Albuquerque Development Thread

[ABQalex]

The Census Bureau's 2023 population estimates for counties and metro areas came out last week. They show the Albuquerque metro area as growing, but not by a huge amount. They have us at about 922,000 people on July 1st, 2023, an increase of about 6,000 people from the 2020 Census. However, they continue to show Bernalillo County as losing population. Sandoval, Valencia and Torrance counties have all grown. Notably, the metro area has been losing population due to natural decrease in the last few years, meaning more people have died than been born. We've gained population from both domestic and international migration, enough to offset the losses due to deaths.

https://www.census.gov/data/tables/t...cal-areas.html

Pop. 2020 | 2023 - entity

676,452 | 671,586 - Bernalillo County
148,834 | 155,936 - Sandoval County
76,207 | 79,141 - Valencia County
15,052 | 15,633 - Torrance County

916,545 | 922,296 - Albuquerque MSA

https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/n...oto/1864985816

[ABQalex]

A $19.5 billion funding deal for Intel was announced yesterday by the federal government, which includes funding for its site in Rio Rancho. It's part of the president's effort to reshore the manufacturing of computer chips. The story below from Fortune has information about what the funding entails for the Intel plant in Rio Rancho, which I've highlighted in bold.

https://fortune.com/2024/03/20/intel...ors-packaging/

The Commerce Department is taking its biggest step yet toward onshoring semiconductor manufacturing with a historic $19.5 billion funding deal with Intel, which the Santa Clara, Calif.-based semiconductor giant plans to use for four new production facilities across the country.

President Biden signed the $53 billion CHIPS and Science Act into law in August 2022, committing to ensure that the U.S. could design and manufacture the advanced computer chips that power everything from lawnmowers to supercomputers on its own soil, instead of having to outsource production to Asia. That was a little over a year and a half ago, but the first grant—a meager $35 million to New Hampshire-based BAE Systems—wasn’t announced until last December.

Lengthy application processes have drawn criticism from manufacturers and industry watchers, but this Intel agreement is the first of what the Commerce Department says will be a wave of big grants to come.

“It’s a huge deal,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said on a call with reporters. “It means bleeding-edge semiconductors made in the USA, keeping the USA in the driver’s seat of innovation.”

If Intel meets performance targets in the deal, it’ll be eligible for $8.5 billion in federal grants, an additional $11 billion in CHIPS Act loans and a 25% Treasury tax credit. A senior administration official said that the Intel grant was expected to be the largest single grant administered through the CHIPS Act, and once the Commerce Department and Intel agree on final terms, the government expects to start delivering funds by the end of the year.

In addition to the grant, Intel has already invested over $100 billion in private capital toward domestic semiconductor manufacturing since the CHIPS Act was signed.

Raimondo said that the Intel grant keeps the U.S. on pace to manufacture 20% of the world’s bleeding-edge logic chips, which are essential for many A.I. and military applications, by the end of the decade. (The U.S. currently doesn’t produce any of these chips.)

Intel has announced four new facilities in Arizona, New Mexico, Ohio, and Oregon, and it estimates that building and running the facilities will generate over 30,000 jobs. The Rio Rancho, New Mexico project will modernize two fabrication sites into the largest advanced packaging facility in the country. Packaging, which refers to combining the multiple parts of a chip, has emerged as a key aspect of production as manufacturers race to fit more computing power into smaller and smaller chips.

“Onshoring packaging is just crucial to meet our national security goals,” Raimondo said.

Despite the slow rollout of CHIPS Act grant funding, many are already heralding the program as a success because of the private investment it’s generated. Anticipating big infusions of federal cash, private investors have already poured over $200 billion in capital into semiconductor manufacturing.

“This is a major, historic moment,” said a senior administration official on a call with reporters announcing the Intel deal. “What we are seeing here, in terms of unlocking hundreds of billions of dollars in private investment…is unparalleled in the economic history of our country.”

Raimondo said in a speech last month that the Commerce Department is prioritizing projects that will be completed before 2030 as it makes funding decisions, more of which should be coming later this year. The agency received over 600 statements of interest from semiconductor companies that have already requested over $70 billion in funding, far more than the $28 billion it has earmarked for chip manufacturing. That required some challenging decisions, Raimondo said.

“The point of this program isn’t to sprinkle a bunch of money out to as many companies as possible, even though, candidly, that would be easier,” Raimondo said. “Our job is to make targeted investments in the relentless pursuit of achieving our national security objectives.”

As a bonus, here are a couple of pics from the Albuquerque Museum's online photo archive showing the Intel plant's major expansion in the 1990s. This expansion contributed greatly to Rio Rancho and Albuquerque's population boom in the 90s and 2000s. We can only hope, and shall see, whether this decade's expansion will have a similar effect.

[ABQalex]

Here is something that I posted over at SSC last week that I also wanted to copy over here. It's a listing that I've put together trying to capture and show all the announced jobs and economic development projects in the Albuquerque metro area. I may be forgetting some and I'm mostly going by memory, so all of the details may not be a hundred percent correct, but I think it's pretty accurate and captures the great economic growth in the metro area over the past few years.

