Rail Yards keeps chugging along
Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First
Mayor Richard Berry’s office and the City Planning Department will soon announce the next steps regarding development of the historic Rail Yards just south of Downtown.
Berry’s isn’t the first administration to try and get the project moving. And it’s a big one — more than 27-acres worth. It’s at least the fourth effort to redevelop the site with many interested developers. It has the potential to build on Downtown revitalization efforts the city has already set into motion and become a destination for tourists and residents alike.
A milestone was reached recently when the Albuquerque City Council approved a master development plan with California’s Samitaur Constructs. It was a long time coming.
Headed by land developers Frederick and Laurie Samitaur Smith, the firm is known for bringing properties like the Rail Yards back to life in other markets. They are expected to comment on the development plan through the forthcoming city announcement.
Eric Griego, former city councilor and state senator, sits on the Rail Yards Advisory Board — a group organized by City Councilor Isaac Benton. He’s also a former resident in the neighborhoods adjacent to the Rail Yards and an organizer of the wildly successful Rail Yards Market.
“We don’t want a mall. We’d like to convert what has so far been an interim use into a centerpiece,” Griego said. That interim use, the market, has brought more than 50,000 people to the Blacksmith Shop on the development’s north end — a one- day-a-week market that just started in May.
Under Berry, the city spent about $1 million to rehabilitate the 27,000-square-foot Blacksmith Shop space last year to be used for events. It has proven to be a popular move as its also hosted a mixed martial arts event and the “Yards Craft Beer Premier.” It had been decades since the Rail Yards had been open to the public. The WHEELS Museum is open there, but is a separate entity from the city.
“My goal and hope is that Samitaur and the city will recognize that there are compatible uses. Maybe retail, restaurants or other commercial uses, but still maintaining a strong community feel,” Griego said. Griego said making room for local growers, artists, performers, musicians and poets would add to the uniqueness of the development of the site.
Samitaur Constructs is a California-based developer that has made a name for itself by rehabilitating commercial and industrial buildings that have deteriorated and are often crime ridden. It has also been involved in many public-private endeavors.
One of its biggest projects was the transformation of the Hayden Tract area of Culver City, where Samitaur built Conjunctive Points.
The project is a mixed-use urban business park of workspaces, restaurants, parks and an exhibit and performance space called Samitaur Tower I.
Conjunctive Points attracted several diverse tenants, including media firms, productions houses, creative agencies, high-tech companies and national names like FOX Studios West Coast headquarters and Sony Corp. of America.
The firm has developed more than 1 million-square-feet of office and studio space valued at more than $180 million at Conjunctive Points.
http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq....html?page=all