Green, Affordable Housing Plans in New Mexico Take Shape

A new $7 million multifamily project that combines affordable housing and green design broke ground yesterday in Gallup.

The Chuska Apartments will be a 30-unit project serving residents who make between 30 and 60 percent of the area’s median income. Ten of the units will be set aside as transitional housing for homeless families with children.

Conceived by the Supportive Housing Coalition of New Mexico, the project was one of the winners of the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority’s (MFA) 2006 tax credit design competition.

The majority of funding came from a $6.5 million tax credit equity that leverages more than $1 million in additional financing, including a $25,000 Green Communities grant from The Enterprise Foundation, a $50,000 land donation from the city of Gallup, $189,000 from the New Mexico Capital Outlay grant, and a $15,000 development initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Communities.

MFA will provide additional construction financing, consisting of a $650,000 loan through its Primero program and a $400,000 Housing Trust Fund loan.

With first-time home buyers facing affordability issues in the state, this is hopefully the first step in correcting such a problem.