BERNALILLO — The Sandoval County Commission voted Thursday evening to help move an affordable senior-housing project forward with a bond that allows access to financing.
Commissioners unanimously approved a private activity bond of up to $23 million for the planned, privately owned 152-unit Casa de Encantada seniors-only apartment complex near US 550 and Safelite Boulevard. The county is not responsible for paying any of the debt and has no out-of-pocket costs related to the bond, said financial adviser Rob Burpo.
The sale of the 30-year bond will close Sept. 22, he said.
The private activity bond allows developer DBG Properties to get tax-exempt interest rates, federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits and access to $2 million of financing from New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority bonds. Burpo said those benefits would lessen the cost of debt, so the developer can lease the high-quality apartments at affordable rates.
“They are going to be a welcome addition to Sandoval County,” he said of the units.
Casa de Encantada is meant to serve people ages 55 and older, with no children as permanent residents.
On the northwest side of the same property, the developer is starting to build the larger 550 Paseo Apartments, an affordable housing complex with no age limits.
Burpo said DBG Properties had just gotten city permits to begin 550 Paseo Apartments. They expect construction to take 18 months.
For Casa de Encantada, he said groundwork usually starts one to three months after closing on private activity bonds. Its construction will probably be complete in a little less than 18 months after it starts.
Burpo said the working relationship DBG Properties provided was great.
“We can’t say a single thing bad about them,” he said.
In other business, commissioners:
• Approved standard operating procedures for the planned K9 program at Sandoval County Detention Center. Assistant Director Chris Urbanic said the dog, which would come to the jail after retiring from the sheriff’s office, would help stop contraband from entering the facility.
• Approved publication of the title and summary of a draft ordinance dealing with rules for cannabis stores. The ordinance would need further commission approval to become final.
• Approved a memorandum of understanding to get $230,000 from the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office to pay for 2021 local elections.
• Heard a presentation from U.S. Bureau of Land Management representatives on a plan to allow more harvesting of wood and tree products in rotating areas of northern Sandoval County only during the winter to meet the demand for fuel wood and other products sustainably. The bureau is set to take public comment during a meeting starting at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Cuba Soil and Water Conservation District office, 4 County Road 11, Ste. A.
