Uptown affordable housing project nears funding finish line

The Bernalillo County Commission approved $46 million in revenue bonds Tuesday to help subsidize the construction of two apartment buildings that will bring more than 200 affordable housing units to Uptown.

The project hopes to draw low-to-middle-income residents to an area that is already filled with jobs, amenities and public transit, city of Albuquerque planners said.

Uptown Connect is estimated to cost $115 million in total, and through a combination of federal, state, municipal and private dollars, the project is nearing its funding finish line, according to county officials.

“Uptown is one of the most desirable and walkable areas of our city with community spaces like Winrock Park and Park Square Market growing that vibrancy,” County Commission Chair Eric Olivas said in a statement Wednesday. “This collaboration across governments and the private sector builds on the strengths of the neighborhood while adding much needed, quality affordable housing.”

The commission will vote on final approval for the bonds in January 2026.

In New Mexico, revenue bonds, which in this case were issued by the county, work similarly to a loan, with a lender purchasing the bond and the developer paying off the debt with revenue from future rent payments. Having bond funding also unlocks tax exemptions and credits that make construction cheaper and incentivize affordable housing, according to Rebecca Velarde, director of development for Palindrome Communities, the firm behind the project.

The apartment complex, which will include a four-story tower and a six-story tower, is planned around ABQ Ride’s preexisting Uptown Transit Center at Indian School and Louisiana NE. The project is expected to increase ridership on city buses and lower single-person car ownership among residents, according to estimates in a city of Albuquerque grant application.

When built, Uptown Connect will be the first affordable housing complex in the neighborhood. There are approximately 13,000 jobs in the Uptown area, said ABQ Ride’s principal planner Lawrence Kline, but many workers can’t afford to live there.

“Multiple millions of square feet of commercial and office (space) and not one affordable housing unit in the entire area,” Kline said.

The neighborhood offers multiple grocery stores, banks, shopping centers and office buildings within a half mile, making it highly walkable — for those who can afford it.

The new complex will feature primarily affordable housing, 50% of which will be reserved for people who make $32,000 a year or less. There will also be 36 apartments that are not income restricted and are rented out at market rate, Velarde said.

On top of housing, the project will revamp the transit center, as well as add 11,000 and 8,000 square feet of commercial and office space.

Palindrome hopes to break ground in the first half of 2026, Velarde said, and be move-in ready by mid-2028, pending funding from the state.