Lab halts involvement in student housing project

Contact: Jim Danneskiold, slinger@lanl.gov, (505) 667-1640 (00-049)

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LOS ALAMOS, N.M., April 6, 2000 -- Los Alamos National Laboratory officials recently informed members of the Los Alamos County Council that the Laboratory would not participate further in a planned development for apartments proposed by Housing Solutions of Santa Fe.

The apartments were intended to provide housing relief for students, visiting scientists and postdoctoral researchers, who often have a hard time finding suitable affordable accommodations in Los Alamos.

"The Laboratory had been prepared to provide a substantial subsidy each year to ensure the financial viability of the project, but our participation has always been contingent upon some reasonable limits based on the project's overall financial feasibility," said Joe Salgado, deputy laboratory director for Business Administration and Outreach. "Recent cost estimates indicate that this project will not produce low-cost student housing even with a significant expenditure from the Laboratory."

The Laboratory faced a financial exposure in excess of $1 million annually, which was an unacceptable amount to the Laboratory. In addition, under the terms of the University of California's management contract with the Department of Energy, a substantial portion of this amount would have been paid from research and development funds, thus reducing resources for the Laboratory's basic scientific mission.

"Everybody involved in this project -- the Department of Energy, the County, the developer and the Lab -- tried hard to make it work, but in the end the cost estimates did not make sense for the Lab," Salgado said. "We especially owe a debt of gratitude to the Los Alamos County councilors -- past and present -- who spent considerable time and effort trying to accommodate this attempt to address student housing needs in Los Alamos."

The Laboratory turned to the private sector several years ago and solicited proposals for student housing units to alleviate a perceived shortage of short-term rentals for students in Los Alamos. The intent was to develop a project that met the needs of the greatest number of residents at the lowest possible rental cost and with the lowest financial exposure to the Laboratory.

Laboratory officials have stated from the outset that if the project could not be developed under acceptable terms from a cost standpoint, the Laboratory would not proceed with involvement in the project. When cost factors became clearer over the two-year pursuit of this initiative, the Laboratory came to the hard decision to cease further participation in the current project.

In the wake of this decision, Salgado said the Laboratory is re-assessing its needs for student housing, including assessing the short-term versus long-term housing needs, and the appropriate role the Laboratory should take in dealing with affordable housing needs in the community.

"Attracting students to the Laboratory for career-building opportunities and possible long-term employment remains an important priority for us. Students are vital to our future, and we want the experiences they have here to be positive and fulfilling, including having affordable opportunities for housing available to them," Salgado said.

The Laboratory still faces a large number of students and short-term employees who will need temporary housing accommodations during the summer months. Efforts underway to accommodate these people include:

• Providing the 30-day efficiency apartments on Iris Street on a first-come, first-served basis;
• Negotiating with Los Alamos Inn for a fixed number of rooms for the summer; and
• Soliciting privately held accommodations in the region for direct rental opportunities for arriving students and short-term employees.

To facilitate the referral system, the Laboratory Housing Office maintains links to rental and share listing on the Web at http://bus.lanl.gov/housing/. The Housing Office will actively advertise for local participation in this process.

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