Albuquerque moves forward with plan to transform hotels, motels into housing units

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The City of Albuquerque is asking local hotels and motels to play a role in one of its creative ideas to bring more housing units online quicker, and at a lower cost. 

The city recently pushed out a request for information from any and all property owners who might be interested in selling. The city would then take the lead in renovating them into housing units.

“We’re just inviting property owners to submit some information to us about their property,” said Lisa Huval, deputy director of Housing in the Family and Community Services Department. “Things like number of rooms, what is the current zoning, are there kitchenettes, what is the condition of the property.”

The city is casting a wide net and won’t rule out any property size or location. 

“I think for some folks maybe that property just isn’t producing the level of income it needs to be producing, maybe they’re interested in getting into a different line of business,” said Huval. “That could really be a range of properties across the city.”

The approach is just one piece of the city’s Housing Forward initiative it launched last fall.

“We know we have a housing crisis and part of solving the housing crisis is urgency,” said Huval. “We have to be able to bring more units online more quickly. This isn’t going to solve all of it, but this will help solve a chunk of it if we can do it well.”

Huval says communities in California, Texas, and Colorado have already used this model, and have proven conversion can be successful. 

If you’re an owner considering selling your property, you can find the city’s request for information here.