Albuquerque Development Thread

[ABQalex]

Downtown Albuquerque News had these two pics earlier this week showing the refurbished Dog House sign on Central Avenue/Route 66 that was made possible by the city’s grant program to restore and improve such signs along the route.

https://downtownalbuquerquenews.com/





Here are a couple of pics showing how the Dog House sign looked previously.





DAN also had this pic today showing the new sign going up at the Arrive Hotel location at Central and 7th Street. You can also spot some of the other finishing touches that have recently gone up on the building, such as the Arrive lettering, new stucco and paint scheme.

https://downtownalbuquerquenews.com/



Here's the rendering of the completed sign to compare with what's been constructed so far.

[ABQalex]

A new mural will be coming to Downtown Albuquerque next week. The mural will be painted during the monthly Art Walk that will take place next Friday. The project was announced recently by Art Walk and the Downtown Arts and Cultural District on their social media accounts. They haven't revealed details on what it will look like or where exactly it will be located, apart from saying that it will include "Downtown ABQ" in the design.

https://www.instagram.com/abqartwalk/p/DBboWxZPZEX/



The artist for the new mural will be Juliana Chavez aka "Little Lady Wolf" who is a New Mexico-based artist. She also worked on the interactive mural on the side of the Broadstone Nob Hill apartments, which has gotten a fair bit of national attention since it was completed. Here, she didn't create the design, merely carried it out and painted it.

https://www.instagram.com/dtabq.acd/p/DBwkmRZCfBG/



Here's another mural in Downtown Albuquerque that the artist previously worked on in collaboration with another artist. It was completed late last year and is located along the east side of 3rd Street in the alley between Gold and Silver avenues.

https://www.instagram.com/littlelady_wolf/p/C0g8W67L2Gq/

[ABQalex]

Munch 'n Boba had its soft opening this week and will have its grand opening on Monday. Below are a few more pics that they posted this past week showing the new location and some of their offerings.

https://www.instagram.com/munchnboba/p/DBpI9WWRuiC/



https://www.instagram.com/munchnboba/p/DBq-U5HRxo5/



https://www.instagram.com/munchnboba/p/DBtmc12xNX6/



Here also a couple more pics and another story about the new Gravity Bound location that Albuquerque Business First recently had. I like the pic of their existing location because it shows the new outdoor patio area and shade structure that they announced earlier this year. It's the first pic showing the project that I've seen and been able to find. It apparently was just recently completed in the past few days.

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/...expanding-downtown-with-new-concept.html

A Downtown brewery is opening a new concept near its current location.

Gravity Bound Brewing Co. signed a five-year lease “about a week ago” to take over the old Boese Brothers Brewery space at 601 Gold Ave SW, said Chris Frigon, Gravity Bound general manager and co-owner.

He declined to disclose the monthly lease amount the brewery will pay to its landlord, Peterson Properties LLC.

The new concept will be a German lager house with a coffeehouse aspect. A name hasn’t been chosen yet, Frigon said.

Gravity Bound Brewing, located at 816 Third St. NW, got the inspiration for its new venture from breweries and craft beer drinkers in “beer-centric” cities that are starting to focus more on lager production and consumption, Frigon said.

“We also love coffee,” Frigon said. “So, we were just like, ‘All right, why not just double up on these two things?’ We think we can do a pretty good job on both.”

Frigon said the new location will use a decoction brewing process with specialized equipment, such as horizontal instead of vertical lager tanks. Frigon described this process as unique — especially in the current New Mexico brewing scene.

Gravity Bound, which opened in June 2020, decided to take the opportunity to expand Downtown so that it could invest in the area and because its current production capacity isn’t keeping up with demand.

"How do we expand our production but also invest into Downtown and do something we're seeing in other beer-centric cities," Frigon said. "We have to make the investment of buying the appropriate equipment and make a really nice space [to] add to Downtown."

The additional production space will supplement Gravity Bound’s tap list and enable it to offer four packs of beer more consistently, Frigon said.

Frigon said he hopes the remodel will finish in spring 2025. The general contractor on the more than 9,000-square-foot brewery space is Habitation Inc. Gravity Bound is working with an architect on the design but has not signed an agreement with them yet. Frigon declined to disclose the architect’s name.

The new location will be open seven days a week from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Frigon estimated it will employ between 10 and 15 people.

Here's the rendering of the patio project that they posted earlier this year to compare with the built result shown above.

https://www.instagram.com/gravityboundbrewing/p/C2vmrgbPc3x/



Below is another pic of the patio structure that was recently included in a post by the Dark Side Brew Crew beer blog about the new operation that was also posted a few days ago. They mention that work was still going on for the structure while they were interviewing the Frigon brothers for their story. It's a long post with more details about the overall project. I'll quote just parts of it below as well.

https://nmdarksidebrewcrew.com/2024/10/2...boese-downtown-space-into-a-lager-house/

One brewery wanted to expand its production. Another brewery wanted to scale back on one of its locations.

That is the genesis of a unique new partnership between Gravity Bound Brewing and Boese Brothers Brewery, one which will see the former take over the latter’s downtown taproom space, while both breweries will share use of the production brewing space in the back.

I caught up with Gravity Bound co-owners/brothers Cameron and Chris Frigon to go over their plans for this new venture, what it means for their existing brewery, and more.

“It’s kind of a long story, but we’ve been super thin on (brewing) capacity here for a long time,” said Cameron, who is also Gravity Bound’s brewer. “It’s been a huge stressor for us personally and from a business standpoint. And so, we’ve been seeking out some ways to alleviate that issue. A few things have come and gone.

“One night, just through the small Albuquerque grapevine, we heard that Boese was moving up to Rio Rancho. We thought like, hey, we want to take over an existing production space. We didn’t want to try to build from scratch. The amount of headache increases exponentially when you do that. So we were just looking for an existing production space.”