$6,000,000,000 - Facebook - 700 jobs
$3,500,000,000 - Intel - 700 jobs
$2,500,000,000 - Netflix - 2,000 jobs
$2,423,000,000 - Maxeon - 1,800 jobs
$2,000,000,000 - Manna Capital Partners/Ball Corporation - 950 jobs

$500,000,000 - NBCUniversal - 333 jobs
$300,000,000 - Amazon - 3,500 jobs
$254,000,000 - Universal Hydrogen - 500 jobs
$250,000,000 - Vexus Fiber - 150 jobs
$125,000,000 - Kairos Power - 65 jobs
$104,000,000 - Cinelease Studios - 12 jobs
$100,000,000 - Curia - 274 jobs
$100,000,000 - Star Scientific - 200 jobs

$60,000,000 - BlueHalo - 130 jobs
$60,000,000 - Arcosa Wind Towers - 250 jobs
$57,000,000 - Mesa Studios - 774 jobs
$50,000,000 - Array Technologies - 100 jobs
$42,000,000 - Jabil - 120 jobs
$40,000,000 - ABB - 55 jobs
$23,000,000 - 3D Glass Solutions - 139 jobs
$16,000,000 - mtex Antenna - 62 jobs
$10,000,000 - Bueno Foods - 49 jobs

$8,800,000 - Geobrugg - 60 jobs
$2,000,000 - MTX - 250 jobs

? - Fidelity Investments - 775 jobs
? - Sceye, Inc. - 140 jobs
? - LQ Digital - 100 jobs
? - Northrop Grumman - 100 jobs
? - Gigapower/AT&T

That's about $18.5 billion in known investment dollars and about 14,300 new jobs.

To update things a bit, the Maxeon project has recently been submitted for planning approval at the Development Facilitation Team, the Curia expansion is under construction, Netflix is obviously still under construction, Facebook continues its construction as well, with its latest two data halls, numbers 7 and 8 underway, and the Arcosa Wind Towers facility is almost complete and has begun manufacturing operations.

I'd like to see an update on the Manna Capital Partners/Ball Corporation aluminum facility. That project has me a bit worried. It's been awhile since we've heard anything more about it. And of course, the Universal Hydrogen facility at the Sunport.

But overall, most of these economic development projects seem to be coming to fruition. We also haven't had a shortage of new announcements lately, so there's more projects to help bring up the rear and pad things a bit if some of the others don't come to fruition.

The Gigapower/AT&T project is a fiber internet project that was announced just last month. They told Albuquerque Business First that they will be investing "several hundred million dollars" for the project and that they hope to have it up and running by the end of the year. They also say that several hundred people will be involved in bringing the project to fruition, so it's most likely a significant jobs creator as well, at least through the build-out phase.

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquer...d-network.html

A joint venture between national telecommunications company AT&T Inc. and BlackRock Inc., a global asset management firm, wants to build out a "best-in-class" high-speed fiber network in Albuquerque, in what would represent an investment "in the several-hundred-million-dollar range," the company's chief operating officer told Albuquerque Business First on Friday.

Gigapower, the name of the venture formed between AT&T and BlackRock, launched in May 2023. Albuquerque is among the first markets where Gigapower plans to build a commercial wholesale, open-access fiber network, alongside cities including Mesa, Gilbert and Chandler in the Phoenix metro area; Las Vegas, Nevada, and Wilkes-Barre and Scranton in Pennsylvania.

"It really is a best-in-class network, and that's fantastic because having reliable service to the home that far exceeds today's requirements for our customers, when you think about the evolution of data consumption in the home and connected devices, is building for the future in our capacity," Tom Kearney, Gigapower's chief operating officer, said.

The network will be provided through AT&T Fiber. It'll be a multi-gigabit symmetrical network with a commercial open access architecture, which Kearney said allows multiple internet service providers and other businesses to run on the same network.

Kearney said Gigapower has a right-of-way agreement signed with the City of Albuquerque and is currently working with the City on permitting its first origination sites; the company's goal is to deliver service "as quickly as possible" in 2024, he added.

The company's first origination site for its multi-gigabit symmetrical network is near the interchange of Interstate 25 and Interstate 40, Kearney said. That site is "ready to go," he added, and Gigapower has two other sites — one on the east side of the city and another to the north — in the planning and zoning process.

Those origination sites feed out what Kearney called a "passive network architecture" dozens of miles around where they're built. Having a passive architecture increases the network's reliability, he said.

Gigapower will work with Circet USA, a national telecommunications contracting firm headquartered in Faribault, Minnesota, with an office in Albuquerque at 4725 Lumber Ave. NE, to construct its origination sites and surrounding network. Kearney estimated the project could have several hundred people working on it through a mix of full-time employees, subcontractors and other partners.

In terms of investment, Kearney didn't provide a specific figure when asked by Business First, instead saying it's a "sizable capital investment" across the City of Albuquerque in the "several-hundred-million-dollar range." He added that the project is fully financed.
...

More information and details about the Mesa Studios project came to light last week in anticipation of the city council voting on Monday to approve the lease of city-owned land just north of Double Eagle II Airport on the Westside for the project. One of the two partners behind the project is a Hollywood producer originally from New Mexico. Galen Walker is best known for producing three Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies between 2007 and 2016.

https://www.cabq.gov/economicdevelop...-the-west-mesa

ALBUQUERQUE — Albuquerque’s scenic West Mesa could soon be home to a major film and television production hub. The Mesa Film Studios (MFS) development site is on City-owned property along Atrisco Vista Blvd. The first phase of the project has an estimated capital investment of $57 million on a 60-acre site. In the first year of operations, the studio is expected to create 24 full time jobs and over 750 studio production jobs. The project is expected to have an impact of $531 million through in-state economic activity.

