Tuesday that Xcel will pay a 1.26% tax on its new facilities, on top of a $2.5 million project impact fee. "Their attitude is, 'We're going to do what we want. What you say doesn't matter.' They're just going through and checking boxes," Jiblits says. Eminent domain "There were several people who wanted to speak," Jiblits says about Tuesday night's meeting, "but who were unable to speak because of the ongoing litigation." That is eminent domain proceedings. Xcel told CBS Colorado partly, "We remain committed to making every effort to reach a fair and reasonable settlement, but when negotiations are unsuccessful, we have to exercise our eminent domain authority." Although alternate lines have been offered, Segment 5 is moving ahead as proposed. Jiblits says, with larger acreage farther east, families won't be as impacted from the project. "There are already rights of way out there that they could follow and use. They don't need to take our land for their project." Xcel and Elbert County residents will have to wait more than two weeks for a vote from the Board of Commissioners on June 24.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Johnson City Horizon 2045 project in final phase
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – For the last two years, Johnson City leaders have conducted citizen surveys and launched research projects into what the future of the city should look like. Thursday, the Johnson City Commission held a work session during which commissioners discussed updates to the city's Horizon 2045 project. Johnson City launches advisory committee for 'Horizon 2045' growth plan The joint session with the city planning commission went over the plan for the final phase of the project. During that time, planning consultant for Johnson City Whitney Hodges said officials have been listening to what the public said they want to see in Johnson City. 'We've had a citizen advisory commission just to kind of look through what we currently do, what we would like to see in the future, and kind of develop tools in order to create that vision,' said Hodges. 'We have done three kind of traditional public input sessions. We've done, I think, 15 different pop-up events where we've gone out to the public to ask their opinions. And then we've had 3-4, I would say, different online engagement.' A future land use map was shown in the presentation. Hodges said the map displays a vision for the mix and distribution of what land across Johnson City could be used for. Some of the uses include downtown, neighborhoods, and industrial. 'They are place-type designations,' said Hodges. 'Those place types will have kind of attributes and characteristics so that as we make decisions, it can give us some guidance as to what the community wanted to see at the time in order to create the vision that they're looking for, for Johnson City.' The land use map will be available to be viewed by the public starting Friday morning on the Horizon 2024 website. Hodges encourages the community to comment on what they want to see from the plan. 'There's a 30-day public comment period,' said Hodges. 'And we will give those comments to both the Planning Commission and the City Commission because both of those entities are willing to adopt this plan in order for it to be enforceable.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.