Considering the current lack of contractors available to turn a regular building into a brewery, the move made total sense, even if there is not the usual miles upon miles between the two locations.

“Obviously, usually the strategy is you have a location and then you go much further away and open up another location,” Cameron said. “You kind of like to spread out. (But) we’re really downtown people. This is our neighborhood. It challenged us to sort of think of a new concept, or something else we’d like to try. Some new avenues we’d just like to explore. The coffee/lager house is what we started dreaming up. We’re pretty excited to branch out a little bit here. Try some new things or just variations on an old thing.”

The Boese space at Sixth Street and Gold Avenue will have a different name from Gravity Bound, and a different concept. It will be both a coffee shop and a lager house, the latter of which is something Albuquerque has been lacking for a long time.

...

Chris said they are still working on the right name for the new space, just to help differentiate it from Gravity Bound and Boese Brothers.

“It’s going to be a completely different brand, different concept,” he said. “We understand the proximity to Boese’s location. Gravity Bound is supposed to be a little bit more on the forefront of styles where we’re offering a wider range. A different kind of setting.

...

Now comes the tough question: When will the new space be up and running?

“We’re always optimistic with our timelines, but you never know what’s going to happen,” Chris said. “We’re aiming for spring 2025. We’re doing a lot of (renovations), just remodel the taproom, too. It’s not like a cut-and-paste taproom. It’s something we really care about and we really want to make comfortable. Especially with this shared use of coffee and lager, which both have a lot of similarities. It’s just people hanging around, working or just visiting with each other. We’re going to make it as comfortable as possible. I think we’ll be able to pull it off.”

Chris said it will be a nice complement to the Ex Novo location just a block-plus away.

“Downtown just needs more stuff,” he said. “I think it plays well off each other, too.”

[ABQalex]

Downtown Albuquerque News recently had a story about the deal falling through for the county to buy the Anthea @ The Granite structure at the northern edge of Downtown Albuquerque for affordable senior housing. I had posted about this deal last year over at SSC but never got around to posting it here.

The structure was originally built as an extended-stay hotel back in 2015. It was converted to a regular apartment building back in 2022.

It has struggled to ever find tenants for its ground-floor commercial space. It has 23 units on its upper two floors, most of which are furnished. The county had touted the possibility that more units could be created from the unused space on the ground floor (its sale listing says about 11 units), but the entire deal has now fallen through because of the ownership structure for the building and the property that it sits on.

https://downtownalbuquerquenews.com/

Deal to buy building in north Downtown for senior housing falls through

For Bernalillo County, it seemed like a match made in heaven. The building was in good shape, for sale, and had 23 units plus room to add a few more. The county had federal funding lined up to pay for the acquisition, and HUD housing vouchers in hand to turn it into affordable housing for seniors (DAN, 11/6/23). A year ago, the County Commission signed off on the purchase of the Anthea at the Granite building (Fourth and Granite), and it seemed like a done deal.

"It was kind of an opportunity that popped up," Deputy County Manager Enrico Gradi told the Wells Park Neighborhood Association at the time. "We like it because it's not that old and we don't have to do that much."

Then came the snag - the building and the property on which it stood had different owners, county spokesman Estevan Vásquez told DAN, and the federal American Recovery Plan Act funding required the county to buy both.

"The building owner was attempting to purchase the land, so that both could be sold to the county," Vásquez said. "Unfortunately the building owner and land owner were not able to come to terms so BernCo was unable to complete the acquisition."

The building is still on the market.

Here are a few more pics of the structure from its listings on the Loopnet and Apartments.com websites, including a neat aerial showing the surrounding area and Downtown Albuquerque.

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/950-4th-St-NW-Albuquerque-NM/17976053/

[ABQalex]

The Bernalillo County Commission is again considering the help that Jim Long is seeking for his projects in the Sawmill Area. Last week, the commissioners unanimously approved the acceptance and consideration of a little more than $162 million in industrial revenue bonds for the first three Sawmill District projects.

The IRBs had first been introduced for consideration two years ago but were never brought to a vote or acted on. The commissioners are supposed to have a final vote to approve the IRBs for the projects within a few weeks.

The IRBs are broken down into three parts, $15.7 million for the commercial portion of the apartment building/mixed-use structure, $70.4 million for the extended-stay hotel structure, and $76.3 million for the regular hotel structure.















Here are a couple of pics of the 20th and Bellamah project in the Sawmill Area that Downtown Albuquerque News recently shared. Construction did indeed begin last week for the project.

https://downtownalbuquerquenews.com/





And here's another rendering of the project and the intersection of the two streets that the Albuquerque Journal recently had in a story about the project.

https://www.abqjournal.com/business/what...413ce90-909c-11ef-a6f3-fb389c728c33.html

[ABQalex]

Downtown Albuquerque News reported this morning that the Land Use Hearing Officer has granted the appeal against Jay Rembe's George at Country Club Plaza project. I knew this would happen, the LUHO seems to think it's his responsibility to advocate for the neighbors and find any reason to send these approvals into question or disarray. I hope that the city council will reject his recommendation to grant the neighbors' appeal.

Central Avenue is our most urban street in Albuquerque, if we cannot build urban projects along it by right and without threat of NIMBY obstruction then we are doomed in transforming our city for the better and going forward. Our city's stated goals and the efforts of our community have always been to have Central Avenue become a transit-oriented stretch with urban density in a walkable environment, and to move away from the auto-oriented hellscape it often exhibits today.

Caving and catering to NIMBY interests along the stretch goes against and undermines all those efforts to see this vision realized. It rejects all of those stated goals and the city and community's efforts thus far to transform and improve the street. I hope the city council will instead reject this sort of obstruction and these baseless arguments against the project.

https://downtownalbuquerquenews.com/

Controversial apartment complex breaks city development rules, hearing officer concludes

Since the idea of building a 34-unit apartment complex on Central near Laguna first bubbled up into public view two years ago, nearby neighbors have raised a wide variety of objections, mostly related to plans that call for stashing resident parking out back and providing access to it through Sixteenth, a quiet and narrow street that has the feel of a suburban cul de sac.

