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Community Profile Location: Within walking distance of downtown Albuquerque Category: Infill Number of homes: 199 housing units by the end of this year What $300K will buy: Half that will buy a 1,300-square-foot, 3 BR, 2 BA home (income and deed restrictions apply). Closest latte: The Sunshine Café
photography: Buff Strickland
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Civic Pride As the name suggests, Arbolera de Vida, or orchard of life, is an enlivening force in Albuquerque, offering low-income residents affordable housing and a community that instills pride. It wasn't always this way. Until a decade ago, the 27-acre plot of land just north of the city center was home to a run-down sawmill, broad expanses of dusty ground, and hundreds of feet of chain-link fence. Today, there are 56 townhomes and casitas (duplexes) with another 37 to be constructed, all clustered amid newly planted trees. A playground, recently built with lots of volunteer help, beckons neighborhood children. A biking/walking trail leads to Rio Grande State Park and Old Town, the city's historic district and a major draw for tourists. "People are always shocked when they come here," says Pam Riley, a Sawmill Community Land Trust staff member. They say, "This is affordable housing?" "Just because people are getting subsidies doesn't mean their homes can't be beautiful." Cottage Connection: Sawmill Community Land Trust;
505/764-0359 or sawmillclt.org | 