“Film and TV production is happening in full force in Albuquerque, and we’re grateful for partnerships that help us grow so we can keep up with demand,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “This major development on the west side will bring thousands of jobs to the city, and create more opportunities for locals to thrive in the growing industry.”

“This exciting announcement is yet another indication that the film and TV production industry is here to stay in New Mexico," said Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham. "New Mexico native Galen Walker’s decision to locate this cutting-edge studio on Albuquerque’s west side is proof that our film industry is not only creating thousands of jobs for New Mexicans, but establishing itself as a major film ecosystem that will continue to generate economic opportunities for businesses of all kinds.”

The film studio property, which will be leased from the City of Albuquerque to MFS, is north of Double Eagle II (DEII)—a small general aviation airport—and will include six sound stages, production office space, backlot, mill space, and a permanent Blue Screen.

“As a fifth generation New Mexican, I’m excited to be coming back home after a long career in Hollywood to establish this film studio, boosting the state’s film industry, and bringing high-quality jobs to the greater Albuquerque area,” said Mesa Film Studios Co-Principal/Co-Owner Galen Walker.

“With the lack of quality soundstages in North America, the new Mesa Studios development in Albuquerque would help New Mexico remain competitive in capturing large-scale, job-rich productions that could otherwise go to competing locations,” said New Mexico Film Office Director Amber Dodson.

“The Mesa Film Studios project is a major boost for Albuquerque's film industry,” said Economic Development Director Max Gruner. “It's not just about creating good-paying jobs—it's about sparking growth that has a ripple effect, supporting other local industries, and adding to the city’s economic prosperity.”

The lease agreement between Mesa Film Studios and the City has been finalized and will be considered by City Council at the upcoming meeting on March 18.

Here are some pics of the Netflix project over the past few months from various sources. I especially enjoy seeing the first office building come to fruition.

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/new-m...owing-strikes/



https://www.apartments.com/encanto-a...ue-nm/0qwr8g2/



https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/n...QjFzJJ9QgC3qxw



https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/n...TJNyDq6WzWYrgA



https://www.instagram.com/p/C0OJNZTAb6t/









Here's some screenshots and a link to a video from Klinger contractors on Instagram that they posted recently. It's a fly-through of the Arcosa Wind Towers facility in Belen. It's where I found out that the project is nearly completed and fabrication/manufacturing has begun.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4OvNeJMgyS/

[ABQalex]

The New Mexico United had the last of its two public meetings about the stadium project yesterday. The meetings included new renderings for the stadium that are different than the ones we've seen. Apparently, a final design has yet to be chosen. They said even these aren't the final design. They say that they are adapting and responding to neighbor concerns with the design. Below is a story from KOB-TV last week after the first meeting.

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/new-m...occer-stadium/

It was almost a year ago when Albuquerque city leaders revealed the new home for New Mexico United could be heading to Balloon Fiesta Park.

That’s after voters overwhelmingly rejected a plan to build a new stadium near downtown Albuquerque. City leaders approved a lease agreement for Balloon Fiesta Park late last year, but the battle is not over yet.

Team leaders unveiled new renderings of the proposed stadium during a community meeting Wednesday night. They’re not too different from the ones you’ve probably seen, and they’re not the final design — but team leaders say they showcase some new features aimed at making sure the stadium is not a major disruption to nearby neighborhoods.

The current plan is to build the roughly 185,000-square-foot stadium in a parking lot tucked behind some power lines and a 50-foot hill. It’s roughly a half mile away from the closest homes nearby.

Designers also say they’re utilizing Balloon Fiesta Park’s existing traffic infrastructure, like the I-25 on-ramp. They also noted that they plan to add 200 parking spaces.

They say that the hillside will create extra standing room, potentially allowing up to 13,000 fans inside.

There are plans for new lounges, plazas, and concession areas, but developers say the room is actually one of the most important features.

“We prioritize the roof, because it’s the way, it’s one of the many ways we mitigate sound,” said Matt Proctoer with Improve Group. “And the city and the team prioritize picking sound systems, lighting systems, and a design that would minimize how much light and sound moves outside the stadium.”

New Mexico United is expected to invest at least $30 million to build the stadium. State lawmakers recently approved another $15 million for infrastructure upgrades at Balloon Fiesta Park, like new drainage systems and restrooms.

However, not everyone is on board. A sizable group of nearby neighbors filed an appeal against the city’s Environmental Planning Commission’s approval, hoping to block the stadium from ever being built.

Neighbors opposing the project say they’re most concerned about the noise and light pollution, as well as the impact on property values and even wildlife in the bosque.

Team leaders say they’ve taken those concerns seriously.

“We’re doing our best to articulate that we’re listening, and we’re making changes based on their recommendations,” said Ron Patel, president of New Mexico United. “You know, ultimately, if there’s 50 or 100 that are opposed to it, there’s many, many more that are for it. That doesn’t mean don’t listen to those folks. But listen to what their concerns are, and see what we can do to accommodate some of those concerns.”

The Environmental Planning Commission is expected to make a decision on the neighbors’ appeal one week from Thursday — potentially delaying the entire project. United is hosting another community meeting to discuss their plans next Wednesday.

