Here's how Albuquerque used the $23 million Housing Forward Fund
Apr. 27—The city of Albuquerque in recent years spent about $23 million on affordable housing projects, which included a costly staircase repair, motel conversions and seed money for commercial-to-housing transformations of iconic Albuquerque towers.
A funding review presented to the Albuquerque City Council last week highlighted how the Housing Forward Fund, created in 2022 and 2023, was spent, even as some councilors questioned why a significant portion of the fund was used for maintenance.
Like much of New Mexico, Albuquerque is struggling with an affordable housing crisis, a major contributor to homelessness. A 2024 Denver-based Root Policy Research report, titled "Albuquerque Region Housing Needs Assessment," found a significant shortage of units for low-income renters. Additionally, the report found that residents were spending more than a third of their monthly income on housing and that occupied units, such as apartments and single-family homes, often had more residents than rooms available.
In 2022, Mayor Tim Keller announced "Housing Forward ABQ," intending to grow the city's affordable housing stock by 5,000 units. As part of the initiative, the Mayor's Office sought to convert motels into housing and reform zoning laws.
That same year, the City Council appropriated $20 million of gross receipts taxes for the Housing Forward Fund. The following year, the council added another $3 million to the fund. Most of the money has been spent.
The council questioned spending $3.3 million to renovate a stairway at the Beach Apartments .
"Three-point-three million is a lot of money to fix stairs," Councilor Renée Grout said during the meeting, adding that she thought the costly repair should've been avoided.
The Beach Apartments, in the 2500 block of Tingley Drive SW, were built in 1984 and acquired by the city in 1991. The apartments contain 74 units. Residents in 23 units were removed so that construction could occur. The report noted that the affected residents were "given proper notification and relocation benefits."
"The particular architect, although a famous architect and really good in terms of designs, created some structural issues," said Joseph Montoya, deputy director for Health, Housing and Homelessness. "So what they did is they created a stairway case that was actually attached to the structure itself and then covered everything up."
Montoya said the staircase was necessary because it played a foundational role in the building's structure. He added that the repairs were ongoing.
Conversions were another major highlight of the report.
For example, the fund was used to convert SureStay Motel into the Los Altos Lofts, 10330 Hotel Ave NE. The report noted that the property near Los Altos Park was acquired in 2023 for $5.7 million, funded by a combination of state and federal grants. The city then contributed about $6.1 million from the Housing Forward Fund for construction .
The Los Altos Lofts now contain 90 affordable housing units with kitchenettes and a swimming pool. Montoya told councilors the project has no debt and operates off of revenue generated from tenants. As of February 2024, the report found that 95% of the units have been leased.
While the SureStay Motel conversion was successful, the conversion of the former Quality Suites in the 1500 block of Gibson SE failed. In 2024, the city planned to purchase the property for $5.3 million from the Housing Forward Fund and sent an offer letter to the property owners. The report stated the property was attractive to the city due to its large units and kitchenettes.
"However, during its inspections, there were considerable environmental, structural and system concerns that made the project cost-prohibitive to move forward," the report stated.
Ultimately, the city only spent $6,600 on the inspection.
The Housing Forward Fund was also used for the West Mesa Ridge A in the 700 block of Coors NW. Once complete, this mixed-use development will have 128 affordable housing units. Approximately $3 million was allocated to redevelopment efforts aimed at converting iconic commercial buildings, such as the Lomas Tower and the Two Park Central Tower, into rental units.
Earlier this year, the City Council allocated $1.5 million to improve the energy efficiency of the city's 594 units across eight apartment communities. The city used $776,638 for overhead costs.
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