Archives: Projects

Projects

Hope Village – Hope Village is a 42-unit supportive housing building north of Downtown Albuquerque that includes behavioral health and lifesaving support services for chronically homeless people with mental illness and addiction issues. The building features trauma-informed design elements with 1-bedroom units on the second and third floors of the building, and common areas, behavioral health and case management services, and a security office on the first floor. Outdoor spaces include a shaded courtyard, community garden area, a safe space for individuals that need additional time to transition from living outside to living indoors. Consensus Planning provided entitlement services, assisted the project architects to ensure compliance with the City’s Integrated Development Ordinance, assisted with the Development Agreement as it related to neighborhood engagement and relations, coordinated with and facilitated meetings with nearby neighborhood associations, and landscape design services.

Tiny Home Village – Tiny Home Village is a 30-unit cooperative community in the Southeast Heights that includes a communal kitchen, laundry, bathroom, showers, office, and meeting rooms; and outdoor community spaces. Consensus Planning worked with the Project Team and City Planning to develop a zoning strategy to allow the development of this unique transitional housing project. The entitlement process involved extensive community outreach, education, and participation in community and neighborhood association meetings. The Tiny Homes Village project received strong community support.

PAH! Hiland Plaza – PAH! Hiland Plaza is a 92-unit, 4-story mixed-use project on Central Avenue developed by the Greater Albuquerque Housing Partnership. The project sets aside 85% of the units for low income families at the 60% area median income level, and includes pass-through funding of HOME dollars from HUD, project-based vouchers from the Albuquerque Housing Authority, and state allocated low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC). The building design is inspired by the Streamline Moderne style along Albuquerque’s Route 66 and includes several elements of this unique style, including curving corners, sweeping horizontals, contrasting colors, and bold neon signage. PAH! Hiland Plaza was developed in in partnership with the Deaf Culture Center of New Mexico. Consensus Planning provided project entitlement services, including approvals for the site plan and variances to the building facades.

Gateway Center – The Gateway Center is a City of Albuquerque project designed to provide temporary housing for people experiencing homelessness. In 2019, the City was given a mandate from Albuquerque voters who approved $14 million in GO bonds for a facility that provides temporary housing for people experiencing homelessness in Albuquerque. Consensus Planning provided entitlement and planning services on the project, including a conditional use required for overnight shelters. We also assisted the Family and Community Services Department with an extensive public outreach effort. The project was controversial, but after going through a lengthy appeal process, the City has moved forward with the project.

The Sundowner – The Sundowner was designed as an adaptive reuse of a historic motel on Central Avenue (Historic Route 66) for mixed-income housing. Consensus Planning provided assistance to NewLife Homes on entitlements, including a zone map amendment and site plan, and landscape design services. The project included the development of three different parking levels that were tied to the level of need being served. The project was appealed by an adjacent property owner and Consensus Planning provided planning support through the appeal process, which was ultimately denied by the City.

Luna Lodge – Luna Lodge was designed as an adaptive reuse of a historic motel on Central Avenue (Historic Route 66) for persons with mental illness, physical disabilities, the elderly, and persons who are homeless. Consensus Planning provided assistance to NewLife Homes on entitlements, including a zone map amendment and site plan, and landscape design services. Luna Lodge is on the National Historic register, which required balancing historic preservation concerns with the redevelopment and adaptive reuse of the property. Prior to construction, NewLife Homes secured approval from the National Park Service for the project.

Broadway and McKnight Affordable Housing – Consensus Planning was engaged by the Albuquerque Housing Authority to secure zoning and site plan approvals, and be the primary point of contact to the Santa Barbara Martineztown neighborhood for a redevelopment project on Broadway Boulevard. The redevelopment project replaced the previous 30-unit residential development, which was developed in the 1970’s and had fallen into severe disrepair, with a new 54-unit townhouse and apartment project. Prior to construction, the Albuquerque Housing Authority assisted existing residents with other housing and gave those residents priority in moving back to the community.  The project was designed with the units oriented towards Broadway and McKnight streets with porches and direct connections to the adjacent public sidewalk. The primary vehicular entrance was relocated from Broadway Boulevard to McKnight Avenue. A combination opaque block wall with view fencing above lines the south property edge that abuts Martineztown-Santa Barbara Park.  Common amenities include a community building, play spaces with equipment, benches, and a community garden.

The Ports-to-Plains Economic Impact Study examined a segment of the international Ports-to-Plains Trade Corridor (US Highway 87/64) in northeast New Mexico and the potential effects on the local communities (Union County, Town of Clayton, Colfax County, City of Raton) of designating the route as an Interstate Highway. This study reflected a broader effort to establish the entirety of the Ports-to-Plains High Priority Corridor as part of the Interstate Highway System from Canada to Mexico. It was conducted on behalf of the Eastern Plains Council of Governments (EPCOG) for use by the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT).

In order to address the impacts of an Interstate Highway designation on this region, the study involved conducting research and analysis on northeast New Mexico’s primary industries, economic development opportunities, existing transportation and mobility conditions, and the existing physical infrastructure of the route. A series of stakeholder interviews were conducted with representatives from the energy, tourism, and agriculture industries to ascertain their opinions on the potential impact of the Interstate Highway designation. The study included the following elements:

∙         Economic development impacts of the Interstate Highway designation on northeast New Mexico with an emphasis on employment projections;

∙         Analysis of the current conditions and future trends for the agriculture, energy, and tourism industries in northeast New Mexico;

∙         Evaluation of existing physical infrastructure conditions along the route and identification of the requirements, costs, and impacts of an Interstate Highway designation;

∙         Analysis of the route’s existing traffic and freight movement patterns, and generation of future projections relevant to assessing the effects of an Interstate Highway designation; and

∙         Stakeholder interviews and analysis to identify qualitative perspectives on the potential impacts of the Interstate Highway designation. 

