Bernalillo County Expands Tiny Home Transitional Housing Program Amid Strong Demand

Bernalillo County's tiny home transitional housing program has had every one of its 30 units occupied on a near-constant basis since opening five years ago near Central Ave. and Wyoming Blvd. in Albuquerque, and the county is now moving to expand it with a new land acquisition that would bring capacity to at least 48 units.

Wayne Lindstrom, Deputy County Manager for Bernalillo County, said the new property gives the program room to grow. "With this new acquisition, we believe at a minimum we'll be able to expand to another 18 tiny homes, which would give us a total of 48. We're playing around with some of the design to see if maybe we can get a few more tiny homes on that property," Lindstrom said.

The program functions as a structured waypoint out of homelessness rather than a permanent placement. The goal is to be a stepping stone for people transitioning out of homelessness as they receive treatment or other support services, and the data on tenant movement backs that up: most residents stay nine to ten months before moving on to more permanent housing.

Two years ago, Bernalillo County purchased land across the street from the Albuquerque Indian Cultural Center to house the center's administrative offices, therapy facilities, and a classroom. That infrastructure investment set the stage for the current expansion announcement by consolidating program services onto a defined campus.

Lindstrom was direct about the gap between what 48 units can deliver and what the metro actually needs. "Well, the reality is, and it's certainly visible in this community, is that we have a growing population of homeless individuals. And 48 is far short of the mark in terms of meeting the need, and the need continues to expand," he said.

The county acknowledged that expansion cannot stop at 48 units. Building on the program's track record, Bernalillo County said it plans to develop additional transitional housing targeted specifically at youth and elderly residents, two populations the current pilot was not designed to serve at scale.

Funding sources, a construction timeline, and the exact parcel details for the new acquisition have not been publicly disclosed. What the county has confirmed is that the pilot works, the demand is real, and the existing 30-unit footprint is nowhere near sufficient to meet it.