A Platinum Pioneer in New MexicoBy Dani smith Photography By Patrick Coulie Photography Located in the heart of downtown Albuquerque is New Mexico’s newest mid-rise. Co-developed by the Supportive Housing Coalition of New Mexico and Romero Rose LLC, the Albuquerque affiliate of Jonathan Rose Companies, the state’s first LEED Platinum affordable housing complex is doing good by the environment and it’s community. Setting an example for affordable housing throughout New Mexico and the United States, Silver Gardens is not only the first LEED Platinum-certified affordable housing complex in the state, but it is also the first affordable housing project in the nation to receive funding for carbon offsets. In 2008, The Enterprise Green Communities Offset Fund purchased 330 tons of CO2 that will not be released into the environment because of the eco-conscious design of the building. “As a mission-based company, we would not embark on a project that was not environmentally responsible. The reasons for this are several: It is the right thing to do for our community and planet and for our residents and our children,” Homer Robinson, senior project manager for Romero Rose LLC, explained. With green consciousness being so much a part of the way Silver Gardens was built, features include rainwater harvesting, a mechanical system utilized for a heat recovery ventilator to increase ventilation inside the units and a wind turbine on top of the complex. Silver Gardens also serves as a model transitoriented community as it is located in a smart growth location close to the Alvarado Transportation Center on a redeveloped brownfield urban infill site. “… as long-term owners, green buildings just make more economical sense: They are more efficient and thus cheaper to operate and maintain, and residents have fewer health-related or utility bill-related concerns, and so turnover is typically lower,” Robinson, disclosed.  The project includes two phases; the first, which was completed April of 2010, consists of 66 units ranging from 445 to 934 square feet, with 85 percent reserved for those who earn 30 to 60 percent of the area median income. To get this $12.5 million project up and running, it took a lot of support, both public and private. Funded in part by the Federal Low Income Housing Tax credit, the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, the City of Albuquerque and the Los Alamos National Bank, it was also given $156,600 in grants from the Home Depot Foundation, the Enterprise Foundation and the Enterprise Carbon Offsets Fund. While the second phase, which is currently under construction, is expected to be complete by December 2011 and will include 55 units of which 90 percent will be determined by income. Both phases are emphatic about the inclusion of people from all types of backgrounds and incomes. “We actually try to do everything mixed-income so we have diversity,” Theresa A. Bell, principal of Romero Rose LLC, stated. “To me, the mix is important, and we prove that it doesn’t matter what the incomes are that people get along,” she continued. Designed under the Master Development Agreement between the city of Albuquerque and the Historic District Improvement Company, Silver Gardens is making an effort to address the shortfall of over 8,000 affordable rental units in the city. “Working with community groups and local governments, we often find that the rejuvenation of a depressed or neglected area begins with new, high-quality permanent housing. It is our mission and our passion,” Robinson said. In doing so, Silver Gardens is creating homes for people who would otherwise be without, providing those in need with a sense of home security and proving that regardless of income. Dani Smith is an assistant editor at Green Home Builder magazine. She may be contacted at dsmith@penpubinc.com. |
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