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Consultant outlines teacher‑housing plan as district weighs $1.75 million in HUD funds
Summary
A land‑use consultant told the Pojoaque Valley Public Schools board he has identified multiple parcel options and financing pathways that could yield an initial set of teacher housing units using roughly $1.75 million in HUD funding, and urged quick action with county partners.
Danny Martinez, a land‑development consultant introduced to the board, told Pojoaque Valley Public Schools trustees on Oct. 8 that the district has an early‑stage pathway to build teacher and first‑responder housing if it combines federal grants and county funding with strategic land purchases. “We’ve got $1,750,000 approved by HUD,” Martinez said, adding that the money is “a great start” for site acquisition and modular homes but will not cover large‑scale construction alone.
Martinez walked the board through 17 properties he reviewed and seven short‑listed sites that he said could work within the existing budget. He cited specific prices on the record — including a parcel he described as asking $287,000, another at $365,000, and a larger option with three wells and surface‑water rights listed in the $900,000 range — and outlined how shared wells, modular units and county incentive programs could stretch the available funds.
Board members asked how the units would be controlled and who would occupy them. One board member asked whether the district would build and keep units as rental housing; Martinez and staff explained several options, including district ownership with leases to teachers or a build‑and‑sell model. A district presenter also warned that HUD funding can carry income‑eligibility rules. “HUD did say…we cannot commingle the funds,” a district staffer said, noting the need to ensure compliance while stacking municipal and county grants.
Martinez described a realistic near‑term target of building an initial cluster of around eight homes on some parcels, with longer‑term options for larger condominium subdivisions if infrastructure funding becomes available. He also flagged non‑monetary constraints: several parcels require infrastructure work, some have archaeological sensitivity that could stop digging, and county jurisdiction can change when district‑owned land is used.
Administrators and Martinez urged continued coordination with Los Alamos and Santa Fe counties and a scheduled Oct. 15 meeting with county partners to advance infrastructure planning and funding options. Martinez said that, under an optimistic timeline and with county cooperation, “within six months, we could probably see infrastructure starting to take place.”
Next steps indicated by the board and staff included further due diligence on shortlisted parcels, title and survey work on contested lots, clarification of HUD program rules, and additional county meetings to identify matching infrastructure funding.
