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Vacant lots could become homes under new city plan
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Albuquerque is seeking proposals to turn vacant city-owned lots into affordable housing, dangling free property as an incentive.
The request for information comes before a bid process that may see the city give away vacant land to developers after collecting ideas for developing empty plots and turning them into affordable housing.
The goal is to find new ideas to address the city’s housing crisis, according to Joseph Montoya, deputy director of Health, Housing and Homelessness.
“We wanted to know if we had people interested in developing affordable housing, and of course, in this case, we can give the property away,” Montoya said.
Like much of New Mexico, Albuquerque struggles with an affordable housing crisis. The city estimates that demand for housing outpaces supply by about 13,000 to 28,000 units. That means higher rents and a growing homeless population.
Montoya said this project, along with others, is one of many in which the city has started to try and fill that gap.
“Hopefully, we’ll have interest on all the lots. That’s our hope because there’s such a dire need here,” Montoya said.
The city announced the request for information on May 12 and included a map highlighting eleven city-owned properties that could be developed into housing. Eight properties are west of the Rio Grande, and many are empty lots in residential areas.
“A lot of them already have infrastructure on them; all of them are already zoned,” Montoya said. “So, from our perspective, these are lots that we already know that are appropriate for the development of affordable housing.”
The request for information period ends May 30. After that, the city will review the ideas and set up bids. Montoya hopes the incentive of free land will lead to quick development.
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“Anytime you’re giving away free land, I think that’s a win-win,” Montoya said. “That’s the incentive right there.”
