City releases timeline for affordable housing option in Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Earlier this year, the city announced plans to buy and renovate a vacant hotel in the metro and turn it into affordable housing. 

Now, the city says it has a timeline for when people can start moving in. 

“Over 70% of the people can’t afford the median price of a home right now,” said Joseph Montoya, deputy director of the Housing, Homelessness and Health Department. 

Montoya says that’s where the Albuquerque housing market is at now. Over the last few years, the city has been working to address the housing crisis by creating affordable housing. 

Earlier this year, the city broke ground on the Calle Cuarta affordable apartments. But efforts are also on renovating properties. 

“A lot of hotels are aged, and they’re dated, and they’re simply not bringing in the income that normally did. And this is a good way to provide more housing, more affordable housing,” said Montoya. 

The city has been working on this old SureStay hotel near Eubank and Lomas. 

Montoya says the hotel will be converted to 90 apartment units and construction is on schedule. 

“It’s a three-phase project, and so the first phase should be done by the end of December. And so it’d be moving people in by that time,” Montoya said. 

Montoya says the city is planning on having the first 30 units ready to move in by the end of the year, and then more units ready in the spring. 

There is a possibility of the city buying more hotels in the future, but nothing’s been purchased right now. 

“On the average right now, you’re talking $40 million total, for a little over 100 units, right? So we’re talking some really big numbers. And so for the city to invest those kinds of numbers in order to increase the amount is a substantial commitment by the city,” said Montoya. 

Montoya says these new affordable apartments are going to be a mix of income ranges and rent is based on individual families. 

The City of Albuquerque also released this set of strategies officials say will help keep them on track to build 1,000 affordable housing units a year: