W8 UPDATE / 8 June 2012
MFA Announces 2012 Affordable Housing Design Winners
See additional renderings of the project on our Peachtree Canyon Renderings Board on Pinterest.
Peachtree Canyon Receives Third Place in the 2012 Low Income Housing Tax Credit Design Competition for the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority
Peachtree Canyon is a rare example of a project that offers density on the urban fringe while maintaining sensitivity to the natural landscape. Height variations in the buildings and walkways and the material choices and shading devices are all designed to create the feel of a natural canyon and arroyo.
This is the first Low Income Housing Tax Credit design competion that W8 has entered. The Developer for the project, Thomas Development Group, is currently seeking funding for the project.
MFA ANNOUNCES 2012 AFFORDABLE HOUSING DESIGN WINNERS
ALBUQUERQUE: MFA is pleased to announce the winners of the 2012 Low Income Housing Tax Credit design competition. The competition was created to promote quality, innovative designs in affordable housing that are not “just as good” as market-rate housing but that are better than the norm. Competition winners lead the way in creating homes for low-income families that are energy efficient and attractive, reducing the historic stigma of affordable housing.
“Good design is literally changing the face of affordable housing,” said Jay Czar, executive director of MFA. “New Mexico has some of the most forward-thinking and creative architects and designers in the nation.”
The annual design competition is open to development projects that have applied for Low Income Housing Tax Credits for that year. An external jury evaluates the site and landscaping plans, building design, contextual and special design, floor plan design and construction characteristics for each of the projects.
Below are the 2012 winners.
First Place / Casitas de Colores, Albuquerque
Developers / Romero Rose, LLC & YES Housing, Inc.
Architect / Dekker/Perich/Sabatini
Located in the heart of Downtown Albuquerque, Casitas de Colores is an excellent example of an in-fill project that fits in its urban context and will increase the appeal of the area. Tuck-under parking and stepping facades breaks up the massing of buildings and rings of parking lots while increasing the privacy of the units.
Second Place / Sundowner, Albuquerque
Developer / NewLife Homes, Inc.
Architect / Garrett Smith
The adaptive reuse of the classic American roadside motel for housing is a challenge that the design team for the Sundowner managed very nicely. The historic hotel, located on old Route 66, will include commercial space, an outdoor market area as well as vegetation and gabion walls designed to minimize headlights that could disturb residential units.
Third Place / Peachtree Canyon, Las Cruces
Developer / Thomas Development Group
Architect / WORKSHOP8
Peachtree Canyon is a rare example of a project that offers density on the urban fringe while maintaining sensitivity to the natural landscape. Height variations in the buildings and walkways and the material choices and shading devices are all designed to create the feel of a natural canyon and arroyo.
Since its inception, MFA has helped an estimated 82,000 families find safe stable housing and provided more than $5 billion in affordable housing grants and loans. In 2011, MFA funded more than $245 million in low-interest rate financing and grants including $127 million in mortgages and down payment assistance to approximately 1,000 first-time homebuyers throughout New Mexico.
