$70 million and counting: Gateway Center price tag continues to rise

Albuquerque’s Gateway Center at Gibson Health Hub – a massive project designed to address the city’s burgeoning homeless population – continues to need millions of dollars for renovations and operations.

The center has received funding from multiple sources since the city initially bought the building in 2021 for $15 million. In a December 2023 Gateway Center update presented to members of the City Council, officials said total funding to date now equals $59 million – $23 million in city funds; $16 million from the state; $15 million from the federal government; and $5.3 million from Bernalillo County. Officials also said that there were existing budget shortfalls for the center’s construction phases and for ongoing operation and maintenance costs.The mayor’s administration now estimates that the funding construction gap alone remains at least $16.8 million – bringing the total budget to at least $69.8 million – while funds for longterm ongoing maintenance and operations are still not identified.

$59 million; 50 beds

The center opened in August 2023 and continues to roll out services while operating under different phases of interior renovations. Located in a former hospital at 5400 Gibson Blvd. SE, the 572,000 square foot facility contains enough square footage as 10 football fields, but currently offers 50 overnight beds and a variety of social services for those experiencing homelessness. About 30,000 square feet is occupied by boutique healthcare providers the city inherited as tenants, but the remaining areas are dedicated for overnight beds and offices for service organizations serving clients. The city says it expects to add another 90 overnight beds by 2025.

“Of that $59 million we’ve spent about $22 million, so there is roughly $37-$38 million unspent from this capital appropriations list. The rest of it is either encumbered or committed [to projects identified] such as medical sobering or medical respite, ” then-Chief Operating Officer Kevin Sourisseau told the council in December.

To add to its bed capacity, the city is now asking the state for millions more. Officials included a $10 million capital funding request from lawmakers for additional housing navigation beds in its recently released fiscal year 2024 budget ahead of the 30-day legislative session which begins Jan. 16 in Santa Fe. Housing navigation beds are overnight beds combined with onsite case management and other necessary support services.

City spokesperson Ava Montoya said in an email to City Desk ABQ on Jan. 5 that the $10 million would “support [the] expansion of 200 additional housing navigation beds at Gateway and other existing facilities.” 

The Gateway Center is one of the city’s two housing navigation centers – the other is a Health, Housing & Homelessness (HHH)-run family housing center. To protect its clients, the city does not disclose the location of the family center, which opened in 2020. 

“In addition to [providing] traditional … emergency shelter, the [navigation centers] work on a 90-day model to help individuals and families exit into stable housing,” Montoya said. “Our family site currently serves up to 65 families and the [Gateway Center] is serving 50 individuals at a time in their program. Onsite services and multiagency coordination is designed to improve a clients’ ability to work on issues preventing them from achieving stable housing.”

New option for first responders

Meanwhile, the Gateway Center is set to receive clients from the city’s first responders later this month. The initiative is the latest addition at the center, which officials said would fill an important gap.

The city said in a Jan. 4 news release that the new “first responder receiving area” will feature a large reception room, offices and four private assessment rooms. It would be operated by the University of New Mexico’s Office of Community Health (OCH). The release said it would initially operate during overnight hours, but the goal is to give first responders and Albuquerque Community Safety (ACS) personnel an eventual 24/7 location to bring clients who need assistance other than medical attention. 

ACS is staffed with behavioral/mental health and social service workers who respond to 911 dispatch calls for nonviolent and nonmedical situations across the city.  

OCH staff would work with clients brought by first responders to identify needs like shelter and housing, provide something to eat, and offer access to bathrooms and the internet. The city said the clients would also be provided transportation to the Westside Emergency Housing Center or other area shelters if needed.

“One of the hardest pieces of building ACS has been that we haven’t always had an appropriate place to take people at night,” ACS director Mariela Ruiz-Angel, said in a statement. “As we started our 24/7 operations we’ve hit over 4,100 calls for service during graveyard hours and we’re so excited to now have a location.”

Graveyard hours are typically considered as midnight to 8 a.m.

“We designed the Gateway to fill in gaps in our community’s homeless response system and this is one of those gaps,” Gilbert Ramírez , the city’s new HHH director, said in a statement. “Dedicated staff will help people figure out what they need and get connected to vital resources they need to move forward that day.”

A 2023 point-in-time count taken by the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness reported 2,394 individuals experiencing homelessness in Albuquerque – an 83% increase over 2022. That number is widely criticized by homeless services providers as an undercount. The report said 35% came to Albuquerque from other areas of the state.

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