Downtown Affordable Housing projects secure $7.5 million

Albuquerque residents can expect 175 new affordable apartment units in Downtown and Barelas in the coming years, thanks in part to funds appropriated by the City Council on Monday.

The City Council approved the use of $7.5 million in capital outlay funds from the state for projects ranging from iconic Downtown building renovations to a new apartment campus in Barelas.

“These projects represent a significant investment in our community, directly addressing the critical need for affordable housing,” said Councilor Joaquin Baca, who carried the resolution. “By leveraging state funding, we are supporting innovative developments that not only provide homes for our residents but also contribute to the economic and social vitality of the Downtown and Barelas neighborhoods.”

Albuquerque has a significant shortage of units for low-income renters, a recent study by Root Policy Research found. It estimated that Albuquerque is 13,000 to 28,000 units short of meeting the demand for housing. Meanwhile, the mayor’s office estimates that 5,000 people are living on the streets in Albuquerque.

Over the past two decades, rent and house prices have risen faster than income nationwide, meaning low-income Americans are getting priced out and spending, at times, more than 30% of their paycheck to keep a roof over their heads, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.

While the promised development in Downtown will fill a gap, some community members said, it doesn’t help those on the bottom of the income ladder, who, they argued, are most in need.

Lomas Towers

Glowing green on the city’s skyline, the old Wells Fargo building at Third and Lomas is on the cusp of major redevelopment — though it’s set to lose its iconic lighting.

That being said, developer Adam Silverman hopes to “keep an homage to the past, but modernize it.”

Silverman’s Geltmore LLC development firm aims to keep the building’s original charm by holding on to furniture from the old Wells Fargo executive suite and leaving an intact vault, without disturbing future residents with bright lights.

Geltmore is partnering with California-based Lincoln Avenue Communities to turn the 13-story building into mixed-use housing.

Twelve stories of the building are dedicated to affordable housing, which will include 60 one-bedroom apartments and 40 two-bedroom apartments. The ground floor will be renovated into office and retail space, Silverman said.

“To become a 21st-century city, we need to have a good, functioning downtown,” Silverman said.

If all goes to plan, residents may be able to move in by the end of 2026, Silverman said. The apartments will be priced for those who make 70% of Albuquerque’s median income and capped at 80%, which for one person stands at $51,200 a year, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development guidelines for 2025.

Some worry that pricing is still too high to benefit those most in need.

“Let’s try to avoid rewarding wealthy developers who already profit off of middle-class workers without our tax subsidies,” said Janus Herrera during a public comment period. “I am support(ive) in moving forward with this project, but do hope to see additional projects looking at our very low-income renters.”

The Romero

Overlooking the Railyards at Second and Santa Fe, the planned three-story apartment complex will provide 69 units at varying rates of affordability, ranging from 30% to 80% of the city’s median income.

That range means that a person who makes around $18,000 a year and a person who makes nearly three times that will be living side by side.

The City Council awarded the project more than $1.9 million.

“The Barelas Community Coalition and Palindrome are thrilled that the City Council, led by Councilor Baca, passed legislation to provide this necessary first piece of the financing puzzle to support a high-quality affordable housing community in our Barelas neighborhood,” said Karina Ortiz, president of the Barelas Community Coalition Board of Directors, in a statement. “We are excited to now turn to applying to Housing New Mexico to complete the funding package and move forward with this transformative development.”

The Portland-based developer, Palindrome Communities, estimated the total project cost to be $20.8 million.

Gizmo art hub

The gallery and studio space, Sanitary Tortilla Factory on Second, is getting a major upgrade with six housing units to boot.

Sheri Crider, who founded and directs the gallery known for hosting eclectic art shows Downtown, plans to renovate the vacant Gizmo building on Central into a hub for artists from all walks of life.

The 53,000-square-foot, four-story building will house two galleries, 24 artist studios, a library, an art supply store, a print shop and six apartments for Crider’s reentry program.

The arts-based program hopes to help former inmates from the Metropolitan Detention Center readjust to life outside jail bars.

Though the more than $630,000 the council appropriated isn’t enough to renovate the upper floor into housing, it’s a jumpstart to getting the long-vacant building operable again.

“The funds for the elevator are amazing because it’s a huge ticket item, and I’m a small business owner trying to pull off this great big project,” Crider said. “Funds making those elevators functioning are essential.”

The funds will also be used to give the building’s exterior a facelift, without stuccoing over the space’s vintage charm.

“I’m looking at it kind of like a historic preservationist,” Crider said.

The Gizmo was once a J.C. Penney, which drew thousands of visitors on the day of its grand reopening in 1949, according to Journal archives.

Though the City Council has appropriated the funds, the developers await final approval from the State Mortgage Finance Authority and the New Mexico Department of Finance.