Santa Fe is experiencing an extended building boom with record numbers of development projects planned, under construction, or recently completed. Planning and Land Use Department Director Eli Isaacson reports that roughly 5,000 residential units are either under construction or in the development pipeline, in addition to 760 completed since 2019.
“This is a level of housing production the city hasn’t seen in a long time,” says Isaacson. “We are making significant impact in addressing the housing needs of the community.”
Alexandra Ladd, Director of the Office of Affordable Housing, says there is more affordable housing inventory coming along with the building boom. There are also new funding sources to go along with the $1.8 million that was put into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund recently, and the $3 million budget that is guaranteed to the fund in the new fiscal year. Ladd projects that the increases in new housing across all price points will eventually drive prices down into the affordable range for people who are currently priced out of the market or burdened by unsustainable housing costs.
The City is also moving forward with a Growth Management Planning Study that will connect growth to water infrastructure, jobs, transit, and amenities. The mission is to support an overall quality of life while conserving essential natural resources.
Photo courtesy of Siler Yard Arts + Creativity Center
