Albuquerque Development Thread - Page 10

mgs11 · #**181** Posted **Feb 18, 2014, 3:14 PM**

New incubator planned near Innovate ABQ site

Dan Mayfield
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

Stuart Rose, the founder of The BioScience Center, has plans to open his next business incubator and collaborative working space by April 1.

Although the final details still need to be worked out, Rose is working with Rick Davis to open his next incubator, called Fat Pipe ABQ, in the old library of the former Albuquerque High School.

The new space will offer a variety of services, including 300mb Mbps Internet.

“That’s the wow,” Rose told Business First. “The plan is to take the building at 200 Broadway, the library at old AHS, and to modify it. We have to run fiber to the building, and put furniture in. That’s about it.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...&ed=2014-02-18

mgs11 · #**182** Posted **Feb 25, 2014, 8:48 PM**

High-profile Downtown properties sold

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

A group of buildings at perhaps the most visible corner of Downtown Albuquerque has found a local buyer.
The buildings comprise three addresses: 401/405 Central Ave. SW and 109 4th Street NW. 401 Central was previously the Club 405 Lounge, while 405 Central was most recently Dublin’s Street Pub. A live music and dance club, Blackwater Music, is the current tenant at 109 4th Street.
The purchase price was not disclosed, but the total 10,500-square-feet of properties were most recently listed at $1.3 million. Western States Retail & Investment advisers Matt Reeves and Mike Barker represented seller Vasso Chalamidas and the buyer, a local businessman who chose not to be identified.
“He saw the value in Downtown and the fact that it is a hard corner that is the best real estate in Downtown,” Reeves told Business First Tuesday. Reeves said immediate plans are not known, but that it will likely be restaurant and retail space.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...d.html?ana=twt

mgs11 · #**183** Posted **Feb 26, 2014, 4:27 PM**

City seeks federal funds to advance bus rapid transit

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

Albuquerque has applied to the Federal Transportation Administration for funding and permission to enter into project development for a bus rapid transit plan.
The idea is one of several projects under study for Mayor Richard Berry’s “ABQ the Plan” is bus rapid transit. The city is looking at a BRT plan for the Central Avenue corridor from 98th Street to Tramway Boulevard. Many in the public and private sectors agree it would provide infrastructure, enhance neighborhoods and spur commercial and residential development.
BRT wouldn’t be more Rapid Ride buses on Central Avenue on the weekends, as some think. It is a subway-like bus system that has a dedicated lane, and raised platform stations that take electronic payments. Often riders don’t need schedules, as the buses come and go at a rate that makes it unnecessary.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...&ed=2014-02-26

HooverDam · #**184** Posted **Feb 26, 2014, 6:41 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mgs11

City seeks federal funds to advance bus rapid transit

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

Albuquerque has applied to the Federal Transportation Administration for funding and permission to enter into project development for a bus rapid transit plan.
The idea is one of several projects under study for Mayor Richard Berry’s “ABQ the Plan” is bus rapid transit. The city is looking at a BRT plan for the Central Avenue corridor from 98th Street to Tramway Boulevard. Many in the public and private sectors agree it would provide infrastructure, enhance neighborhoods and spur commercial and residential development.
BRT wouldn’t be more Rapid Ride buses on Central Avenue on the weekends, as some think. It is a subway-like bus system that has a dedicated lane, and raised platform stations that take electronic payments. Often riders don’t need schedules, as the buses come and go at a rate that makes it unnecessary.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...&ed=2014-02-26

Good for ABQ. Though I've often wondered if they couldn't support modern streetcar over BRT. Where exactly is the BRT route going to go?

ABQ seems lucky to be a fairly linear city, or at least its main attractions are. I could see a line (BRT or modern streetcar) running on Central Avenue from the Expo New Mexico site, west past UNM, west through downtown and ending over by Old Town/the Country club. That'd only be about 6 miles.

If it were successful they could eventually build another perpendicular line going N/S on University connection to the stadiums and arenas and eventually onto the airport.

mgs11 · #**185** Posted **Feb 26, 2014, 6:54 PM**

^^^
The current plan is to run the BRT on Central Ave from Tramway to 98th. One end of the city to the other. If that works out they may consider a University line and a line on San Mateo and also on Coors.

mgs11 · #**186** Posted **Feb 26, 2014, 10:09 PM**

It’s official: New Mexico is a finalist for Tesla “gigafactory

Dan Mayfield
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

On Wednesday, Tesla Motors confirmed New Mexico is, indeed, a finalist for the new Tesla Motors gigafactory.
New Mexico is one of four states Tesla said it will be looking at for the gigafactory, which will produce the batteries for the company’s electric cars.
The company said on its blog on Wednesday that it and its partners will invest up to $5 billion to build the plant by 2020. New Mexico will now be competing with Texas, Arizona and Nevada for the site, which would be on 500 to 1,000 acres and have 6,500 employees.
The company would start construction in 2015, install equipment in 2016 and by 2017 launch.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...ist-tesla.html