Tenant traffic would make the street unsafe and unpleasant, they argued, all while impeding emergency vehicles and likely causing the city to remove essential on-street parking spots (the city disputed the last two points - DAN, 12/4/23).

Yet at every turn, developer Jay Rembe - who also put up the nearby Country Club Plaza - managed to beat the objections, obtaining the right stamps of approval from the usual collection of city departments and alphabet-soup hearing boards. All the while, he argued that putting parking out back would help bolster Central's walkable vibe because it would allow the building to be close to the street without adding a curb cut - a feature that is widely seen as detracting from the urban pedestrian experience.

But that winning streak has come to an abrupt end. Following a last-ditch appeal mounted by neighbors and the Downtown Neighborhoods Association, the city's Land Use Hearing Officer concluded last week that the development as presently planned breaks local land use rules dealing with how cars get to properties on that particular stretch of Central.

At issue is something called a character protection overlay, a feature of the city's Integrated Development Ordinance that allows for different rules to apply in a handful of isolated areas. The property where the apartment complex would go sits in a CPO that includes most of the Downtown Neighborhoods, and the rules specify that for properties along Central west of Fourteenth, "primary vehicular access" shall be from Central.

Rembe knew that going in, and so over two years ago had sought to clarify how that would apply to his project in particular. In response, the city's Zoning Enforcement Officer ruled that in order to pass muster, the complex's residents could use the lot at the end of Sixteenth Street but the commercial/retail spaces fronting Central could not. They would have to find parking elsewhere or figure out some other way to access the building.

The plan, Rembe told Land Use Hearing Officer Steven Chávez last month, is to direct anyone patronizing future storefronts there - and anyone doing maintenance in the apartments - to curbside parking spots along Central. Those trips could well add up to more vehicular visits than the residents themselves would make, he argued, particularly given post-COVID work-from-home trends and the fact that someone living in such a complex might choose to not have a car anyway.

"Whatever has more traffic than the other - that's primary to me," Rembe said. "They're going somewhere … primary vehicular access is from Central Avenue."

But Chávez didn't buy the reasoning, calling the lack of a driveway onto the property from Central a "striking violation" of the rules. The argument, which was also proffered by the city at last month's hearing, "turns a blind eye to the facts in the record," he wrote, creating "a theoretical fiction to get around the restriction."

By Chávez's own account, he was disappointed to have reached that conclusion. At the hearing, he showed little interest in the other points made by the neighbors (he ultimately dismissed them all) but zeroed in on the access point while also expressing sympathy for Rembe's position.

"I almost teared up when I saw that provision because I don't see how you get around it," Chávez told the developer.

Though the hearing Chávez presided over has some of the trappings of a judicial inquiry, he is in fact acting as an agent of the City Council in the matter. His opinion is, formally speaking, a recommendation to them on what to do. Though the council typically signs off on the LUHO's recommendations, it reserves the right to reject them. The matter is slated to be heard at the November 18 meeting.

[ABQalex]

Albuquerque Business First today had a story with pics about Jay Rembe's Griegos Farms project in the North Valley. They say that the first units may be finished and available to rent in January.

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/...arms-to-finish-phase-one-in-january.html

Rembe Urban Design + Development expects to finish the first phase of its North Valley project by January 2025, Development Associate Jack Rembe said.

Griegos Farms, a rental community at 4520 Guadalupe Church St. NW, was inspired by Seattle-based architect Ross Chapin’s pocket neighborhood design. It combines the pocket neighborhood design with the cottage court concept.

More common in the Pacific Northwest, the pocket neighborhood encourages walkability and neighbor interaction by building freestanding units that face internal landscape spaces.

At Griegos Farms, that looks like seven to 16 units facing inward around a small grassy space filled with fruit trees, such as pomegranate and fig.

After studying Chapin’s work and visiting several of his projects, Rembe said the development firm decided to bring the concept to New Mexico.

“[It] is just an innovative housing type that doesn’t really exist here in New Mexico,” Rembe said. “There’s no shared walls, [and] there’s no garages. You’re kind of forcing the resident to meander through these pathways that we’ll have throughout the property.”

The development group, wanting to tailor the community to the region, added design concepts familiar to Northern New Mexico, such as pitched roofs, vertical windows and an emphasis on landscaping, Rembe said.

The first cottage court at Griegos Farms is 70% leased, Rembe said, even though its lowest rents are $200 more per month than Albuquerque’s median monthly rent, according to Zillow data. The cottages are between 880 square feet and 1,070 square feet with monthly rent payments ranging from $1,850 to $2,450, Rembe said.

“[Demand] has been pretty strong,” Rembe said. “I’d say the demographic has accepted the concept.”

This is Rembe Urban Design + Development’s first-ever pocket neighborhood community. The local developer plans to do more of these communities in Albuquerque, Rembe said. He declined to disclose where in Albuquerque they plan to do these pocket communities, and it’s unclear how many more they will do.

Planning for the project began in 2020, and it broke ground in April. Abrazo Homes is the general contractor, and Kenny Meyers is the architect.

The project’s first phase has 42 cottages, and the final phase has about 48 cottages and a community building. The final phase is expected to be finished in the second or third quarter of 2025, Rembe said.

The community building will have a gym, patio space, co-working space and executive offices available for rent to accommodate tenants that work remote or hybrid, Rembe said.

The cottages are one story with parking behind the cottages in parking courts to encourage interaction among neighbors. The one-bedroom cottages have upstairs storage compartments.

Rembe Urban Design + Development will manage the property.

