Officials Break Ground On Hill Apartments At 121 & 141 35th

Submitted by Carol A. Clark
on November 4, 2021
- 11:07 am

Breaking ground on the Hill Apartments Wednesday afternoon at 121 and 141 35th St., are from left, Los Alamos County Economic Development Administrator Daniel Ungerleider, Community Development Director Paul Andrus, Peters Corp/LAH Investors, Inc. Senior Development Executive Bill Enloe, Councilor David Izraelevitz, Council Chair Randall Ryti, Councilor Denise Derkacs, Century Bank Senior Vice President of Finance Anne Kain, Pavilion Construction Project Manager Robert Faith and Mike Perry of Whitneybell-Perry Architects. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com

By KIRSTEN LASKEY
Los Alamos Daily Post
kirsten@ladailypost.com

Breaking ground on the Hill Apartments may have taken some time, but it appears the new housing project was worth the wait.

County officials, along with representatives of LAH Investors, Inc./Peters Corp, Whitneybell-Perry Architects and Pavilion Construction, gathered Wednesday afternoon to ceremoniously kick off the construction of the 149-unit apartment complex at 121 and 141 35th St.

The process to get to this point started back in 2018 when Los Alamos County Council awarded the contract to LAH Investors, Inc. to develop the land. In 2019, the Planning and Zoning Commission approved the development’s site plan.

Before the golden shovels were plunged into the dirt Wednesday, participants offered recognition and thanks to those who made the project possible.

“This project directly meets the council’s goals … with 149 apartment units it will be a welcomed site,” Los Alamos County Council Chair Randall Ryti said. “…congratulations in reaching this milestone.”

Pavilion Construction Project Manager Robert Faith thanked the County for its help with the project, particularly the Los Alamos Police Department, which regularly checks in on the construction site. The apartments are market-rate and consist of seven buildings featuring 30 one-bedroom and one bath units, 84 two-bedroom and one bath units and 35 three-bedroom and one bath units.

The complex will feature many amenities including a swimming pool, gym, patio and a community room with a kitchen. LAH Investors, Inc./Peters Corp is pleased to offer another housing option in Los Alamos, its Senior Development Executive Bill Enloe said.

“The Peters Corp is really pleased to help at least a little bit on the housing problem in Los Alamos,” Enloe said. “We made a commitment on this project, which is a high-end apartment complex, which Los Alamos has never had.”

Enloe further commended the County for helping to get the project off the ground.

“I have projects similar to this in San Marcos, Texas, Bozeman, Mont., Albuquerque and Santa Fe and Los Alamos has been by far the most organized, most accommodating and the most professional (staff) of all those I’ve worked with,” he said. “I was proud to be a Los Alamos citizen working with these people.”

Housing Program Manager Margaret Ambrosino said the new complex will add to the spectrum of housing in Los Alamos.

“This community provides essential housing in the market; as it is market rate, this too is needed, as all housing along the spectrum is needed, from market rate to affordable; and is necessary to alleviate the market pressures to help Los Alamo keep our workforce housed in our County as much as possible,” she said. “This project also satisfies one of the goals of our 2016 Comprehensive Plan, which is to situate infill development in older neighborhoods which already contain direct access to biking and pedestrian trails but also connect to transit and are within close proximity to shopping and services for residents.”

County Manager Steven Lynne said he also was impressed with the project and what it will offer Los Alamos.

“I just think it is wonderful to see more progress on the housing development in Los Alamos and it looks like it is going to be a beautiful project,” Lynne said.

County staff is working closely with developers and contractors to ensure the success of the project through all steps of the development process.

Pre-leasing will commence in 2022 and details, when available, will be posted on the Los Alamos County Housing webpage.

Los Alamos County Council Chair Randall Ryti delivers brief comments Wednesday afternoon during the ground breaking ceremony for the Hill Apartments. Photo by Kirsten Laskey/ladailypost.com