Developer Assistance Program – Notice of Funding Opportunity

NOFO NO. 2024-DAP-1/RH[JJB1] 

Santa Fe County (County) is issuing a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for affordable housing loans issued pursuant to the County’s Developer Assistance Program for affordable rental housing projects that serve households at or below 80% of Area Median Income for the Santa Fe Metropolitan Statistical Area.  All applications submitted pursuant to this NOFO shall be valid for sixty (60) days subject to action by the County. The County reserves the right to reject any and all applications in part or in whole. A completed application shall be submitted in a sealed container indicating the application title and number along with the Applicant's name and address clearly marked on the outside of the container. All applications must be received by 5:00PM on September 13, 2024, at the Santa Fe County Community Development Department, located at the Santa Fe County Administrative Complex (240 Grant Avenue, Second Floor, Santa Fe, NM  87501), and shall be submitted to the attention of the Office of Affordable Housing. Applications may also submitted via email to debenavidez@santafecountynm.gov.

By submitting application for this NOFO each Applicant is certifying that it is a qualified applicant and its application complies with the requirements stated within the NOFO request.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY: All qualified Applicants will receive consideration of funding award without regard to race, color, religion, sex or national origin, ancestry, age, physical and mental handicap, serious medical condition, disability, spousal affiliation, sexual orientation or gender identity.

 

Request related to this NOFO can be made by contacting Denise Benavidez, Community Development Deputy Director, 240 Grant Avenue Santa Fe, NM 87501, or by telephone (505) 986-6264, or by email at debenavidez@santafecountynm.gov or on our website at https://www.santafecountynm.gov/housing-services/affordable-housing/developer-assistance-program.

 

County Responses to Applicant Questions

Developer Assistance Program Summary 

Between July and October of 2023, the Board of Commissioners of Santa Fe County passed a series of ordinances and resolutions, which allow the County to provide housing assistance grants and loans for the creation of affordable housing within the community, in accordance with the New Mexico Affordable Housing Act. These governing ordinances and resolutions include:

The Developer Assistance Program (“DAP”) has been created to allow the County to provide critical resources to aid in the creation of affordable housing projects that address community housing needs, which have been identified in the County’s 2023 Affordable Housing Plan. Projects in this context, entails the creation of multi-unit housing developments that provide 30% or more of the total units available to households of low to moderate income, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. Grants or loans provided through the DAP can be used:

  1. For the acquisition of land, existing buildings or other real property for the purpose of developing affordable housing;
  2. For the development or construction of an affordable housing project;
  3. For converting an existing building into affordable housing;
  4. To rehabilitate a building whose primary purpose is to provide affordable housing;
  5. To preserve a current affordable housing project; and
  6. To finance or support infrastructure improvements necessary to effectuate affordable housing.

In addition, DAP also allows the County to make donations of existing buildings, land or other real property owned by the County, to private or non-profit developers for the creation of affordable housing.

The Developer Assistance Program does not have an open application process. Pursuant to the New Mexico Affordable Housing Act Rules and program regulations, the County is required to submit a Request for Applications (RFA) for all awards issued pursuant to the DAP program. As such, maximum award amounts, loan terms, program terms and conditions, and application scoring criteria will be made available upon the issuance of each RFA.

Open RFAs will be posted on this webpage.