The price of homes in Santa Fe makes it very difficult for the city's low-wage workers to live close to where they work. Long commutes are hard on the commuter, the environment and the city's infrastructure. In response, in 2008 the city government held a competition to spur the addition of green, affordable housing within the Santa Fe city limits.
The competition solicited designs for a multi-unit, residential housing compound on a ¼-acre city-owned vacant lot in downtown Santa Fe that also provided a number of affordably priced homes.
Design Requirements- Meet Santa Fe's green building code.
- Meet Enterprise Community Partners' Green Communities Criteria.
- Conform to historic design standards.
- Integrate at least two affordably-priced homes for buyers with moderate incomes who would normally not be able to live near downtown.
- Incorporate feedback from the community into the design process so that when the project is built, it reflects the values of the surrounding neighborhood.
The competition received 24 high caliber entries that offered innovative solutions for infill, green building and affordable housing.
The city of Santa Fe has posted the submissions online, including the design boards and information on the architects, on their site, calling it the Alto Street Design Competition.