Subsequent to completing the study, President Biden signed the FY2022 Omnibus Appropriations legislation on March 15, 2022. This legislation included the designation of the entire Ports-to-Plains Corridor in Texas and New Mexico as a future Interstate Highway. The Ports-to-Plains Alliance and its partners continue efforts to obtain highway construction funding for both the future Interstate and expansion to four-lanes along the entire corridor.

Ohkay Owingeh, the “Place of the Strong People”,  is home to approximately 2,964 Tribal Members. It is situated along the fertile valleys and mesas carved out by the Rio Chama and Rio Grande, and  between the City of Española and the Town of Taos, within Rio Arriba County. The landscape features mountains, foothills, mesas, and the bosque that runs along and contains the confluence of the Rio Chama and Rio Grande, as well as wetlands and lakes.

The Ohkay Owingeh Land Use Master Plan is an update to the previous Land Use Master Plan that was completed in 2004. The goal of the Land Use Master Plan is to help facilitate and guide new development that is appropriate and consistent with the vision, cultural traditions, and carrying capacity of Ohkay Owingeh. It encourages commerce and economic development activities, while preserving other lands to be used for residential development, agriculture and grazing, cultural practices, and open space.

The Land Use Master Plan is intended to provide the necessary framework for decision making by Tribal Council regarding where to locate new housing, community facilities, and commercial and industrial development, while remaining respectful of Ohkay Owingeh traditional practices and way of life. It describes the interconnectivity between land use, economic development, transportation, and infrastructure. The provision of and investments made on transportation and infrastructure systems influence and shape land use patterns and future development.

HopeWorks has served Albuquerque’s homeless population at its Downtown location between Third and Fourth Streets, just north of Mountain Road for many years. The site is a lifeline for individuals who need food, behavioral and mental health, case management, employment counseling, and other vital life services. Consensus Planning has been an integral part of the project team of HopeWorks, YES Housing, Mullen Heller Architects, and the City of Albuquerque Department of Family and Community Services that has worked diligently on the Hope Village project to help address the growing homeless population in Albuquerque. Our services have included project entitlements, assisting the project architects to ensure compliance with the City’s Integrated Development Ordinance, assistance with the Development Agreement as it related to neighborhood engagement and relations, ongoing coordination with and facilitation of meetings with nearby neighborhood associations, and landscape design services.

Hope Village has been designed as a 42-unit supportive housing building that includes behavioral health and lifesaving support services for chronically homeless people with mental illness and addiction issues. The 3-story building features trauma-informed design elements with 1-bedroom, 400-square foot residential units on the second and third floors of the building, and common areas, behavioral health and case management services, and a security office on the first floor. Outdoor spaces include a shaded courtyard, community garden area, a safe space for individuals that need additional time to transition from living outside to living indoors, and parking. Hope Village is the first project of its kind in New Mexico and will serve as a model for other cities in the state. It has been jointly funded by the City of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, and the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority.

Hope Village, Albuquerque’s first permanent supportive housing project, was named ‘Best Small Project,’ defined by construction cost under $10 million, by Engineering New-Record (ENR) Southwest Region’s 2022 Best Project Awards. Hope Village won top honors in its category from projects submitted in Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico.

Titan Nob Hill is a new multi-family, single-block redevelopment project that addresses a blighted property in the Upper Nob Hill Metropolitan Redevelopment Area on Central Avenue (Historic Route 66). The project is adjacent to and interfaces with the new Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART) system that has been completed with a station located adjacent to this property. The property included an old motor court lodge and since it was over 50-years old, it required demolition approval from the City’s Landmark’s Commission. Once the demolition permit was approved, the project required approval of three separate variances addressing fencing, east façade glazing, and ground floor glazing requirements on the west façade. Once the variances were approved, Consensus Planning worked with Whitneybell Perry architects and Isaacson & Arfman civil engineers on a Site Plan – DRB. We held several meetings with the Nob Hill Neighborhood Association that resulted in their support for all aspects of the project. The project is currently under construction.

Inspiration is an 89-acre planned single family neighborhood on Albuquerque’s west side. The property includes several sensitive land constraints that required special analysis, coordination, and design considerations. These include rugged terrain, steep slopes, drainage issues, and adjacency to City Open Space and the Petroglyph National Monument. The property is within the Western Albuquerque Sector Development Plan that was approved by the City of Albuquerque. One challenge was to determine the regulatory framework created by a combination of the Sector Plan and the new Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO).

The final design includes 327 residential lots with a centrally located private park, open space areas, and trails. The project was reviewed an approved by the Environmental Planning Commission with no conditions, which eliminated the need to obtain final sign off from the Development Review Board.

Consensus Planning has provided technical assistance on several brewery projects in the Albuquerque Metropolitan Area. These projects range from initial entitlement research and due diligence, conditional use and zoning map amendments, site planning and landscape design, to parking amendments. Consensus Planning, through these projects and discussions with local planning staff, has impacted changes to zoning regulations, including the City of Albuquerque’s Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO). The recognition of this new combination of manufacturing, service, and retail as a critical component of these businesses has been reflected in some of these recent code updates.