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Hotel to Housing: Santa Fe Suites

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Fall 2023   

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Hotel to Housing: Santa Fe Suites

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. hotel occupancy rate dropped to 37 percent from 66 percent the previous year.1 At the same time, cities across the nation undertook emergency measures to locate housing for the rising number of people experiencing homelessness.2 Many cities considered addressing both problems simultaneously by converting underutilized hotels and motels into affordable apartments. As part of its S3 Santa Fe Housing Initiative to provide housing for people experiencing homelessness, the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico, has partnered with local organizations to repurpose underused motels into permanent supportive housing.3

In 2020, having received an influx of federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds that had to be expended by the end of the year, the city decided to purchase the Santa Fe Suites and convert the motel into permanent affordable housing for low- and moderate-income residents. Constructed in 1999, Santa Fe Suites was a 122-unit motel consisting of 8 two-story buildings.4 The city identified this property for residential conversion because the extended-stay rooms, which had kitchenettes, could be quickly converted to apartments. In addition, the building was in good condition and required few repairs. The property also had enough units to make a mixed-income project with social services financially feasible.5

Front view of a two-story motel building.
Because Santa Fe Suites had been designed for extended stays, the city of Santa Fe and Community Solutions were able to convert the former motel rooms into apartments with minimal physical renovations. Photo Credit: Kyra Thomson

The city reached out to nonprofit Community Solutions, a national organization that works with communities to end homelessness, to purchase the land and property for $8 million, using $2 million of the city’s CARES Act funds. Community Solutions also received approximately $2 million from a New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority CARES grant. The remainder of the project was financed through social impact investments and a conventional mortgage.6 The physical conversion process went quickly because the former motel rooms required few renovations to become studio apartments, although further upgrades to the units and common areas are underway. To create a room for resident services and a property manager’s office, Community Solutions only had to renovate the motel’s original front desk area. The developer also installed new security cameras and inspected the electrical and fire alarm systems before the development opened. However, the conversion did require rezoning the property to allow its residential use; as part of the rezoning approval, Community Solutions had to add stormwater management facilities.7

The repurposed Santa Fe Suites has 122 studio apartments, some of which are occupied by households who were long-term residents of the hotel before its conversion. The units have spacious bedrooms and fully equipped kitchens. Half of the apartments are permanent supportive housing (PSH) units for individuals who are experiencing or are at risk of experiencing homelessness.8 The Santa Fe Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which is supported by development fees, provides rental subsidies for the PSH units.9 The remaining units are workforce apartments with no income restriction. With the monthly rent as of August 2023 set at $950, the market-rate units are still less than the city’s median rent of $1,800 for a one-bedroom apartment.10

Local nonprofit St. Elizabeth Shelters and Supportive Housing operates the property and provides case management.11 With funding through the city’s CARES Act monies, St. Elizabeth and its partners offer onsite services such as health screenings and assistance with job applications and tax preparation. Staff also offer transportation to grocery stores, medical appointments, and other services. Community Solutions plans to transfer ownership soon to St. Elizabeth.12

Community Solutions hopes future federal assistance for affordable housing creation, preservation, and operation will be as flexible as CARES Act funding.13 Since 2022, other similar hotel conversions have been proposed in Santa Fe, some of which were also city initiated. In May 2022, the city used American Rescue Plan Act funds as well as community development block grant funds and its housing trust fund to purchase the Lamplighter Inn, which will be converted into 58 units of affordable housing.14


  1. National Association of REALTORS Research Group. 2021. "Case Studies on Repurposing Hotels/Motels into Multifamily Housing," 7.
  2. Jared Brey. 2022. "Why Turning Motels into Housing Could Outlast the Pandemic," Route Fifty, 2 February.
  3. "About Us," Santa Fe Housing Initiative website (s3santafehousinginitiative.org/about-us/). Accessed 6 July 2023.
  4. Leah Cantor. 2020. "Not Another Homeless Shelter," Santa Fe Reporter, 19 November; Santa Fe Association of Realtors. 2021. "Growing Housing in Santa Fe," 7, 8; Office of the Santa Fe County Assessor. "Sketch and Property Description" (assessor.santafecountynm.gov/map_retired.php?searchType=ParcelNumber&searchValue=980000810). Accessed 28 July 2023.
  5. Email communication with Lauren Barnes, 30 June 2023.
  6. Ibid; Community Solutions. "Our Mission" (community.solutions/about-us/overview/). Accessed 28 July 2023; Email communication with Jim Podesta, 20 June 2023; Community Solutions. "Santa Fe Suites" (community.solutions/projects/santa-fe-suites/). Accessed 26 June 2023.
  7. Cantor; "Sante Fe Suites," Sante Fe Housing Initiative website (s3santafehousinginitiative.org/santa-fe-suites/). Accessed 28 July 2023; Email communication with Lauren Barnes, 30 June and 11 August 2023.
  8. Email communication with Jim Podesta, 20 June 2023 and 25 July 2023; Email communication with Lauren Barnes, 30 June 2023. "Amenities," Sante Fe Suites Apartments website (www.liveatsantafesuites.com/amenities). Accessed 6 July 2023; Community Solutions. "Santa Fe Suites."
  9. Email communication with Jim Podesta, 21 June 2023; Santa Fe Association of Realtors. 2013. "City of Santa Fe Affordable Housing Programs," 6.
  10. Community Solutions. "Santa Fe Suites"; Email communication with Jim Podesta, 21 June 2023; Email communication with Lauren Barnes, 11 August 2023; "Studio," Santa Fe Suites Apartments website (www.liveatsantafesuites.com/unit/studio). Accessed 16 August 2023; "Sante Fe, NM Rent Prices," Zumper website (www.zumper.com/rent-research/santa-fe-nm). Accessed 6 July 2023.
  11. "Sante Fe Suites," Sante Fe Housing Initiative website; Email communication with Jim Podesta, 20 June 2023.
  12. Email communication with Lauren Barnes, 30 June 2023; Email communication with Jim Podesta, 20 June 2023.
  13. Email communication with Lauren Barnes, 30 June 2023.
  14. City of Sante Fe. "City Supports Hotel Conversion to Affordable Housing" (santafenm.gov/news/city-supports-hotel-conversion-to-affordable-housing). Accessed 29 May 2023.

 

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The contents of this article are the views of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development or the U.S. Government.