The Environmental Planning Commission had its regular monthly meeting for March today. However, the do-over and reconsideration of the stadium plans at Balloon Fiesta Park were deferred to a special meeting that will be held next month on April 11th.

https://documents.cabq.gov/planning/...P_Deferral.pdf

[ABQalex]

Albuquerque Business First has an update about the Flix Brewhouse project for the east side of the city in the Heights. It's scheduled to begin construction this month. The price tag for the renovation of the former UA High Ridge 8 theater has risen by one million dollars or about 25 percent to $5 million total. They didn't mention the status of the project to renovate and add an additional screen to the original Flix location on the Westside.

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

First announced in September, Flix Brewhouse’s transformation of the former Regal UA High Ridge theater in the Northeast Heights is about to break ground on its multimillion-dollar renovation.

Construction is expected to start this month with the opening now slated for the end of the year or first part of 2025, said Chance Robertson, CEO of Flix. Snyder Construction is the general contractor on the project and Modulus Architects & Land Use Planning Inc. is the architect.

“We're taking [the theater] and kind of converting it into a much more modern facility,” Robertson said. “It's not a ground up build, but it's probably similar in its scope and complexity.”

Robertson originally thought the project would surpass $4 million and that figure is now north of $5 million.

As for its workforce, they still intend to hire between 100 and 125 people with about 60% of those employees being full time. The active search for management positions should start in the next 60 to 90 days with hourly positions advertised four to six weeks before Flix opens.

With a potential end-of-year debut, though, Robertson does see a silver lining. As the movie industry rapidly ramps back up post strikes, that should translate into some “more dynamic content” later in the year, Robertson said. And those moviegoers will be able to enjoy one of Flix’s signature on-site breweries, as well as laser projections and Dolby sound in each of the theaters.

And while Robertson apologized for the delay, he said they are working as fast as they can to get the facility ready.

“When you get excited about a project, you're just like there's no wall we won’t be able to run through, no obstacle we won't be able to overcome,” he said. “The reality is sometimes that's just not how life works. We've tried our hardest and we're really excited. We know this is going to be great for us. And we're excited to be partners with the Hinkle Family Fun Center who shares the parking lot with us.”

[ABQalex]

The city council at its meeting last week voted to approve the lease agreement for the Mesa Film Studios project on the Westside on part of the Double Eagle II Airport property. The city will lease 60 acres of land initially with up to 130 acres available overall for future expansion of the project.

https://cabq.legistar.com/Legislatio...6-4AFDA8058AFD

Here's a screenshot of the site plan for Mesa Fillm Studios showing the first phase and the two possible expansions. It's from the supporting documents for the city council agenda last week. In those files the other partner in the Mesa Studios venture was also revealed to be a New York City developer named Scott Resnick of SR Capital. I've included a link below to a story about him in the Wall Street Journal.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-resni...one-1431911329



More information about the Cinelease Studios project also came to light in the supporting documents submitted to the Albuquerque Development Commission back in February for the project incentives agreement. The ADC ultimately approved the incentives and sent them to the city council and mayor for final approval.

https://www.cabq.gov/mra/documents/a...5-24-draft.pdf

https://www.cabq.gov/mra/documents/c...se-inc-irb.pdf

https://www.cabq.gov/mra/documents/c...e-inc-leda.pdf

One of the things revealed is that the project is actually a $104 million investment by Cinelease, that's more than was originally reported. They state that the project will create at least 12 permanent jobs for the operation of the studios and 656 construction jobs. In an economic impact study by Ernst & Young it is estimated that they will create 408 annual studio production jobs with indirect and induced employment of 849 additional jobs annually. They will also be using pre-fab and modular soundstages from another company, examples of which they included in their study and submittal. I've included a screenshot of those, as well as the site plan below.















Here's a link to Spantech's website, which has more information about their soundstages and other offerings. I assume the components will be manufactured elsewhere and brought to Albuquerque for assembly.

https://span-tech.com/entertainment/...n/soundstages/

[ABQalex]

The site plan for the first In-N-Out location in Albuquerque has been submitted to the Development Facilitation Team for review. The store isn't supposed to open until 2027, but hopefully this might mean they are going for an opening sooner than that. Of course, these city approvals can often take years on their own, so maybe they are anticipating the possibility of a long, drawn-out process as well.

https://www.cabq.gov/planning/develo...plan-admin-dft




https://images2.imgbox.com/a0/60/hrkRuBcw_o.jpg


https://images2.imgbox.com/30/f5/jUVzeGFv_o.jpg

As you can see from the site plan above, the In-N-Out location will be at Gibson and I-25 next to the existing city fire station. Across Alumni Drive from both is the new Raising Cane's location that is currently being built. Below are some pictures of the construction from back in January. There's also a location currently being built in Rio Rancho.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/const...04200448-lXns/













Here are pictures of the first two Raising Cane's locations in Albuquerque that opened last year in the Northeast Heights.

Montgomery and San Mateo

https://fmindustry.com/2023/07/10/sa...n-albuquerque/



Wyoming Mall

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquer...-southern.html



Slim Chickens also opened its first location in Albuquerque proper at the beginning of the year. It's on Montgomery NE near Wyoming Boulevard in the redeveloped La Mirada Square. The first metro area location opened last year in Rio Rancho.

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquer...ns-expand.html



The city and metro area's first Chicken Salad Chick location will also be opening soon. Here's a story from KOB-TV late last month about the new location on the Westside that will open next week.

