A new apartment complex breaking ground in West Old Town aims to fill a gap in New Mexico’s housing market for working households that earn too much for most subsidies yet struggle to afford market-rate rents or homeownership.
Michelle Lujan Grisham, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, developers and business leaders marked the start of construction Monday on La Curva Apartments. Palindrome Development is replacing a former motel site along Central Avenue with the project, which targets households earning between $54,000 and $81,000 a year.
Officials describe this group as the “missing middle.” City officials said the development will also help revitalize vacant and deteriorating properties along the Central corridor.
“When you look up and down Central Avenue, the thing we hear about is too many vacant lots, too many dilapidated properties,” Terry Brunner of the city’s Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency said. The first phase is expected to deliver 70 units in 2027, with a possible second phase adding another 70.
Mayor Keller said the project reflects a vision for a more vibrant, mixed-use and mixed-income Route 66 corridor.
According to New Mexico’s Housing Needs Assessment, the statewide median rent is $1,021 a month. A household needs to earn at least $41,000 annually — about $20 an hour — to afford that rent, yet roughly half of New Mexico households earn less. Households earning between 80% and 120% of area median income make up about one in five New Mexicans, and the assessment identifies a shortage of rental housing available to that income range.
The $22.35 million project is financed in part by a $15 million loan from the state’s Opportunity Enterprise Fund and a 14-year tax abatement. In return, developers must offer below-market rents to qualifying households.
“We are providing a product for individuals who are working but cannot seem to have the incomes to qualify for traditional affordable housing,” Rebecca Valarde, director of development for Palindrome, said.
The assessment notes the state’s most severe housing shortage is among households earning less than a full-time minimum-wage salary, the group represents about one in four New Mexico households.
