Multifamily housing is event focus

The Santa Fe Association of Realtors hosted a sold-out crowd of regional housing stakeholders at its first Multi-Family Housing Conference held onThursday, Sept. 28, at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center. The event was devoted to raising awareness of multi-family housing by providing a forum for key stakeholders to explore opportunities to promote, encourage and grow workforce housing in our region.

Todd Clarke kicked off the conference with a rental update and overview of the demographics that will drive multi-family housing in our region over the next decade. He shared that millennials and retirees will look for smaller rentals with targeted, unique features to attract these growing markets but they don’t necessarily want to live together in the same complexes.

Mr. Clarke was followed by a panel of regional multi-family developers whose projects were recently built-out, shovel-ready, or in the construction phase sharing their innovations and desire to build more multi-family in the region. Many expressed their keen support for the City of Santa Fe’s recently adopted Midtown Local Innovation Corridor (LINC) overlay district that has the potential to jumpstart redevelopment along the St. Michael’s Drive corridor. Matt O’Reilly, City of Santa Fe asset-development director, offered a brief overview of the overlay-district incentives for both property owners and developers.

Government help was highlighted by experts representing the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority (NMMFA) as well as Albuquerque and Santa Fe housing authorities. Government agencies provided updates on their local housing projects and goals. NMMFA representatives focused on sharing information on Low Income Housing Tax Credits, which provide the deepest subsidy available for affordable housing developments. The authority awards these federal tax credits through a competitive process every year. Alexandra Ladd, the city’s affordable-housing director, wrapped up the morning session with an overview of the city’s affordable housing programs.

After lunch, Manny Gonzalez, who serves as the managing principal for KTGY’s Los Angeles office, offered the keynote address. He provided a regional perspective on innovative multi-family housing projects across the Southwest. Mr. Gonzalez is an award-winning designer, land planner, and producer of residential and mixed-use developments across the United States. He serves on national architecture-award panels and shared a bevy of projects that are earning accolades that included projects using shipping containers to provide lowcost housing to veterans to art-inspired multi-family developments.

Attendees included housing industry organizations, policy makers, real-estate professionals, state and local government officials, state and local chamber of commerce representatives, builders and developers, and housing advocates from northern and central New Mexico.

Many thanks to our conference spon- sors who provided valuable underwriting for the conference: City and County of Santa Fe, New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, PNM Business Energy Efficiency Programs and the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors.

Copies of the presenters’ power points can be found on Santa Fe Association of Realtors website at www.sfar.com/bringworkers-home

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