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/chick...on-next-month/

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Chicken Salad Chick officials announced they will open their first New Mexico location in northwest Albuquerque next month.

The location will open April 16 at 10:30 a.m. It is opening up in a new shopping center along Unser, near McMahon, in northwest Albuquerque.

Officials say the first 100 guests joining them on opening day will receive free chicken salad for a year. Then, they plan to continue the giveaways as the week goes on.

A Utah-based soda fountain chain opened its first metro area location last year in Rio Rancho, it's called Fiiz Drinks. A location in Albuquerque proper is planned for the Cottonwood Mall area as well.

https://www.facebook.com/FiiZDrinksRioRancho/





Another Utah-based company opened its second Albuquerque location in the Northeast Heights earlier this year as well. The Crumbl Cookies location on Wyoming and Paseo del Norte was highly anticipated after an unusually long construction period that had many people wondering if it would ever open. The first location is on the Westside. I myself hope they build one closer to Downtown, perhaps in Nob Hill or the UNM area. There's already an Insomnia Cookies location across from UNM, so Nob Hill seems more likely.

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquer...ns-expand.html





Remember that Dirty Dough, yet another Utah-based cookie company, is planning to open its first location in Albuquerque soon as well. We're sure to be well-supplied and energized with sugary drinks and cookies from Utah. The Dirty Dough location in Albuquerque will be on the Westside on Highway 528 near Cottonwood Mall. It was supposed to open at the beginning of the year but I don't believe that it has yet opened. It's listed as "coming soon" on their website.

https://dirtydoughcookies.com/locations-2/



An Arkansas-based coffee chain also recently announced its intention to expand to the metro area with two locations, one each in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho. The Seven Brew Drive Thru Coffee franchisee has plans for up to eight locations in the metro area, five by the end of this year. An interesting thing is that the structures will be built elsewhere and trucked here for final set up at their locations. They are expected to open sometime this spring.

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquer...tions-abq.html

An Arkansas-based drive-thru coffee franchise plans to expand to Albuquerque and Rio Rancho this spring.

Led by franchisee Paul Hoover, 7 Brew is currently developing two new locations - one on the corner of Wyoming and Montgomery Boulevards and another on the corner of Southern and Unser Boulevards. Each location will be 550 square feet and staffed by 40 employees, Hoover said.

The locations were chosen based on demographics and traffic in the area, he added.

The facilities will be constructed in Haven, Kansas, by National Modular Manufacturing. The modular buildings will then be shipped to New Mexico following the end of construction, which can take up to 120 days, Hoover said.

“The buildings themselves are built in two pieces,” Hoover said. “The building is constructed inside a factory, and then they move it on a flatbed trailer.”

The location on Wyoming and Montgomery will open in late March, while the location on Southern and Unser will open in early May. Costs to start a 7 Brew franchise range from $503,800 to $1,100,000, according to the FDD Exchange, which spotlights Franchise Disclosure Documents.

Hoover, a Wichita, Kansas, native, chose to invest in 7 Brew because of its “simplicity,” he said. By the end of the year, he hopes to open five locations in the Albuquerque metro.

In total, Hoover plans to bring eight locations to the city in the coming years.

The coffee shop opened its first store in Rogers, Arkansas, in 2017. The company serves a variety of coffees, teas, lemonades, smoothies and energy drinks. Currently, there over 100 locations across the country, according to Business Wire.

Here's a pic of the first metro Seven Brew location being set in place last month in Albuquerque. It's part of the redevelopment of La Mirada Square. You can also see the new Albuquerque ER & Hospital location in the background. It's from a recent mention in the Albuquerque Journal. The story above from Business First says that it was supposed to open late last month, but I'm not sure if it has indeed opened yet.

https://www.abqjournal.com/business/...44f6d9e17.html



Albuquerque Business First last month also had a story about a new Hawaiian barbecue restaurant chain that is planning to open a location in Albuquerque soon. This will also be located in the Wyoming Mall, which is seeing new development with the recent Raising Cane’s and a Starbucks location that is being planned as well.

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquer...buquerque.html

A Honolulu-based Hawaiian restaurant is expanding to Albuquerque this year.

L&L Hawaiian BBQ recently acquired the former Keva Juice space, located at 2270 Wyoming Blvd. NE. The 1,200-square-foot store will serve a variety of items including chicken, beef and seafood.

Colliers International broker Elisa Cárdenas represented the tenant, but declined to share the name of the franchisee. Interior renovations will be made prior to opening.

The Hawaiian restaurant chose to locate its operations on Wyoming Boulevard due to heavy foot traffic caused by nearby residential neighborhoods and tenants such as Walmart, Raising Cane’s and Chick-fil-A, Cárdenas said.

“We're bringing in a lot more new franchises,” Cárdenas said. “And I think that's great that [Albuquerque’s] starting to be seen more on a national level and that we are bringing in more national tenants into our market, which is what us commercial brokers try to do.”

The franchisee of L&L Hawaiian BBQ started planning the Albuquerque location two years ago, Cárdenas said. Terms were finalized in early February, she added.

Cárdenas said franchise deals can be tricky to navigate due to the specific guidelines a franchisee must follow.

“We can't just go anywhere they want to,” Cárdenas said. “The franchisor has to make sure [the franchisee] meets the demographics, population and square footage criteria.”

L&L Hawaiian Barbecue was founded in 1952 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Since its arrival on the mainland in 1999, the company has grown to over 200 locations across Hawaii, California, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Oregon, Utah, Texas, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia, according to its website.

