Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity is selected by the City of Santa Fe to develop five affordable homes on a quarter-acre vacant lot in the downtown historic district in partnership with B.PUBLIC Prefab.

Our nonprofit organization, which builds 6-8 homes annually for low-income families, has been on an urgent quest for affordable land on which to build more affordable homes, since our final lots in Oshara Village are nearly complete.

We partnered with B.PUBLIC to submit a competitive proposal to the City of Santa Fe in response to an RFQ to develop affordable green and low-energy homes downtown. We are thrilled that our plans were selected as the winner to develop this unique property, in collaboration with B.PUBLIC.

In 2022, we will shift our construction efforts downtown to 635 Alto Street to begin the project. The five homes will have an overall footprint of around 7,000 square feet and will feature a stucco exterior and flat roof, as dictated by the Historic Districts Review Board. We plan to build three three-bedroom homes and two two-bedroom homes.

The City’s intention for this donating this lot was to address barriers to housing in Santa Fe. The property is a small but desirable lot, just blocks from the historic plaza on the Santa Fe River. The winning proposal demonstrated capacity in affordability, concept, design, experience and demonstrated financial feasibility.

The houses on this lot will bring affordable housing to the heart of Santa Fe. Mayor Alan Webber said, “By dedicating this lot for affordable, high-quality, sustainable housing in a desirable area of downtown Santa Fe, the City is taking another step toward creating innovative and equitable housing solutions. When we talk about preserving the character of our neighborhoods in ways that are inclusive, this is the kind of development we have in mind. Thanks to all the respondents for their proposals, and congratulations to Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity and B.PUBLIC Prefab on their winning plan.”

This project will mark our first collaboration with B.PUBLIC, a women-owned public benefit corporation whose mission is to design high performance buildings with affordability in mind. Edie Dillman, CEO and Co-founder of the Santa Fe-based company said, “Santa Fe Habitat has been building homes for better comfort and energy savings for many years. By building this development with our pre-insulated structural walls, the community can see the shell of this project complete in a matter of days. Then we all can cheer staff, volunteers, and Partner Families as they complete construction. Our craftsman-built prefab is designed for 100-plus years of comfort and 80-90% energy savings. Now that is housing stability for occupants!”

To learn more about this project, view the articles below:

Santa Fe New Mexican – Article by Kim Shanahan

Santa Fe New Mexican – Article by Michael Tashji

B.PUBLIC – Press Release