Here's another pic from a recent Albuquerque Journal story about the project.

https://www.abqjournal.com/business/with...97b1504-9174-11ef-9ae5-f3894546b7b5.html



And here are some nice aerial pics from the roofing contractor on the project. They were posted back at the end of September on their social media accounts.

https://www.instagram.com/level7tx/p/DAWju7Ctxda/

[ABQalex]

The Albuquerque Business First story above about Griegos Farms mentions that Jay Rembe has plans for more of these cottage court rental communities in Albuquerque, although he didn't reveal the details or where those projects might be built. I believe I've found some info about at least one of those future projects.

It looks like he and his development company have another such community planned on the Westside near Golf Course Drive and McMahon Boulevard NW. It's also just south of Westside Boulevard and the border with Rio Rancho, hence the name on the site plan. It will have 153 units arranged in clusters throughout the site. The units here look more like townhouses than cottages.





Another rental community in this area that I found out about earlier this year is a build-to-rent community of single family homes and duplexes along Unser Boulevard south of Paseo del Norte. It's being developed by JLM Living, which is also currently building a BTR community with 126 units in Rio Rancho adjacent to the Village at Rio Rancho project. The JLM Living project in Albuquerque will have 231 units.





Another BTR community with 344 units is also currently being built in this area of Northwest Albuquerque. The Bedrock at The Trails community got underway late last year at Paseo del Norte and Woodmont Avenue. It will consist of two phases/communities, one with 145 single family homes and another with 199 townhouse-style units.

https://laterradev.com/projects/bedrock-at-the-trails/

[ABQalex]

Albuquerque Business First also recently had a story about an Arizona real estate company buying Cottonwood Corners.

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/...property-purchased-by-phoenix-group.html

A Phoenix-based commercial development group acquired a 19.2-acre property Oct. 23 on Albuquerque's Westside.

SimonCRE purchased Cottonwood Corners at 3741 Ellison Road NW from Gibson-Cottonwood LLC, et al, according to the Bernalillo County Assessor’s Office. SimonCRE CEO and Founder Joshua Simon declined to disclose the purchase cost.

SimonCRE hasn’t had a presence in the Albuquerque area since before the Covid-19 pandemic. A property in Las Cruces is SimonCRE’s only other presence in the state, Simon said.

Cottonwood Corners has a total leasable area of 218,144 square feet. Current tenants include Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, Michaels and New Balance. The strip center still has 29,233 square feet of big-box space and 4,679 square feet of shop space available.

Base 5 Retail will handle the ongoing property leasing, according to a SimonCRE news release.

SimonCRE is actively working to add to its footprint in Albuquerque within the next six months, Simon said.

Before this story I had came across an interesting request before the Environmental Planning Commission back in September by the company to change the zoning for one of the parcels of Cottonwood Corners to allow for a future grocery store. They have the support of the neighbors for the zone change, with many saying they look forward to having a new grocery store in the area.

https://documents.cabq.gov/planning/envi...43_3731Ellison_CottonwoodCorners_ZMA.pdf



I do wonder what grocery store may be interested in locating here.

There are already two Smith's locations fairly nearby and an Albertsons location very nearby as well. Walmart, Sam's Club, Costco, Target and Sprouts are all also very nearby in the Cottonwood Mall area. The only brands or stores that I can think of that aren't nearby are Trader Joe's and Whole Foods, both of which are highly coveted and desired by people on the Westside and Rio Rancho. I'm also hoping/wondering whether Aldi might finally be expanding to Albuquerque and New Mexico at this location.

The story says that they have about 29,000 sq ft of vacant big box space, which I'm guessing is the space next to Michaels. I looked it up and Aldi stores seem to have an average size/minimum requirement of 22,000 sq ft.

https://corporate.aldi.us/real-estate/property-requirements/

Trader Joe's stores I know are usually smaller than that and around the 15,000 sq ft range. Whole Foods stores average about 40,000 sq ft, with new Whole Foods stores tending to be quite a bit larger at about 50,000 sq ft, but it's not at all unusual for them to be smaller, especially their older locations. A 29,000 sq ft Whole Foods store would certainly not be unusual, I think.

I suppose it could also be a case of an existing store moving to new and renovated space, but it will certainly be interesting to find out what the grocery store will be. I hope it's revealed soon! By the way, the EPC did grant the zoning change request.

https://documents.cabq.gov/planning/envi.../NODs/PR-2024-010770%20RZ-2024-00043.pdf

[ABQalex]

Here are some awesome pics of the snow here in Albuquerque that poster JimmyCrackedCorn posted yesterday over at SSC. You can also spot the progress on the Arrive Hotel sign in a couple of the pics.

















The Sandias got one of the highest snow totals in the state with this storm, 36 inches, which was added to the amount from the previous storm a few days prior. That has allowed Sandia Peak Ski Area to open for this weekend. After that, they will evaluate whether they can stay open or wait until wintry conditions set in further.

https://www.instagram.com/sandia_peak_ski/

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCHvTwmSHxm/

















I love Albuquerque whenever it snows, It's absolutely beautiful! Below are a few more pics of the city in this recent snow from various sources. Several recent projects at UNM are also visible in the pics.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCFz2P2SZ75/





https://www.instagram.com/p/DCFohikPHJ3/



https://www.instagram.com/p/DCE-73LPVb6/













The weather really has been something here lately. It's below freezing and snowing this week, while we were breaking records and hitting 84 degrees last week. We were just settling into fall and the changing of the leaves as well in between.

