Community

Villa de San Felipe

Location

701 Coal SW—Downtown Albuquerque

Size

161 units—40% set aside for low income

Year Built:

2001

Est. Project cost:

$9M

Problem:

Land was assembled by the City of Albuquerque—neighborhood associations resisted more housing, GSA was using lack of downtown housing as an impetus to move government jobs outside of downtown.  Developer of adjacent sister community was unwilling to pay the City market value for the site.

Services Provided:

Market study to the City

Consulting services for the RFP

Grading of RFP respondents

Presentation of findings to City Council

Market Study for Tax Credit Application

Negotiated with Tax Credit investors

Negotiated with Developers

Outcome:

The community had over 400 applications

colorful scheme and name appeased neighborhoods, traditionalists, downtown advocates.

About the name—Villa de San Felipe

For the purpose of creating an identity for the RFP process on the site, the name San Felipe was selected.  The name can be traced to two historic buildings in the area: a downtown hotel and the San Felipe de Neri Church located in Old Town.

The San Felipe Hotel was located on the southwest corner of Gold and Fifth Avenue.  Gold Avenue was once considered Albuquerque’s “Wall Street” as it contained a majority of the banks and financial business that the city depended on.  The three-story hotel contained 80 rooms and was originally constructed in 1883 for $103,000, and was later destroyed in a downtown fire.

The San Felipe de Neri church located on the north side of the Old Town Square dates back to the 1800’s and represents one of the oldest churches in America.  Old Town was Albuquerque’s original central business district, until the 1800’s when the railroad came to Albuquerque one mile to the east.  Eventually, as the shift of business from Old Town to New Town (now called downtown) occurred, Old Town repositioned itself as a tourist attraction. Reminiscent of early Albuquerque architecture, the enduring quality of the San Felipe de Neri church is a legacy shared by many generations.

Additionally, prior to its incorporation as a city, Albuquerque was known as Villa de San Felipe de Neri de Albuquerque.