New ‘Welcome Guide’ available

The Santa Fe Association of Realtors has published a revised version of the Santa FeWelcome Guide for new residents and emergency-services workers. The first edition of the Guide was produced with the support of a $2,500 Housing Opportunity Program grant from the National Association of Realtors. The Guide features information on city and county services, affordable housing programs, recreation, health care, education, transportation, homeowner tips, things to do and see, social services, and even a lingo section to help newcomers pronounce place names like a Santa Fean. More importantly, the Guide incorporates a detailed and extensive list of affordable-housing programs found here in Santa Fe.

The Santa Fe Association of Realtors (SFAR) is committed to ensuring that emergency (fire, police, and hospital) workers have access to the best and most comprehensive affordable-housing information to encourage them to live and work in Santa Fe. It remains a vital need that our local police and fire workers can find affordable homes or rentals in Santa Fe to prevent long, out-of-town commutes as well as being a part of our local community. Realtors continue to work to find ways to address the problem. The association has attracted national funding to encourage the redevelopment of the St. Michael’s corridor to encourage multi-family housing through regulatory advocacy, a local Midtown Alliance, the development of a website to promote the city’s new Midtown LINC Overlay District, and other supportive projects.

Santa FeWelcome Guide 2017 is a valuable tool for newcomers, especially those looking to settle in and better access the valuable and diverse services available to our residents. Having the Santa Fe Welcome Guide available to the public and our members’ clients in an electronic format is ideal; it offers live website links to area sites, so folks can connect easily to get more specific details on services and things to do.

TheWelcome Guide is available on the association’s website: www.sfar.com. The digital version will be updated regularly and the printed version annually. Printed copies of the Santa FeWelcome Guide will be provided to local police and fire recruitment staff to share with new recruits. The revised electronic copy will be provided to Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center to share as needed with newly hired medical staff.

The Santa Fe Association of Realtors welcomes feedback from local businesses, organizations, and readers about the Guide, including ways to addmore specific and accurate information of interest to newcomers, emergency workers, and the general public. For more information on the Santa FeWelcome Guide 2017, visit www.sfar.com.

Paco Arguello is chief executive of the Santa Fe Association of Realtors. Contact him at 982-8385 or paco@sfar.com.