Old Motels Get New Shine: Restoring Luster Along Route 66 in Albuquerque
By Caitlin Jones
1 min read
Tax Credit Advisor ““ November 2010 — In a stretch of downturn Albuquerque, N.M. marked by a number of aged — in some cases rundown — motels, a local nonprofit plans to renovate and convert two of them into affordable apartments. One, the Sundowner, was the “base camp” for Microsoft founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen in the 1970s where they developed the first version of the BASIC computer language for the Altair 8800 computer. “I’m hoping to get some funding from the Gates Foundation. But they haven’t been returning my calls,” jokes John Bloomfield, executive director of NewLife Homes. “Our mission is to own, manage, and develop supportive housing for the most vulnerable in the community,” he says. “We focus on residents with mental illness, persons with physical disabilities, persons previously homeless. Almost all of our projects are [for households] at 30 percent of [the area median income] or below”¦We have a lot of demand.” NewLife Homes holds options to acquire the Sundowner and Luna Lodge, a second old motel, and intends to redevelop both as “green” tax credit projects.Read More…
