In an effort to spur new affordable housing projects, the City of Albuquerque is putting on the table some $9 million in additional public funding.
The funding, which is coming from a variety of sources including previous voter-approved bonds and federal grants, could lead to the construction of up to have a dozen new projects.
City officials have said that Albuquerque has an immediate need of at least 30,000 residential units and are hoping the availability of new funding sources will spur developer interest in such projects.
In a press release issued by the city’s Health, Housing & Homelessness Department, it is noted that two Request for Proposals with submission deadlines of September are being issued for two big projects.
The first project will see $4.2 million going for senior housing construction; with another $2.7 million for gap funding to develop a separate project.
The nearly $9 million in potential support is part of a larger $23 million first announced earlier this summer by the City for a handful of individual housing projects.
According to City documents, the funding is specifically available for the “new construction or acquisition/rehabilitation and/or preservation of affordable mixed-income, multi-family rental housing developments.”
In announcing the funding availability, Mayor Tim Keller said the City was putting up the money “to make sure we get more projects in the pipeline for all of Albuquerque.”
Securing city funding is often regarded as the first step for a developer hoping to leverage tax credits through the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority.
By Garry Boulard
Image Credit: Courtesy of Unsplash
