International District could see $50 million boost from feds

The buzz has been building among city officials and International District residents about the prospect that up to $50 million in federal money could be funneled into an area that desperately needs it.

The city and the Albuquerque Housing Authority (AHA) were recently awarded a $500,000 Choice Neighborhoods Planning Grant through the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) that targets three public housing properties in the International District: the Wainwright Manor, Grove and Pennsylvania Street apartment complexes. The three total about 100 units of low-income housing that are in great need of redevelopment.

Officials now have about 18 months to confer with residents at the properties to assess their needs and meet with stakeholders across the International District to discuss ideas to address the area’s biggest challenges in order to assemble a plan solid enough that HUD will choose it to be implemented.

“I am so excited about this planning grant and then the implementation grant that could bring $50 million into the International District,” City Councilor Nichole Rogers said in a statement. “We have a real opportunity to transform the public housing in the International District into spaces that people want to live in. When the community gets to lead, big things happen.”

‘Not just housing’

AHA Executive Director Linda Bridge said the idea is that the housing redevelopment spurs other beneficial effects in the International District.

“You’re engaging in an initiative to help revitalization in the neighborhood,” she said. “So it’s not just focused on the housing, but it’s centered around the housing.” 

Bridge said the neighborhoods could see positive impacts in the areas of education, health and recreation, safety, employment and mobility if the funds are awarded.

While the AHA is independent from the city, the mayor appoints its board. It owns approximately 700 public housing units that are subsidized by HUD and manages housing programs for low-income households, like HUD’s Housing Choice Voucher Program, commonly known as Section 8.

Bridge said the International District was chosen over other public housing sites because it offers the best chance to land the implementation money. 

“We narrowed it down to a few, but ultimately decided this would make for the best application and potentially biggest impact for a neighborhood,” she said.

In 2016, the Denver Housing Authority received a $30 million implementation grant to help transform its impoverished Sun Valley community — an area with few amenities or economic opportunities. Denver officials are on track to replace 333 public housing units and expect 960 mixed-income units in all to be built in four phases, among other projects.

Bridge said the best case scenario for Albuquerque is to land the implementation money like Denver and put millions into the International District, but receiving the planning grant (the city’s second try) is a plus in and of itself.

“Even if it doesn’t happen, we want to have a transformation plan that we can still put to action and apply for other grants and other funding sources,” she said. “We hear from the community — there’s been a lot of planning, a lot of discussions and they want to see action.”

Next steps

The city and AHA have brought on planning consultants to assist with the process, including Borderless Studio, Collabo Planning and the University of New Mexico’s School of Architecture’s Design and Planning Assistance Center. A steering committee includes members of East Central Ministries, Endorphin Power Co., the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness and the SW Indigenous Housing Justice Collaborative, among many others.
Bridge said a community feedback event will likely be held in October.