We also had a couple of days with incredible fog this week. Below are screenshots and a link to short videos of the fog, including along Central Avenue Downtown and near Presbyterian Hospital.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DB_5WJYSLlH/









And here's a neat pic of the fog at the Big I that was also posted on Instagram this week.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCDt6NCMgFW/



Below also is a great video of a drive along Montaño Road in the North Valley and going across the river to the Westside. It's one of the most beautiful stretches of road in Albuquerque, especially in the fall!

https://www.instagram.com/kenlytlenm/reel/DB634j6SmD9/



Here's another recent pic by the same poster as the video above on Instagram. It shows the skyline from the northeast and the Big I, which is one of its best angles.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DB_xanIvxrr/

[ABQalex]

In honor of veterans and Veterans Day, the city posted this video and tour of the completed first phase of the Veterans Integration Centers' campus on I-25 near the Sunport. The first phase includes a 42-bed transitional supportive housing facility for homeless veterans. Upcoming phases on the campus will include a 33-unit permanent supportive housing apartment structure.

• Video Link

Here's the most recent pic that I can find of the structure, from a KRQE story back at the end of August when it opened.

https://www.krqe.com/new-mexico-living/v...nsitional-housing-for-homeless-veterans/



An updated site plan showing what the completed campus is supposed to look like from the city’s website.

https://www.cabq.gov/health-housing-home...connects-unsheltered-veterans-to-housing

[ABQalex]

Here's something a bit disappointing that I've discovered. It looks like YES Housing is trying to sell the single-family home portion of its Calle Cuarta development for another developer to finish. The property has been listed for sale and it mentions that all the approvals and plans are in place for it to be built. This is also surprising, as I thought the RFP and agreement they have with the city was for them to develop the homes on this property. But perhaps they've amended the agreement or it had a clause allowing for something like this.

The one good thing is that the listing has a few recent aerial pics where you can spot the progress on the apartment/mixed-use portion that they are currently building. That includes the two live/work structures that are nearing completion. Below are those pics, as well as a few others showing the construction progress over about the last three months since I last posted about the project. The pics are from a listing for its commercial space, as well as YES Housing and Pavilion Construction on Facebook, and a story by the Albuquerque Journal back in August.

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/3525-4th-St-NW-Albuquerque-NM/28589297/



https://www.abqjournal.com/news/local/ye...63c53ac-5fe2-11ef-b6ee-534f0b704804.html





https://www.facebook.com/pavilionconstruction





https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/3537-4th-St-NW-Albuquerque-NM/33777578/









Here also is a ground-floor plan for the eastern portion of the site from the listing for the commercial spaces linked to above. I don't believe I've ever posted it before.



And here is a set of the final renderings for the project that YES Housing shared on its Facebook page a few weeks ago. We've seen the last one before, but not the first two, so I thought I'd post all of them together now.

https://www.facebook.com/yeshousing/







The listing photos/graphics above for the SFH portion of Calle Cuarta still show and outline the planned Cerca redevelopment project next door. We learned that it's a proposal by YES Housing for another food park/food hall-type project. I hope it's still a planned project by them and that this sale of the SFH portion of Calle Cuarta isn't a bad sign about it coming to fruition as well.

YES Housing's founder posted about Calle Cuarta and Cerca just two days ago on his LinkedIn account, so I'm hoping they're still planning to bring the project to fruition!

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7261206409122328576/

[ABQalex]

Here's another pic of Calle Cuarta that Pavilion Construction posted on their Facebook page today. It was taken during our recent snow, so it's just a few days old. The framing is now up to the third floor on the entire structure, so it's close to topping out!

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1158106866320528&set=a.370450055086217

[ABQalex]

Here's a story by KOB-TV talking about the Silvermans' plans for the Wells Fargo building and the possible future towers on the site. They have some nice skyline and aerial views throughout the story, so be sure to watch the video report as well!

https://www.kob.com/news/top-news/developer-eyes-new-vision-for-downtown-albuquerque/

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque is well-known for its beautiful sky, whether it’s full of balloons or watermelon sunsets, but a developer has a new vision for our skyline.

Geltmore LLC is the local commercial real estate development company behind the new Ex-Novo Brewery, which they converted from the old Firestone facility in downtown Albuquerque. Geltmore was also behind the potential Symphony Tower, a skyscraper that former Mayor Richard Berry pitched to become the tallest building in New Mexico before current Mayor Tim Keller scrapped it.

Now, the company wants to try it again. They recently signed a contract to buy the landmark Wells Fargo Bank building property at Second and Lomas.

According to Adam Silverman, the vice president of Geltmore, the first step is to turn floors 2-13 into affordable housing. The ground floor will be a mix of offices, a restaurant and retail space.

“If we complete our plans as we’ve had them designed, we believe this will be our largest office-to-residential conversion in New Mexico,” Silverman said.

The building is only part of the purchase. Five acres of land also comes with purchasing the building.

“We actually are buying two full city blocks with this property,” Silverman noted.

They’ll begin working on the property’s south parking lot once they complete renovations on the Wells Fargo building.

For that space, Silverman said they have a vision that could transform the way we see Albuquerque.

“I believe that the ever-changing landscape of our downtown and the buildings in it can give us hope and realize the prosperity of things to come,” he said.

With that mentality, Silverman is dreaming up not one but two buildings to be the tallest in New Mexico.

“We know there is need for a hotel in Albuquerque in our downtown to connect to our convention center and so one of those towers could be a hotel. I’d love to maybe even see another tower be market rate or even more condos,” Silverman said.

Until then, Silverman said that he’s excited to see new life on our city streets.

“Between the Rail Trail, some improvements we’ve made in our downtown, it really is on the cusp of something great. And I hope to see a lot of change by the end of the decade,” he said.

Silverman added that the Wells Fargo branch will stay in the building. The entire renovation is expected to cost around $50-60 million. The first challenge is removing asbestos before they can even begin.

Silverman said new tenants could start moving into the building in 2026.

[ABQalex]

Albuquerque Business First has a story about Titan Development's boutique hotel project in Nob Hill after the recent demolition of the existing Hiway House motel structure on the site. They say that they expect to break ground late next year and be completed in 2027.

