The Bluffs Senior Apartments, 135 DP Road, are expected to be ready to accept tenants by the end of December. Local and state officials toured the apartment complex Friday morning. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
From left, Los Alamos County Community Development Department Planning Manager Sobia Sayeda, Los Alamos County Housing Program Manager Dan Osborn, Community Development Director Paul Andrus and Development Project Manager Tim Donhauser tour Friday The Bluffs Senior Apartments, which is led by Senior Construction Manager Sean Cavanaugh. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
Senior Construction Manager Sean Cavanaugh, left, shows one of the common rooms in The Bluffs Senior Apartments to Los Alamos County Economic Development Program Manager Janice Krish and Mortgage Finance Authority Housing New Mexico Executive Director/CEO Isidoro Hernandez. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com
The Bluffs Senior Apartments, 135 DP Road, is not your average apartment complex. It is specifically for senior residents; it is affordable housing, and it is designed to meet residents’ long term needs so when tenants move in, they will have the option to stay and have their needs met.
Participating in a tour of the complex Friday, the project team’s efforts to satisfy residents’ needs were visible.
The complex features a multi-purpose room with a kitchen, a library, an exercise room, computer lab, even a room to house a hair salon. The apartment complex is nearly finished. Most of the rooms on the tour looked move-in ready but there are still blue electric cords dangling from ceilings where security cameras need to be installed and the duct work is in plain sight, waiting to be covered with drywall.
Construction on the apartments kicked off more than two years ago and the hope is to secure the certificate of occupancy by the end of December, Senior Construction Manager Sean Cavanaugh said.
It has been a long time coming, Cavanaugh said.
He explained this is his fourth project with Bethel Development Corp., which owns the apartment complex, and it’s “by far the most difficult one. This project, specifically, we are entering our 27th month of construction. This job was extremely difficult to get through and we wouldn’t get through it without the help of everyone in this room … without any one of us here none of it happens.”
Cavanaugh listed off COVID, labor shortages, inclement weather and lack of available places for workers to stay as culprits for the lengthy construction stage.
However, he noted that everyone involved – from the Los Alamos County officials to the workers – ensured that the project would be successful.
“It’s a true collaboration and I will say in all my years of building, in all the different municipalities that we’ve built in, I never experienced such a helpful group than (in Los Alamos) … it is a real pleasure to work with,” Cavanaugh said.
He singled out one worker in particular – Joseph Hernandez.
When the project kicked off, there was a piece of plywood with the “laborers needed” spray painted on it and Hernandez answered the call.
“He walked in and offered to help,” Cavanaugh said. “I wanted to single him out because since 2019 we’ve had one local employee come to us and work for us every single day. Joe works a lot – works overtime, works Saturdays. I definitely wanted to single him out and his efforts and express how grateful I am that you have joined our team. You’ve been really important; we couldn’t do it without you.”
What the team accomplished is a four-story 64-unit apartment complex that is comprised of 52 one-bedroom/one bath apartments and 12 two-bedroom/two bath apartments. The apartments are geared toward senior citizens, or those who are 55 years old or older.
The apartment complex is developed under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program, which is financed under the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. This means that those who make less than 60 percent of area median income in Los Alamos are eligible to apply for a unit.
It was reported during a 2020 Los Alamos County Planning and Zoning Commission meeting that a one-bedroom would cost $558-$850 a month while a two bedroom would be $755-$975 a month. Rent does include utilities. Furthermore, it was stated during the meeting that Bethel was committed to these rental rates for a 35-year period.
Los Alamos County Community Development Director Paul Andrus said the Bluffs helps fill a need in the community.
“The community desperately needs housing for this demographic (Seniors on limited incomes) and hopefully we will see folks who are living in houses that they no longer can upkeep and do not need the extra space, move into this property – thereby opening up housing opportunities for families,” he said.
During the tour, Los Alamos County Housing Program Coordinator Dan Osborn said this project is not just for Los Alamos but for the region.
“One of things we hope to do is showcase this work and to send this off into new and other innovative projects in our community and in the region,” Osborn said. “We hope to be able to be a valuable resource not only for Los Alamos but for the region as we move forward.”
Michael Kotin, CPA, of Kay-Kay Realty Corp., told the Los Alamos Daily Post Friday that “there is a lot of interest (in renting units) and I expect it to really blossom once I am able to show units.”
He encourages potential tenants to visit him in his office at the Canyon Walk apartments directly across the street from The Bluffs and begin the application process.
Project Supervisor Todd Slocum walks down one of the hallways in The Bluffs Senior Apartments. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
Senior Construction Manager Sean Cavanaugh shows a room that will be used as an in-house hair salon in The Bluffs Senior Apartments. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
Two participants on Friday’s tour check out the view from the computer lab in The Bluffs Senior Apartments. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
Michael Kotin, CPA, of Kay-Kay Realty Corp., left, and Los Alamos County Housing Program Coordinator Dan Osborn take part in a tour of the apartments Friday. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
Mortgage Finance Authority (MFA) Housing New Mexico Chief Lending Officer Jeff Payne, left, and MFA Housing New Mexico Executive Director/CEO Isidoro Hernandez check out one of the apartment’s kitchens in The Bluffs Senior Apartments during Friday’s tour. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
A bathroom in one of The Bluff’s apartment units. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com
A bedroom in one of The Bluff’s apartment units. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com