mgs11 · #**187** Posted **Feb 27, 2014, 4:59 PM**

Quiet change could spur Winrock redevelopment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=KQTA8SgvW7s

mgs11 · #**188** Posted **Mar 3, 2014, 3:39 PM**

Councilor seeks to alter Downtown district

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

Albuquerque City Councilor Dan Lewis plans to introduce legislation today aimed at changing the makeup of the Downtown Business Improvement District.
A news release by Lewis’ office says the legislation is intended to “ensure that the [BID] provides the services and benefits required by all residents and businesses downtown.”
The BID, which is a collective tax that property owners pay for Downtown improvements, has been managed by the Downtown Action Team since 2000.
DAT has touted successes in its management of the BID and cites positive momentum Downtown, which includes the resurrection properties such as the Anasazi high rise and of new multifamily projects on its west and east ends.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...&ed=2014-03-03

mgs11 · #**189** Posted **Mar 4, 2014, 5:13 PM**

BNSF will build needed railways if Tesla chooses ABQ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UU...yer_detailpage

mgs11 · #**190** Posted **Mar 5, 2014, 5:01 PM**

Downtown BID bill slated for March 10 hearing

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

Legislation aimed at changing the makeup of the Downtown Business Improvement District is set for a hearing March 10.
City Councilor Dan Lewis’ bill was introduced at Monday’s council meeting, which would, among other goals, prompt a consideration to terminate the BID at its five-year review near the end of 2015 and reestablish a new one.
The BID, which is a collective tax that property owners pay for Downtown projects and improvements, has been managed by the Downtown Action Team since 2000.
Tony Duran, policy analyst for Lewis, who represents District 5, said the next step for the bill is a hearing with the finance and government operations committee. Depending on committee votes, he said, it would then be placed on the city council agenda to be heard at the regular March 17 meeting.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...medium=twitter

mgs11 · #**191** Posted **Mar 5, 2014, 8:39 PM**

Throckmorton advancing on North I-25 projects

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

Scott Throckmorton will be the first one to admit that times aren’t exactly booming for Albuquerque developers. Nevertheless, the president of ARGUS Investment Realty has some compelling projects that are underway in the North I-25 corridor and in Rio Rancho.
A building was demolished and 7.1 acres of land has been cleared north of Osuna Road on Jefferson Street where Throckmorton will be building a mixed-use development. He said the project would likely land a bank, restaurants and retail on the exterior and that the interior would be targeted for an office user — one that has not yet been identified. An office user would have anywhere from 70,000 to 140,000-square-feet, he said, and the building could end up anywhere from two to four stories tall.
Also in the North I-25 corridor on the northeast corner of Paseo del Norte and Jefferson Street, Throckmorton has cleared 9.5 acres in advance of another development. Throckmorton’s Paseo-Jefferson project will also be mixed use, and could likely land a large retail tenant too. He said potential tenants are very interested in locating near Paseo and Jefferson.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...medium=twitter

mgs11 · #**192** Posted **Mar 5, 2014, 9:45 PM**

CNM says it could train Tesla workers

Dan Mayfield
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

When the city recruited Eclipse Aviation to Albuquerque, CNM trained the workers.
When Intel Rio Rancho started hiring, CNM trained the technicians.
When HP, Canon, Lowe’s and the Gap all started hiring locally, CNM trained the workers.
And now, Central New Mexico Community College hopes that if Tesla Motors chooses to build its new gigafactory here, it would again train the workers.
The luxury carmaker announced last week that it is considering New Mexico, as well as Arizona, Texas and Nevada, for its $5 billion, 1,000-acre gigafactory.
The city and state are competing to lure the company here. Wherever the company moves, it will need to train workers.
CNM President Katharine Winograd told Business First on Wednesday that the school was involved in discussions when Eclipse, HP, Phillips Semiconductor and others moved to the city, and would be well positioned to train workers for Tesla if needed.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...a=twt&page=all

mgs11 · #**193** Posted **Mar 5, 2014, 11:02 PM**

Big Innovate Albuquerque Project Seen as Catalyst

Garry Boulard
Construction Reporter News

Due diligence is under way on the University of New Mexico’s bid to purchase a 7-acre downtown site anchored by the First Baptist Church at Central Avenue and Broadway Boulevard.

If all goes well, that purchase will usher in an era of business incubator research and growth known as Innovate ABQ, with the site itself seeing the construction of an incubator building and dorm, among other structures.

“There is no hard date for when the purchase will be completed,” says Elizabeth Kuuttila, UNM’s Chief Economic Development Officer. “But we’re estimating a May time frame.”

The $7.2 million site purchase was approved by UNM’s Board of Regents in December, capping a year of activity during which the project won the financial backing of the City of Albuquerque, the U.S. Economic Development Administration, and the New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union, among other parties.

“UNM has been a part of our credit union in terms of eligibility and we’ve been supporting their community for about 25 years now,” says Anneliese Elrod, senior vice-president for strategy and development with the New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union.

