Santa Fe officials seek applications from organization for affordable housing funds
More than $3.5 million administered by the city of Santa Fe is available for organizations working to help address the city's affordable housing crisis, but applicants have just over two weeks to craft and submit their proposals for the money.
City officials announced last week they are seeking requests for proposals for projects designed to bring down the cost of affordable housing construction or help residents become homeowners.
The city's Office of Affordable Housing has about $3 million to award from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund, along with $600,000 from the federal Community Development Block Grant program. Applicants have until 3 p.m. Feb. 14 to submit proposals.
Johanna Nelson, the interim director of the city's Office of Affordable Housing, said there is no limit, beyond the amount of funding available, on a proposal's monetary size. The city is using the request for proposal process to dish out money in both programs, so each application must meet specific guidelines and state laws related to procurement. That means the details are important, she said.
'There are a lot of steps,' Nelson said. 'But going through the RFP process adds another level of protection to make sure everybody's getting fair play.'
After city officials have vetted and reviewed proposals and conducted follow-up interviews with applicants, the Community Development Commission will evaluate the projects' scores and make recommendations to the City Council on which organizations should receive the money.
Nelson said the process typically takes a couple of months to unfold, meaning applicants may know by early spring whether their proposals have been successful.
'We are expecting to have a healthy pool of applicants,' she said, noting Santa Fe is fortunate to have so many organizations trying to solve the affordable housing issue. 'It's always a healthy competition.'
Applicants must follow the city's bid process to the letter, Nelson emphasized, as incomplete proposals will not be considered.
Two virtual training sessions were scheduled Monday to help applicants navigate the bid process, she added. The events were recorded and are available for viewing, the city said in a news release. Each session was expected to last approximately 90 minutes.
Additionally, members of the city's procurement team will be available to answer questions and help applicants complete their proposals, Nelson said.
She expects the proposals to include some creative potential solutions to the housing crisis.
'We're really optimistic,' she said.
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