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SANTA FE, NM, April 2, 2026—Santa Fe County is seeking applications from development groups requesting financial support for the development of new affordable rental and homeownership housing projects in Santa Fe County.

According to the County’s 2023 Affordable Housing Plan, one-third of County households are cost burdened by housing, and 6,232 subsidized rental units are needed.

In Fiscal Year 2025, the Board of County Commissioners budgeted $1 million to provide gap financing to affordable rental and homeownership projects through the Developer Assistance Program (DAP). These funds will provide a low interest loan to affordable housing projects to fill a funding gap identified through the application process.

Additionally, the County received Capital Outlay funds of $2 million from the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration to be disbursed using the DAP process. These state funds require prevailing wages and will be used to fund infrastructure for affordable homeownership projects.

During the previous round of funding, the County granted approximately $10,000 per unit and only funded affordable rental units. Due to escalating construction costs, projects may now submit higher per unit requests; however, projects requesting less funding per unit will be scored higher. As a general guideline, requests should not exceed $75,000 per unit for homeownership projects and $20,000 per unit for rental projects. The scoring criteria are structured to encourage applicants to request lower per-unit amounts to be competitive.

Applicants need to demonstrate that the project is ready to proceed, has received other funding commitments, and has a completed application to be considered for funding, as well as document the project’s need for financial assistance to ensure project feasibility.

Read the full details of this notice of funding opportunity (NOFO), and how to apply, on the County’s website.

For more information, contact Santa Fe County Deputy Director Community Development Department Denise Benavidez at DEBenavidez@SantaFeCountyNM.gov.