Some more information revealed is that the new hotel will be part of Marriott's Tribute Portfolio of boutique hotels, which are known for their uniqueness and upscale amenities. This will be the second Tribute property in the state, after the La Posada in Santa Fe.

https://tribute-portfolio.marriott.com/

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/...s-clamored-to-this-nob-hill-project.html

Titan Development finished demolition of the former Hiway House Motel the first week of November and is expected to break ground on the project in 2025, Titan Development Partner Josh Rogers said.

The developer has also selected a franchisor – Marriott – and a brand for the hotel within the Marriott system. Tribute is a soft brand within Marriott that has loose guidelines, meaning the developer or franchisee essentially has to design everything from the ground up, Rogers said.

This brand will allow Titan to still develop a boutique hotel while operating under the Marriott brand, which Rogers said is “perfect for what we need at Nob Hill because it is a completely unique site.” The architect is Dallas-based Premier Design to Completion, and a general contractor has not yet been selected for the project, Rogers said. He also declined to disclose the project or acquisition cost.

Titan kept tabs on the property for over a decade before finally acquiring it on April 19, 2023. The 1.08-acre location was one of just two others in Nob Hill that meets Titan’s minimum size requirement of 1 acre, Rogers said. And its central location within Nob Hill made the location attractive to the development group.

“We love Nob Hill,” Rogers said. “It’s one of the gems of Albuquerque, and Titan wants to do anything it can to uplift that area and help it out. We always have our eyes on things in Nob Hill to see what might come about.

Titan pivoted away from its bread-and-butter development – multifamily housing – with this project because its supply in many markets is outpacing demand. Rogers also noted that elevated building costs, high interest rates and lack of, or negative, renter growth in many markets mean it’s now difficult to develop a profitable multifamily project.

In contrast, Rogers said, “Hospitality as an industry right now is doing really well, and that is projected to continue for a while.” He also said during and after Covid-19, many hospitality companies didn’t require franchisees to renovate their hotels, meaning there’s a backlog of dated hotels.

He and Titan believe this Nob Hill hotel can fill a niche that’s in high demand and low supply – a boutique hotel in a unique location.

"[There's] this opportunity in the hospitality market where there hasn’t been a whole lot built … but also, [there's] kind of a different mindset from travelers, specifically leisure travelers," Rogers said. "They’re looking for better experiences with their hotels, not the same prototypical hotel night that a business traveler might want, but more recreational, leisure-type travelers are looking for really genuine experiences in unique hotels."

So far, local investors have validated that belief. Of Titan’s investors in the Hiway House Motel purchase, 76% are local. Rogers said Titan received phone calls from people it's never worked with interested in investing in the project, something he said doesn't happen.

“It was amazing to see the local support that we got from local investors here in Albuquerque,” Rogers said. “People in Albuquerque really love Nob Hill. It’s just one of those great places.”

Rogers said that he speaks about this project more than all of his other projects combined.

The project’s next steps are a series of neighborhood meetings, getting an entitlement from the city and then finalizing the site plan and getting building permits. The project is on track to break ground by the end of 2025, and Rogers estimated it would open in 2027.

[ABQalex]

Here's an awesome drone video of Downtown Albuquerque that was posted recently on YouTube. It looks like it was taken a couple of months ago, as the mural at Alvarado Square is visible in some of the scenes and was just beginning to be painted.

• Video Link

The Windforms mural at Alvarado Square has been completed and was officially unveiled last Friday. The unveiling was originally scheduled to take place on Thursday last week but the closures due to the snow postponed it until the next day. Be sure to click the link and watch the video report to see the changing lights shining on the mural at night and some of its animation effect that they talk about at the end of the report. The pic is of the artist standing on top of the nearby PNM parking structure, with the mural behind him.

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-me...foot-tall-mural-in-downtown-albuquerque/

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A new public art mural was unveiled on Friday in downtown Albuquerque adding color and dimension to Bernalillo County’s headquarters at Alvarado Square. Standing at 123 feet tall, the mural titled “Windforms” is officially the tallest mural in New Mexico featuring a vibrant design meant to reflect the beauty of Albuquerque’s landscapes.

Artist Ivan Depeña said his goal was to integrate the piece seamlessly into the building’s architecture. “What we really wanted to have the mural do is be sort of an inspirational moment to provide some color to the city and enhance the skyline. It was on top of our list of goals and aspirations for the project,” said Depeña.

The design features a wide array of colors inspired by the Albuquerque skies, the Rio Grande, the Bosque, and the Sandia Mountains. It took Depeña and his team over 6 months to create the art piece. 45 of those days were spent painting the design on the outside of Alvarado Square. “It’s an honor actually to be part of something that’s of this magnitude and scale in the city so you know, there obviously some nervousness that goes along with creating something that’s permanent and seen by the public on a daily basis but at the same time it’s also an honor and it’s exciting to be apart of the culture in the city,” said Depeña.

The $200,000 in funding for the “Windforms” project came from the county’s Art in Public Places Ordinance. At night the mural has large LED lights shining on it which turn the 2D display into a 3 dimensional animation.

Earlier this year, county commissioners approved an increase in the amount of funding that goes toward the Art in Public Places Ordinance, from 1% to 1.5% of county improvement projects.

I haven't been able to find a good, closeup pic of the mural itself but below is a nice pic that was posted back in September when the mural was pretty much completed.

https://www.instagram.com/p/C_zf_9cuBQN/



Here are a couple of recent nighttime pics that are focused on the posters' bike and truck, but where the mural is visible in the background. I'd also love to find a pic or video showing the lights and movement effect that they say the mural exhibits at night.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCGU1gWOaWi/



https://www.instagram.com/p/DCTrFjxRTQb/



Here also is a pic of the new mural that was painted during this month's Art Walk last Friday in Downtown Albuquerque on 6th Street between Copper and Central.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCK8ekvPeAi/?img_index=2



Around the corner on the same structure is another awesome mural that was completed last fall. Below is a recent pic of that mural which faces 6th Street.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCK8MkXy_Km/



That post that I linked to above has pics of Downtown and several of its murals, be sure to check it out. Below is another pic from the post showing the mural at the Arrive Hotel.



