Abandoned, derelict and long forgotten-lots across the state are in the sights of proposed legislation offering major tax breaks for redeveloping the eyesores.
The bill would let developers tap $4 million in tax incentives for up to 40% of the property’s value if they can prove it’s been abandoned for five years.
Roger Valdez is the director of the Center for Housing Economics, which worked on the bill. He says it’s meant to be flexible, so it applies to new commercial and residential construction, as well as renovations or some combination of the two, but it does have a focus on affordable housing.
The credit is transferable, he said, which means the developer could use it to reduce their tax burden the following year, or they could simply sell the credit for immediate revenue.
“So there's a number of different ways that both nonprofits and for profit developers could utilize the credit in both residential situations or commercial or whatever,” he said. “It's a pretty versatile tool, if we can get it through the legislature.”
Vacant lots are a prominent issue across the state, he said, with hundreds of properties on Central Avenue in Albuquerque alone.
He said he thinks it’s caused by a few issues, including slow or flat population growth and, particularly in Northern New Mexico, generational breakdown, when someone who cares about the property passes away, leaving it to generations who do not value or maintain the land.
“So it's just a downward spiral. And we've seen it all across the state,” he said. “Down on central you see them all over the place”
The bill is currently running through the pre-file process, and is being sponsored by Republican Representative Rebecca Dow of Truth or Consequences and Democratic Senator Cindy Nava of Bernalillo. It’s also received support from various neighborhood organizations and Habitat for Humanity.
Valdez said the bill has bipartisan support because it addresses a very clear need in a targeted way by incentivizing rather than mandating change. He thinks that will help get the bill passed.
“Lots of great ideas and really bad ones get introduced in the legislature, and very few of them make it through all the committees and stuff. So this one has an uphill climb, like any other bill, but I think that we have a good chance of getting it through the process,”
The legislative session begins Tuesday January 20th.
Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