The Wyoming corridor overall is seeing a lot of activity lately, from Paseo all the way down to Menaul. Below also are pics of the new Athleta store at Academy and Wyoming and a Natural Grocers location that opened late last year on Wyoming just north of Montgomery near La Mirada Square. The Athleta store is the first location in New Mexico and the Natural Grocers is a relocation to a new, larger structure of an existing store.

https://www.abqjournal.com/business/...bcee85d41.html



https://investors.naturalgrocers.com...ember-14,-2023

[ABQalex]

KOB-TV last week had a look at The Block shipping container community that is getting ready to open in Rio Rancho at the Plaza at Enchanted Hills shopping center.

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/exclu...in-rio-rancho/

RIO RANCHO, N.M. — After months of delays, The Block is almost ready to open in Rio Rancho’s Enchanted Hills.

The shipping container complex will feature a high-end bar, boutiques, and an interior food hall.

“This has been kind of the most beautiful hybrid we could come up with, we took so many popular things and favorite things post-COVID that allow people to be outside and enjoy,” said Tiffany Gravelle, chief operations officer for The Block.

It’s set to open on June 1.

“It’s really, in this case, good things come to those who wait and we’re really excited to roll it out in its final version,” Gravelle said.

Below is a full list of vendors:

• Stackers
• KuKri
• Los Tacos del Rey
• Umami
• The Boba Lounge
• Mint Noodle Bar
• Tavern on the Green

The Block is now accepting RFPs for food trucks, mural artists, and performers. It’s also seeking a great coffee concept, dessert and ice cream options, a vegan option, and hip local retailers/boutique shops to join the neighborhood.

Below is a recent aerial video update of the project on YouTube, parts of which were shown in the KOB report above. I've also included a screenshot from the video, as well as a rendering of the project from approximately the same perspective to compare with the built result.





• Video Link

A new Sprouts store is also supposed to open soon at the Plaza at Enchanted Hills, the first in Rio Rancho proper. The closest one currently is in Albuquerque near Cottonwood Mall. It will go into a former Bed, Bath & Beyond location.

https://www.sprouts.com/store/nm/rio-rancho/nm-hwy-528/

https://crittendenretail.com/anatomy...io-rancho-n-m/



The new Market Street grocery store location in The Village at Rio Rancho that was announced a couple of years ago has yet to come to fruition. They said that the proposed merger between Albertsons and Kroger wouldn't affect the plans for the store, but I think it absolutely had to have.

Whenever people have asked about the status of the store on Facebook company representatives have said that it is still in the works and scheduled to get underway soon. Rio Rancho's mayor has also responded on Facebook that the store is still in the works and recently said that everything, such as permits, etc. is in place for the store to begin construction. In fact, Albuquerque Business First recently had a story about the project which seems to indicate that construction is finally underway.

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquer...5-opening.html

High-end grocery store Market Street is eyeing an early 2025 opening at its Rio Rancho location near Rust Medical Center, with construction ongoing.

The ground-up build, contracted by ESI Construction, originally broke ground in July 2022 and aimed to open last year. However, continuing issues brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic pushed its timeline, a spokesperson for The United Family, Market Street’s parent organization under Albertsons Companies, said.

The 80,000-square-foot Market Street aims to offer not just groceries but an array of prepared foods, including amenities like an upscale bakery and health food offerings. Santa Fe currently has the brand’s sole location in New Mexico.

Sidney Hopper, division president of United Family, said the company looked at factors like proximity to hospitals — notably, Rust Medical Center — and median household income when deciding on the location at the southeast corner of Unser and Westside boulevards.

“It’s a gathering place and that’s what we hope it is in Rio Rancho,” Hopper told Albuquerque Business First. “Where people come for breakfast, they’ll come for lunch and even come for dinner. And have different gatherings in that space there.”

Planned prepared food options include sushi, noodles and barbecue, Hopper said, adding that a significant amount of the store will be dedicated to e-commerce, including online ordering, and pharmacy operations.

Market Street will be one of the first tenants of The Village, a 65-acre mixed-use project backed by Geringer Capital and Colliers International.

It’s part of a larger trend of development near Rust Medical Center, with a five-tenant retail space recently announced at the southwest corner of Unser Boulevard and Wellspring Avenue and Chicken Salad Chick planning to build its first New Mexico location nearby.

Rio Rancho’s Market Street also marks the first new United Family store to be built in the Albuquerque metro since the company was bought by Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Companies in 2014, Hopper said. It’s the second in New Mexico, after Carlsbad, where a new Albertsons Market was constructed in 2019.

It also comes at a time of uncertainty for another corporate shakeup. Albertsons Companies and Cincinnati-based Kroger (NYSE: KR), which operates Smith’s, announced plans to merge in October 2022. However, the deal now faces a lawsuit to block the deal by New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez, seven other attorneys general and the Federal Trade Commission, with the coalition citing anti-competitive concerns.

As for the future, Hopper said they’re always looking for new locations for future United Family store locations.

“We’re continually looking at new opportunities,” Hopper said. “We’ll go actively looking but we don’t have anything that would be great to announce at this time.”

The 12 Albertsons locations in metro Albuquerque are part of the group of stores that the companies are planning to divest to the parent company of Piggly Wiggly as part of their merger proposal. As the story above mentions, the merger is being challenged in court by several states including New Mexico and by the FTC. Time will tell whether this Market Street store does actually come to fruition.