Noting that credit union President Terry Laudick and UNM President Robert Frank visited the University of Florida’s Innovation Space early last year, Elrod continues:

http://constructionreporternews.com/...n-as-catalyst/

mgs11 · #**194** Posted **Mar 6, 2014, 6:35 PM**

ABQ gets prestigious ‘Living Cities’ grant

By Dan McKay / Journal Staff Writer

Albuquerque will join the likes of San Francisco, Seattle and two other cities in potentially qualifying for tens of millions of dollars from a national consortium of charitable groups and banks – money that could be put toward Downtown revitalization as part an effort to improve “economic mobility.”

Mayor Richard Berry told the Journal on Wednesday that his office will lead the effort, in partnership with the University of New Mexico and New Mexico Educators Federal Credit Union.

The money is available through “Living Cities,” a collaborative effort by 22 of the world’s largest charitable foundations and financial institutions. Communities across the country applied, but only five cities were selected. They will receive initial grants of $100,000 each to plan out ways to help low-income people and improve their communities. Besides Albuquerque, the other four are Seattle, San Francisco, San Antonio, Texas, and New Orleans.

Future funding in the form of low- or no-interest loans and grants depends on proposals generated in the planning process.

The “Living Cities” selection is an endorsement, the mayor said, of local efforts to bring a “bus rapid transit” system to Central Avenue, revitalize Downtown and improve economic development through UNM’s “Innovate ABQ” effort at the old First Baptist Church. All of those projects might receive financial help through “Living Cities.”

“This really opens up the door for Albuquerque,” Berry said in a meeting with Journal reporters and editors. “That’s good company to be in.”

UNM President Bob Frank said he’s incredibly excited and hopeful about the opportunity.

“New Mexico should be the biggest innovation state in the country with the labs and the opportunity we have here,” he said. “… I think it’s the biggest moment the city’s ever had.”

http://www.abqjournal.com/363403/new...ies-grant.html

mgs11 · #**195** Posted **Mar 6, 2014, 8:18 PM**

CNM to lease Downtown complex space

Dan Mayfield
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

Central New Mexico Community College is joining the Innovation District with a new Downtown site that could bring as many as 2,000 students to the city’s core when it opens this fall.
On Thursday at the Albuquerque Economic Development Inc. quarterly luncheon, CNM President Katharine Winograd announced that the school is leasing a major portion of the First Plaza Galleria building Downtown for the new STEMulus Center.
The STEMulus Center will compliment the University of New Mexico’s plans to build the 7.5-acre Innovate ABQ center and the new Fat Pipe ABQ incubator at the old Albuquerque High School
“For us, it’s a different way of thinking,” Winograd said. “This is part of a community We’re trying to compliment what is happening Downtown with the innovation discussions with the city, UNM, the mayor and (UNM) President Bob Frank.”

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...itter&page=all

mgs11 · #**196** Posted **Mar 7, 2014, 5:58 PM**

Feds OK BRT idea.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=8jgzK3t0UtA

mgs11 · #**197** Posted **Mar 10, 2014, 4:50 PM**

Designs for Fourth Street mall come out

By Mike Springer
KOAT 7

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —The city of Albuquerque unveiled its design plans for the Fourth Street mall project last week.

The plans call for turning the mall into a two-lane road with wider sidewalks and streetscaping.

The area has come under scrutiny because of drug use and crime there.

Some are hoping turning the mall back into a street will help solve some of those problems.

The project is estimated to cost the city around $1 million to complete.

Bids for construction could go out this spring and work on the project may begin as soon as this summer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=IjiX92YSvyM
http://www.koat.com/news/new-mexico/...tm_source=t.co

mgs11 · #**198** Posted **Mar 11, 2014, 7:39 PM**

ABQ Convention Center construction

mgs11 · #**199** Posted **Mar 11, 2014, 7:40 PM**

Silver Moon going up fast

mgs11 · #**200** Posted **Mar 12, 2014, 3:02 PM**

Bus Rapid Transit ideas gain momentum in Albuquerque

By Dan McKay / Journal Staff Writer

Mayor Richard Berry is reluctant to use the b-word when discussing his next big transit priority.

Buses, it’s true, would carry passengers up and down Central Avenue, but the mayor says “Bus Rapid Transit” is more than just a bus.

He and other supporters describe it as a system akin to a subway or light rail, but far cheaper and on rubber wheels. The idea is gathering momentum, with City Hall and the Mid-Region Council of Governments mapping out potential routes.

“It’s time for Albuquerque to take the next logical step in public transportation,” Berry said in a recent interview, “and I think the smart money is on BRT.”

The concept is in its earliest stages. Neither the city nor Council of Governments would provide cost estimates yet, though each said they would seek federal funding, which could cover half to 80 percent of the construction cost.

Bus Rapid Transit involves creating a dedicated lane for express buses, allowing them to bypass traffic congestion and move at a constant speed. They could run down the middle of the road – replacing the median – or along the side of the street.

http://www.abqjournal.com/366802/new...-momentum.html