Public housing authorities receive $11.8M in federal funding

Public housing authorities in New Mexico are set to receive $11.8 million from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the state’s congressional delegation announced Monday.

The funding is provided through the agency’s Capital Fund Program, meant to be used for financing, building, renovating and modernizing public housing developments.

The coming appropriation is a $133,000 increase over last year’s funding for New Mexico and will aid 21 public housing authorities across the state. “Housing authorities can use the funding to complete large-scale improvements such as replacing roofs or making energy-efficient upgrades to heating systems and installing water conservation measures,” New Mexico’s congressional delegates said in a news release. More than $1 million will go to the Santa Fe area, with about $627,000 allocated for both the Santa Fe County Housing Authority and the Santa Fe Civic Housing Authority. The Rio Arriba County Housing Authority is set to receive about $193,000, and the Albuquerque Housing Authority will receive the largest appropriation in the state at about $2.4 million.

“This $11.8 million investment from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will help local housing authorities make necessary repairs, upgrade to energy-efficient heating systems, and conserve water,” U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández said in the release.

“Everyone deserves to live with dignity in a safe, reliable location,” she added. “The $6 million going to housing authorities across my district will help New Mexicans do just that.”