A few other tenants for The Village have been revealed since the Market Street announcement, including Furniture Row and US Eagle Credit Union. It's nothing too exciting, certainly it doesn't look like it will be the equivalent to ABQ Uptown like they originally stated that it would be. They've also yet to announce details for the hotel or multifamily aspects that they talked about two years ago.

https://www.colliers.com/en/properti...124/usa1101779



There is a nearby build-to-rent community that recently got underway across the street at Westside Boulevard and Trailside Road. The Eleanor will have 126 units/homes and is being developed by an Austin-based company named JLM Living.

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquer...d-to-rent.html

An Austin-based real estate developer and an Albuquerque-based homebuilder are teaming up to construct the City of Vision's first build-to-rent community.

The Eleanor Rio Rancho Cabezon will feature 126 homes at 2300 Westside Blvd. SE, across from Presbyterian Rust Medical Center. Homes will range from 650 to 1,500 square feet and rental prices will be based on the current market rate, JLM Living CEO Dan Deichert said. JLM is the owner of the site and Westway Homes is the contractor.

The community plans to target young individuals who are “tired of living in an apartment and aren't quite financially ready to buy a home yet,” Deichert said. The project is JLM's first in New Mexico, Ryan Sloan, JLM's development and acquisitions analyst, said.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held on March 26. Deichert declined to share projected construction costs.

“We will have our first 30 units open in about 12 to 15 months,” Deichert said. “We should be finished in about 20 months.”

Prior to the groundbreaking, JLM conducted a variety of studies that showed a “lack of high-quality rental products” in Rio Rancho, Deichert said. Although the firm bought the land two years ago, rising interest rates and construction costs pushed the project back, he added.

The company stayed committed to the project because the region "compares favorably with other markets across the country,” Deichert said.

“We have projects in Daytona Beach Florida, Savannah, Georgia, San Antonio,Texas, and here in Rio Rancho,” Deichert said. “We equate all of those markets because they all have the same characteristics. Good job growth, new housing stock that is available for buyers, and most of all, it's a place where people want to put their roots down and raise a family.”

Planned development of new retail shops and grocery stores can also be attributed to the viability of the region. In the last decade, Rio Rancho’s population has increased by more than 20,000 people, according to the U.S Census Bureau.

“I think this is a tremendous use of this space right here in the Cabezon area,” Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull said during Tuesday's groundbreaking ceremony. "It is another quality community that will benefit from all the other development that's happening across the Unser Gateway and throughout the entire corridor.”

Since 2018, Westway Homes has developed properties in Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and Los Lunas. In addition to The Eleanor, the company is developing a 97-lot community near Los Diamantes and Joe Harris Elementary School, named Oeste.

Another build-to-rent community is also in the works for Rio Rancho. Scottish Isle will have about 130 units. That's an estimate because the announcement includes another project in Los Lunas and they only gave a total of 260 units across both projects. They are being developed by the similarly named JLL, which I've found out is what Jones Lang LaSalle goes by nowadays.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/dcolb...30309376-dQFG/



An affordable housing complex for seniors has also recently gotten underway in Rio Rancho. Felician Villa will have a total of 132 units in two 3-story buildings. The project is being developed in two phases that apparently are being built at the same time. It's being built adjacent to the Meadowlark Senior Center on land that was formerly a convent.

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquer...r-seniors.html

The Felician Villa Apartments broke ground Thursday afternoon. Located at 1301 Stephanie Road SE in Rio Rancho, the complex will house seniors in the community.

Once the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Convent of the Felician Sisters of Rio Rancho, first founded in New Mexico in 1975, the property will soon be converted into the Felician Villa Apartments, serving people 55 and older.

The Felician Sisters donated the land to CC Housing, a division of Catholic Charities, for the purpose of developing affordable housing. Once built, the Catholic Charities of Albuquerque will manage social services with a coordinator on the premises two days a week, such as health education and screenings; computer, financial literacy and gardening courses; and life planning.

The two-phase project will cost $41.7 million in total, with the first phase costing about $20.3 million and the second costing $21.4 million.

The development is funded by the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, Wells Fargo Corporate & Investment Banking, The Richman Equity Group, American Express Bank NA, Charles Schwab, Ally, Federal Home Bank of Dallas, Albuquerque Housing Authority and Rocky Mountain CRC.

"We are very happy to be here celebrating this groundbreaking, and we'll be even happier at the ribbon cutting." said Isidoro “Izzy” Hernandez, New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority executive director and CEO. The full project is expected to take 18 months to complete.

Chelsea Investment Corp. is the developer for the project, Emmerson Construction Inc. is the contractor and Jeebs & Zuzu is the architect.

Each building will be three stories and "U" shaped with a courtyard in the middle to protect from New Mexico's winds. Phase one of the project will house 66 units and include 16 project-based housing vouchers. Phase two will also have 66 units with 25 project-based housing vouchers.

Project-based vouchers are part of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program through the Department of Housing and Urban Development that provides rental housing to low-income households at specific rental properties.

Each building will house 54 one-bedroom units and 12 two-bedroom units. The complex will have 132 units total with a walking path to the Meadowlark Senior Center, which is in close proximity to the apartments, MFA officials said.

