Latest news with #HousingForwardFund
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
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.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Yahoo
KRQE Newsfeed: Baby in dumpster, CYFD investigation, Warming up, Graduation rates, Love in the clouds
'Housing Forward Fund' to bring over 1,000 affordable housing units to Albuquerque Alleged Venezuelan gang member arrested at Doña County judge's home 1 dead after Rail Runner collides with vehicle in Los Lunas Former top 100 recruit commits to Lobos Portales police investigate shooting that injured juvenile New Mexico Highlands University sues FEMA over HPCC Fire compensation Istanbul earthquake measuring 6.2 leaves buildings, residents shaken: 'It threw us around' [1] APD: Newborn baby found dead in a dumpster – APD says officers were called out around 3:30 a.m. Tuesday after people digging through a dumpster found a dead newborn baby, partially wrapped in a blanket. APD says the individuals immediately alerted a security guard in the area. Police are not sharing details of the gender of the newborn or ow long the baby may have been in the dumpster. Police believe whoever the mother is may need medical attention. They are urging anyone with information to come forward. [2] New Mexico Attorney General launches investigation into CYFD – New Mexico's Attorney General is now investigating CYFD with the goal being to provide a blueprint of the issues that have plagued the agency and how to fix them. Raul Torrez said the agency is not being transparent about incidents that have left children under state supervision injured or dead. Torrez said the investigation will seek detailed records of events leading up to deaths or injury of children under CYFD supervision. The results will go to the newly created office of the child advocate, to provide a blueprint of the issues that have plagued the agency. [3 ]Warmer than normal with storms in far-East New Mexico – Isolated storms will be possible in eastern New Mexico through Saturday. High temperatures will stay above average all week long. Temperatures will also continue to stay well-above average for this time of year through the weekend. Westerly winds will increase across the state beginning Friday, bringing potentially even warmer temperatures by Saturday afternoon. Windier weather Sunday will likely bring a high fire danger across the state. A cold front will cool highs back down to around average again early next week. [4] Graduation rate increases for Albuquerque Public Schools – APS says they're seeing more students earn their caps and gowns than in years past. APS says the class of 2024 had a nearly 76% graduation rate, up from roughly 72% the previous year. They say increasing attendance and an early warning system to let students know about low grades have helped improve student success. The district's graduation rate is still below the 87% national average. [5] Balloon Fiesta showcased in new Hallmark movie – Albuquerque native Lisa Hepner knew her home state had everything needed to make a great film. So Hepner got to work writing and completing 'Love in the Clouds.' The storyline revolves around an out of town news reporter who comes to cover Balloon Fiesta and meets and falls for a hot air balloon pilot. Most of the filming took place at Balloon Fiesta Park. Love in the Clouds premieres on Hallmark on May 10. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘Housing Forward Fund' to bring over 1,000 affordable housing units to Albuquerque
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) — An initiative by One Albuquerque is expected to bring over 1,000 affordable-housing units to Albuquerque. The 'Housing Forward Fund' consists of $23 million for addressing Albuquerque's housing supply. Story continues below Trending: ABQ family defies all odds after their fetus received a rare diagnosis Breaking: Pope Francis dies at 88 Crime: Repeat International District murder suspect facing new charges Here's a look at the funded projects: 'Los Altos Lofts ($6.2M) – The City converted a former motel on Hotel Avenue, near Lomas and Eubank, into 90 affordable housing units. 86 units are leased, with multiple applications pending for the remaining units. West Mesa Ridge ($8M) – Funding was awarded to YES Housing's West Mesa Ridge affordable housing development. The 128-unit project at 701 Coors NW includes affordable one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments. Beach Apartments Staircase Repairs ($3.3M) – The City is working toward the reconstruction of 42 staircases. Energy Efficiency Upgrades ($1.5M) – Improvements to 594 City-owned units to reduce costs for residents and the environmental impact. This is being achieved through a contract with ICAST. Commercial Property Conversions ($3M) – Supporting projects that transform underused commercial spaces into housing. This includes redeveloping the Wells Fargo building at Lomas and Third into about 100 affordable housing units. Funding will also go to the Park Central Apartments, a vacant office building at Central and San Mateo. Once completed, the building will be transformed into 155 housing units.' The fund is compromised of $20 million in gross receipts tax and $3 million in general funding. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
