BY PAUL ANDRUS
Community Development Department Director
Los Alamos County

As a resident of Los Alamos County for more than 10 years, I am deeply aware of the various challenges our community faces in enhancing its economic vitality.

Today, we are at a critical juncture where our traditionally small, quiet community needs to modernize to support Los Alamos National Laboratory in fulfilling its mission.

To navigate this transition, I have assembled a team of professionals specializing in housing, local businesses, downtown revitalization and tourism. Let me introduce our team:

• Dan Osborn, our housing program and special projects manager, brings extensive experience from his time in Salida and Summit County, Colorado. His expertise in housing development is invaluable to our efforts.
• Janice Krish, our program manager who serves as a business liaison, has a robust background in economic development from her tenure at San Juan College in Farmington and the City of Santa Fe.
• Shanna Sasser, our newest member, is the economic development administrator. She comes from the NM Department of Finance and Administration, bringing a wealth of knowledge in economic development.
• Ellyn Felton, our marketing specialist, serves as our Public Information Officer, the Film Liaison for the County, and heads our tourism efforts. Her background in tv news, radio, digital marketing, and higher education offers a new perspective on our marketing efforts and communication.

Stay tuned for future articles from these experts as they delve deeper into their respective areas and outline their strategies for addressing our community’s challenges.

Housing
Housing prices in Los Alamos have always been higher on average than the rest of the region. Still, a dramatic increase in demand in recent years and an inadequate supply have created an environment that is not affordable for essential members of any community – teachers, nurses, police officers, firefighters, and others. Addressing this is crucial. Dan has been instrumental in looking for solutions to increasing the capacity for new housing development and ensuring a variety of housing types are available to meet the needs of our changing and growing population, particularly for middle and lower-income households.

One such step was to update the 2010 affordable housing plan. Dan presented a new draft plan to the Council recently, with a special focus on the “missing middle”—those who earn too much for income-eligible housing assistance programs but not enough to afford local housing, particularly to buy a home. If effectively implemented, this plan could further our cause to mitigate some of these obstacles within five years. We continue to pursue redevelopment opportunities for county-owned properties to create new workforce, senior, and student housing units, as well as residential or mixed-use developments. Such properties include 20th Street south of Trinity Dr., and on DP Road (A-8-A) next to Smith’s.

Despite an interruption earlier this year, the Home Renewal and Home Buyer programs will be active again later this year after the finalization of a new partnership agreement with the successful bidder of our recent request for proposals. These programs are designed to allow income qualified homeowners to make needed repairs to their properties or to provide down payment assistance to prospective income-qualified homebuyers. The assistance from the County is in the form of a non-amortizing, deferred payment loan which is due only when the home is sold, vacated, or otherwise transferred.

Local Businesses
Supporting our local businesses has always been a priority for the County Council, a sentiment echoed by our community surveys. We recognize a healthy business community is essential to the community’s economic vitality and have therefore made significant efforts to assist them.

The pandemic severely impacted our local businesses, mirroring a national trend. To date we have distributed $1,796,496.39 of the $2 million received from ARPA grant. $109,181.04 is set to be paid out by end of September and the remaining $94,322.57 is scheduled to be allocated and paid out by end of 2024. Unlike many municipalities and counties nationwide that used ARPA grants primarily for projects such as infrastructure or public facility projects, Los Alamos County chose to allocate a significant portion of our ARPA funds directly to qualifying local businesses that were impacted by the pandemic.

Krish has also been proactively engaging with local business owners, identifying their needs, and connecting them with funding resources and support. She has made more than 60 business outreach contacts, collecting feedback on how the County might help address their most pressing needs, such as the lack of affordable housing and workforce development.

Revitalizing Downtowns
The revitalization of both the Los Alamos Downtown and the White Rock Town Center has been a primary goal for County Council, as shown by their adoption of two downtown plans and the implementation of a new land use code that supports greater densities and more flexibility for potential redevelopment.  The newly adopted plans provide a vision for what each of these areas should come to look like when reinvestment opportunities are taken by the development community with support by the County.

There has been much discussion around a variety of redevelopment tools that can be utilized by the County and its partners in pursuit of the visions provided in the downtown plans. This includes the creation of Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas (MRA) in White Rock and in East Downtown Los Alamos.  While these redevelopment “tools,” including the use of the State of New Mexico’s Local Economic Development (LEDA) Program, can help to strategically catalyze redevelopment, they are not silver bullets. Significant investments of the County, its partners, and all the applicable state compliance requirements are still obstacles to overcome.

With these potential tools in hand, our team will evaluate opportunities to partner with interested parties such as the developer of the Mari Mac and Hilltop House sites, and work with County Council on which proposals meet both the County’s strategic vision as well as conform to all the relevant state and local laws and statutes.

Tourism in the County
Since the premiere of the movie “Oppenheimer” in 2023, we’ve experienced a significant surge in tourism. Our visitor centers have reported an astonishing 70%+ increase in visitors compared to the previous year. Our White Rock Visitor Center saw more than 600 visitors each day from July 4-7, attesting that our tourism is booming. This influx has benefited local businesses, creating new opportunities for growth and community engagement.

To meet this demand, Felton, who started in February, has taken several proactive steps. She has redesigned and launched a new tourism website, visitlosalamos.org. Additionally, she has updated tourist handout materials to ensure they reflect the unique attractions and history of Los Alamos. She’s also promoted Los Alamos County through various outlets, including MLB Yearbooks and travel magazines, distributed in key markets such as Arizona, Texas, and Colorado.

We’re Committed
Our commitment to enhancing Los Alamos County’s economic vitality is unwavering. Addressing housing needs, supporting local businesses, revitalizing our downtown areas and leveraging the influx of tourists are pivotal to creating a more inclusive and thriving community. We look forward to building this future together.

Paul Andrus has been the Community Development Director since 2016. He oversees land use planning, economic development, building permitting and inspection processes, as well as housing policy and program development.  Paul has more than 30 years of experience in strategic planning, economic development, affordable housing development, and homeless assistance strategies.