[ABQalex]

The city and CNM had an update yesterday on the new film school at the Rail Yards where construction has begun. A few new renderings and a layout were revealed and on display at the event. Click the links below the embedded images to see them with more clarity, especially the site plan.

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerqu...aining-center/

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Construction has begun on the project for Albuquerque’s Rail Yards connecting students to New Mexico’s booming film industry. It’s supposed to get hundreds of people working out of the long quiet site near downtown and It may be the biggest development for the city’s massive longstanding Rail Yards project. “It was about seven years ago when this whole facility was under a master plan contract,” said Mayor Tim Keller.

Part of the project has involved fixing floors, the roof, and the courtyards. “These have been the city investments leading up to this,” said Keller.

Now, the next step of the project is beginning, a film training center inside of one of the site’s biggest buildings. Central New Mexico Community College and the City of Albuquerque are working to completely remodel the Rail Yards’ old boiler shop. “We’re excited to build I would say two boxes in a box,” said CNM President, Tracy Hartzler.

A building built inside the existing shop, with new classrooms, stages, and other rooms to fully serve the up-and-coming film workforce. “This industry is the fastest growing in our state and now it’s one of the largest,” said Keller.

Along with being a 24/7 presence on the Rail Yards campus. The hope is to make a school helping New Mexico retain film talent. “We have to grow our own for the film industry and that’s exactly what CNM is stepping up to do with their training program,” said Keller.

While a lot of changes are coming to the space, the city says they plan on keeping the historic charm in place. “This is a flexible space, we’ll be able to move not only the stage but our workspaces here conference space,” said Hartzler.

Not only to preserve the building but help with real filming for future students. “We sort of capture that awesome film backgrounds that we know and love from transformers and all of the other buildings that have been here,” said Keller.

The city is hoping to wrap the project up in 2025 with the CNM Film Center taking it’s first round of students in 2026.

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquer...ds-update.html

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and Central New Mexico Community College President Tracy Hartzler welcomed local media to the Rail Yards Tuesday afternoon, aiming to provide a construction and concept update to the CNM-sponsored film education facility being built there.

The project, introduced by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in 2022, will turn the northernmost Rail Yards building into a home for two major film education programs: CNM’s film production and digital media programs and the state’s film training program — known as the New Mexico Media Arts Collective. The CNM portion of the facility, located in the eastern half of the complex, will be known as the "Central New Mexico Community College and New Mexico Economic Development Department Film Center at the Rail Yards."

$40 million in state funding, from both capital outlay and general fund money, is being allocated to the project.

Tuesday’s event shed new light on the amenities that will be available for CNM students. Three sound stages are planned, in addition to production facilities like a hair and makeup station, sewing amenities and a production mill — which is used to design and construct set components. In addition, a 100-seat theater is included for showing small productions.

A site map also notes a motion capture space, commonly used to capture actors’ likenesses and performances for conversion into animated films.

All of these facilities will be housed in a “building inside a building,” to shelter ongoing productions from outside noise like traffic, Hartzler said.

Hartzler and Keller both voiced their hope that the facility would become an catalyst for more development at the Rail Yards — a site that has seen numerous redevelopment plans come and go since it ceased its original purpose, as the name suggests, as a rail repair and workshop.

“The opportunity here also is that this becomes the anchor,” Hartlzer said. “The buildings we see behind us and around us will only become activated given the exciting design that’s happening here.”

The intent is that the project will influence more than just the Rail Yards, specifically, but also Downtown more generally.

Keller said with students flocking to the area to participate in film education programs, he hopes other developments like cafes and additional housing could follow. He added there are “no plans” for the other vacant two-thirds of the Rail Yards.

“When we finish this, we’re gonna have roughly a third of the Rail Yards kind of figured out. We know what we’re gonna do with it,” Keller said. “We’re just focused on delivering on this third, on the northern third of the property. And we’ll see what comes next.”

Construction has already begun, with a new floor and ceiling being installed. The project has seen some renovation-related challenges, including replacing asbestos compounds used on the building’s windows and not being able to fit large construction vehicles inside.

Construction is currently scheduled to be completed by fall 2025, with CNM starting programming in January 2026.

https://media.bizj.us/view/img/12686...1944-0-132.jpg


https://media.bizj.us/view/img/12686...1944-0-132.jpg


https://media.bizj.us/view/img/12686...1944-0-132.jpg


https://media.bizj.us/view/img/12686...4050-0-275.jpg

Here are a few pics of the event from Mayor Keller's social media.


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GFs8jCSbAAA1VkR.jpg:large


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GFs8jCUbEAA4SDM.jpg:large


https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GFs8jCTacAAl0GZ.jpg:large

And here are a few screenshots from a disappearing story on Instagram by Mattophoto that was posted on Friday. I never got a chance to post them here until now.

https://www.instagram.com/mattophotollc/