And here's another recent pic of the mural and more of the hotel structure showing its renovation progress.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCA0kkXt0Ls/



The downtown.abq Instagram account also posted these two pics of the Arrive Hotel sign earlier this week. You can see the neon tubes and other finishing touches in the pics.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DCVA6cyPhp4/

[ABQalex]

A bit of an update on Marble Brewery that was announced last week. It looks like there's a potential buyer and that they will continue to operate.

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/marble-brewery-announces-new-potential-buyer/

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – There’s a potential buyer for Marble Brewery. In a statement, the brewery said the sale is not final yet but that the prospective buyer is “prepared to lead” its evolution.

The owner shot down rumors last month that they were planning to close. They said there will be no interruptions in service during this transition which is expected to be completed by the end of the year. The popular spot was founded in 2008 and has locations on Albuquerque’s westside, northeast heights, and downtown.

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/...ewery-announces-it-will-be-acquired.html

After ranking No. 2 on Albuquerque Business First’s list of top producing breweries in the state, Marble Brewery announced Nov. 6 on its social media that it has entered into a purchase agreement with a local buyer. Officials said it expects its purchase will be finalized by the end of 2024.

All brewing and taproom operations will continue without interruption during and after the transition, the post read.

When asked for comment on the purchase, Marble Brewery provided Albuquerque Business First with a statement via email:

“Once the sale is final, the buyers will make an announcement and make themselves available to the media. We look forward to sharing all the details with you then.”

Founded in 2008, today the brewery has three Albuquerque taprooms. It produced 20,500 barrels of beer in 2023, just behind Santa Fe Brewing Co., which produced 42,500.

Another, long-awaited brewery has opened in this same area just north of Downtown Albuquerque. Dripline Brewery had its grand opening earlier this week. Below is a quote and pics of the new location from a recent post by the local beer blog, the Dark Side Brew Crew.

https://www.instagram.com/driplinebrewery/

https://nmdarksidebrewcrew.com/2024/11/1...hines-in-lead-up-to-their-grand-opening/

Amid all of the recent doom and gloom surrounding the local craft brewing scene, this past weekend saw a new bright light shine a little hope down in the Wells Park neighborhood.

After many years in planning, Dripline Brewery hosted an invite-only soft opening Saturday, welcoming a mix of friends, family, and industry colleagues to the finished space on the southeast corner of Second Street and Summer. It lies opposite of Voodoo Girl Pizza and Pints to the northwest.

A couple of us in the Crew stopped by to take some photos, say hello to the owners — Guillaume Dupont and Jacob Werenko — and a few other folks we knew, and enjoy our first pints on the premises. The only minor bummer was that an issue with the hot liquor tank in the brewery has left Dripline behind on their brewing schedule, so it was just a mix of guest taps from places like La Cumbre, Bow & Arrow, and more.

This Tuesday will mark the brewery’s grand opening to the public, starting with their normal hours from 3 to 9 p.m. Those hours will hold Wednesday and Thursday, while Friday will be 3 to 10, Saturday noon to 10, and Sunday noon to 8. The brewery will be closed on Mondays.

There is parking in a lot off Summer to the east of the brewery. Food trucks will typically be parked on Second Street.

The outdoor area is a spacious delight. As one of us got there a little later, it was already getting dark and hard to see everything they have set up at this point. An Instagram reel showed cornhole boards among other features.

Overall, the vibe was warm and welcoming. It truly feels like a family-oriented brewery with a relaxed atmosphere. The emphasis on the outdoor elements sets Dripline apart somewhat from the other breweries in Wells Park.

We look forward to heading back soon to try their own beers when those become available, which we will certainly keep everyone updated about.

Until then, we congratulate Guillaume, Jacob, and everyone else involved with Dripline in getting the doors open at long last.

Keep supporting local!

— Stoutmeister

Here are a few more pics of the new brewery in the daytime from another blog post by the Dark Side Brew Crew when it was still under construction. The first pic includes the two owners and operators of the new brewery.

https://nmdarksidebrewcrew.com/2024/06/1...n-after-lengthy-build-out-in-wells-park/

[ABQalex]

Albuquerque Business First has a story about Jim Long's projects in the Sawmill Area. The story says that the county commission will have its final vote on whether to approve the Industrial Revenue Bonds for the projects at its meeting on December 10th. If passed, they say that construction on the first project (the extended-stay hotel) would begin before the end of the first quarter next year. The second project (the apartment building) would begin construction before the end of the second quarter next year. The third project (the boutique hotel) would begin construction in either late 2026 or sometime in 2027. The story includes one new and two slightly different renderings than ones we've seen before.

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/...-200m-jim-long-s-vision-for-sawmill.html

Jim Long’s vision for the Sawmill District came one step closer to fruition Oct. 22 at the Bernalillo County Board of County Commissioners administrative meeting.

The County Commissioners unanimously adopted the inducement of three industrial revenue bonds (IRBs) of up to $162.4 million for projects in the Sawmill District spearheaded by local real estate development firm Heritage Real Estate Co. LLC and Long, the company's CEO.

The inducement allows for legislation to now be introduced so that the County Commissioners can consider adopting the projects. It also means that an economic development review committee and public comment can commence.

Marcos Gonzales, executive development officer for Bernalillo County Economic Development, said the next step is a Dec. 10 Board of County Commissioners meeting where the projects' IRBs will be presented for final adoption. After that, the transaction will be closed in 2025.

The proposed projects include a 139-unit apartment complex, a 109-room extended-stay hotel named Chaco Residences and a 119-room boutique hotel, Long said. The projects will collectively cost $200 million.

