LEED CoreConcepts&Strategies_3rd edition - Page 045

Extracted Content

Selective OCR Enrichment

Recovered callout: PROJECT CASE STUDY

VILLA ALEGRE

LEED PLATINUM

Santa Fe Civic Housing Authority has completed the first affordable LEED for Homes units in the Santa Fe area: 111 units in Villa Alegre Phase 1 and 2. Phase 1 of the project consists of 60 units plus a community center; phase 2 consists of 50 senior housing units, one caretakers’ unit, and a community center. The project team succeeded in making 97 of the 111 units affordable, despite the difficult economic conditions at that time. Redevelopment financing ultimately featured two Low Income Housing Tax Credit allocations (family, 9%; senior, 4%) that received 2009 tax allocations and two American Recover and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) grants, through the Tax Credit Assistance Program (TCAP) and the Capital Fund Recovery Competition (CFRC).

As an infill project in a historic district, Villa Alegre needed a context-sensitive design that could achieve neighborhood acceptance. Active engagement with the community proved to be invaluable when the project team headed into rigorous Santa Fe City approval meetings with neighborhood support rather than opposition. Engaging the community via design charrettes also focused the team’s efforts on energy and water efficiency— important in a fragile high desert environment with less than 12 inches of rain per year. This focus would achieve goals on multiple levels and make the most appropriate use of the grant money. The project team’s collaborative approach to solving problems contributed to its successful achievement of LEED Platinum certification. You can learn more about Villa Alegre at usgbc.org/projects/villa-alegre-phase-1-2-0.

Photo by Patrick Coulie