A general contractor for the projects hasn’t been selected yet, Long said, but conversations have started. He plans to select a local general contractor.

New Mexico native Ben Anderson, who now works in Los Angeles at Office Untitled, will be the design architect for the projects, and the construction document architect for the first two projects is Seattle-based Clark Barnes.

“We see the area as what it can be, not what it is today, which is heavily industrial," Long said when describing the Sawmill District's potential.

The nearby Sawmill Market, which Long owns, only has New Mexican tenants. Long said “those businesses have greatly prospered with that model,” and sees the district leaning into the model in the future.

“That’s what the district will be about; it’s a showcase for the best of what New Mexico has to offer,” he said.

Long also owns the nearby Hotel Chaco and Hotel Albuquerque. He indicated he believes there will be enough demand in the Sawmill District to accommodate the two additional lodging options.

He pointed to the Sawmill Market, several museums and Old Town — all within walking distance — as reasons lodging in the area is in high demand.

“This is where people want to be when they come to Albuquerque,” Long said. “It’s an emerging district that’s able to support that number of hotels.”

Gonzales echoed Long's sentiment, citing a comprehensive analysis presented by Visit Albuquerque at a Nov. 13 Economic Forum of Albuquerque meeting. The report showed a need for more hotels near the Convention Center, which these Sawmill projects could help alleviate given their proximity (about 2 miles).

He also noted that because the ground floor of each Heritage project will have space tailored to retail and restaurant storefronts, they will help entrepreneurs by alleviating burdens traditionally associated with brick-and-mortar operations.

"[It's] allowing entrepreneurs to have a brick-and-mortar experience but without having a lot of the overhead and a lot of the costs that are traditionally associated with brick and mortar," Gonzales said. "Like what's being done in Sawmill [Market]. They built out the shells for the entrepreneurs, [so] all the restaurant equipment and stuff like that, it's not burdened on the entrepreneur to provide."

District 13 Senator-elect and one of the founders of the Sawmill Community Land Trust, Debbie O'Malley, expressed optimism that the projects could have a positive impact on the Sawmill area, but she also pointed to too much traffic and not enough parking and affordable housing as potential consequences.

She said that because of all the investment in the Sawmill area, property values will rise, causing the area to be less affordable. And O'Malley said that there's already been complaints about traffic in the area, so this increased housing would only create more.

Chaco Residences

This is the first of three Sawmill District projects Long aims to get started.

The plan is to break ground on Chaco Residences by the end of the first quarter of 2025, and it will take about 22 months to complete the project, Long said.

An extended-stay hotel, Long wants it to cater to visitors staying longer than usual by providing in-room washer and dryer units and a kitchen. It will also have co-working space and meeting accommodations.

The hotel is targeted at traveling health care workers, people in the film industry or other professionals who may need to stay in the area for an extended length of time.

Located across the street from Hotel Chaco, it will have a rooftop bar, fitness center, retail and a pool, Long said. The retail will be New Mexican businesses only.

139-unit apartment complex

Long said he plans to break ground on the second of his three Sawmill District projects by the end of the second quarter of 2025. The project will take about 22 months to complete.

The apartment complex will have market-rent units ranging in size from studio to three-bedroom units, he said. The complex will have retail on the ground floor, all of which will, again, be reserved for New Mexican businesses.

Long said they “will not hold back on quality” with this project and that he hopes it will inspire others considering projects in the area and the state.

Boutique hotel

The third of the three Sawmill projects, the 119-room hotel won’t happen until late 2026 or sometime in 2027.

This project will take about 22 months to complete, Long said. The earliest it will open will be 2029. It too will have a rooftop bar, a ground-floor restaurant and retail. It’s unclear what the retail will be, but Long said the theme of New Mexican-only businesses would continue.

The hotel, which does not yet have a name, will not be affiliated with a national brand. Long said it will have its own style, look and feel.

[ABQalex]

A groundbreaking ceremony was held yesterday for Explora's new Brillante Early Learning Center in the Sawmill Area/Old Town. Fittingly, there were toy dump trucks and excavators in the mound of dirt for the kids to participate in the ceremony as well.

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-me...r-new-early-learning-center-in-old-town/

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The ground has officially been broken for an upcoming childhood learning center in Albuquerque. City and education leaders came out to celebrate at the future home of the Brillante Early Learning Center near Old Town. The center is partnered with Explora and will allow the museum to expand its child-care capabilities.

It will give parents an opportunity to work on their own education. “Knowing that Jariah is safe and learning in a nurturing environment has allowed me to focus on my education and work without the stress of finding reliable childcare, which is something that was impossible for our family,” said Reina Romero, parent.

When Brillante opens, it will have ten classrooms ready to serve more than 100 children a year.

https://www.facebook.com/positiveenergys...M79Za95i8iqS135z7PZWcrv6WexVQYUTFNovAg5l





Here's a nice aerial pic that Explora recently posted of the existing and main facility on its social media accounts.

https://www.facebook.com/ExploraNM



Here also is another awesome skyline pic that was posted earlier this month on Instagram capturing the clash of seasons that we had in Albuquerque.

https://www.instagram.com/annalisapadilla/p/DCIEqvXPujT/

[ABQalex]

Here's another pic showing the skyline and the contrast of seasons that we had in Albuquerque earlier this month.

https://www.instagram.com/brandonkmorgan/p/DCGGV5FNoW6/



Another pic by the same poster showing the fall colors along the irrigation canals in the North Valley.

https://www.instagram.com/brandonkmorgan/p/DBy9sQAvscr/



And another pic from the same poster as the last pic in my previous post above showing a trail in the North Valley with fall colors and the snowy Sandias in the distance as well.

https://www.instagram.com/annalisapadilla/p/DCNI_ERPdfg/