Last May, the second phase of the Felician Villa Apartments received $16.2 million in low-income housing tax credits from the MFA, among other affordable housing projects in Bernalillo, Doña Ana, Santa Fe and Sandoval counties.

https://www.feliciansistersna.org/20...in-rio-rancho/



Another affordable housing complex is also scheduled to get underway soon in Rio Rancho. Sandoval Flats will have 218 units and will be located at Oersted Road and Camino Encantadas.

https://www.rrobserver.com/business/...72dac18b7.html

BERNALILLO — Additional housing is on its way to Rio Rancho in the not-too-distant future.

The Sandoval County Commission voted unanimously on Wednesday to declare its intent to issue revenue bonds supporting the construction of a 218-unit complex called Sandoval Flats on the northeast edge of town. Commissioners will need to adopt a bond ordinance in the future for the bonds to be issued.

Finally, here are a couple of pics showing the Enchanted Hills Boulevard reconstruction project in Rio Rancho. In the upper right background of the first pic you can see the 550 Paseo and Casa de Encantada apartment projects that are nearing completion. 550 Paseo will have 240 units and is the brown and tan complex of 3 story structures. Casa de Encantada will have 154 units and is made up of the two green and gray 4-story structures. Click the link directly below the first image to see it in its original size and to zoom in on the area of the apartments.

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update...1247209103362/


https://images2.imgbox.com/a9/2b/0N7aBGKE_o.jpeg

[ABQalex]

Here are some construction pics of the new Entrepreneur Complex at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. It's the first phase of a complex that's envisioned to help Native entrepreneurs bring their businesses and creative ideas to fruition. The first phase will focus on food and agricultural endeavors, while future phases are planned to focus on arts and technology.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/buffa...37072898-PINK/











Here's a rendering of the Entrepreneur Complex from the project page on the IPCC website. I'm wondering whether the bump-outs and interesting sculptural lines have been eliminated in the final project. I hope not. Be sure to click the link to learn more about the project and see additional renderings and a layout for the project.

https://indianpueblo.org/entrepreneur-complex/



This is a video by the architects on YouTube showing an animated tour of the structure.

• Video Link

Here are a couple of older pics where you can see the proximity of this project to the Avanyu Plaza project across 12th Street. You can also see the structure for the new La Montañita Co-Op store at Avanyu Plaza under construction.

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/enter...273991680-vRNX





Here are some more pics showing the progression of the store construction from a recent post on the La Montañita Facebook account

https://www.facebook.com/lamontanita...NWP6C1KLgacNBl







Here are some renderings of the finished store as well as aerial pics of Avanyu Plaza from real estate listings and websites. The first rendering is from a similar perspective as the construction pic above to compare.

https://www.jcrenm.com/avanyu-plaza-...ontanita-coop/



https://www.crexi.com/lease/properti...-retail-office





https://www.homes.com/albuquerque-nm...-north-valley/



I really hope one day that we may see some residential uses added to Avanyu Plaza. An office building was planned for the northeast corner of the property before the pandemic, but who knows if it will ever come to fruition. I think adding residential uses would be a better option. I'd also like to see the giant parking lot for the Bureau of Indian Affairs offices built over and redeveloped. Student housing for Natives attending UNM, CNM and SIPI, as well as supportive housing for the Native homeless population are things that I think would be great to add to the project.

Lastly, here's a pic of the new "Pueblo Matriarch" public art piece that was unveiled last year at the 12th and Menaul roundabout.

https://www.facebook.com/indianpuebl...XSzrFob3qKwPtl

[ABQalex]

The Environmental Planning Commission has once again voted to approve the plans for a soccer stadium at Balloon Fiesta Park. The vote was unanimous with all 8 commissioners voting to amend the park master plan and approving the proposed stadium site plan. The site plan was tweaked to move the stadium footprint more east and south into the sloped area and to enlarge the roof over the west side of the stadium. They've also reduced the height of the stadium and the light poles. They say that this will help the light and noise stay within the stadium and the sound move north and east away from homes. The neighbors are still not appeased, however. The city council must now vote again to accept the EPC's changes and recommendations. No word on when that might happen.

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/city-...n-fiesta-park/

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The city’s Environmental Planning Commission has unanimously approved plans to build a soccer stadium at Balloon Fiesta Park, despite fierce opposition from some nearby neighborhood groups.

The city commission heard more than four hours of public comment during the virtual meeting Thursday before eventually questioning city leaders about their concerns and then voting on the proposal.

The plan is to build the new stadium in a parking lot near the Balloon Launch Field. New Mexico United officials say they’ve made several changes to the stadium plans to reduce the impact on nearby homes – which are at least a half mile away. That includes a bigger roof, specialized audio systems, and lower light poles.

Commissioners seemed optimistic about all the changes, but some neighbors say they’re still not enough and argued they haven’t been able to keep up with the changes. Team and city leaders challenged some of those concerns.

Fans who may be concerned about the stadium’s capacity should know team reps say that hasn’t been affected. There would still be room for 9,000 to 12,000 fans. Planners also say their designs will not route traffic through residential neighborhoods.

While the plan is moving forward, there are still more steps before this is a done deal. The plans need to pass the Albuquerque City Council again, even though councilors have already approved a lease agreement, and only then would there be a final design.

Albuquerque city councilors will still have to give the final approval, even though the city already approved a lease agreement. It’s not clear when that vote might happen.

United Owner & CEO Peter Trevisani shared the following statement following the approval:

“We commend the EPC on re-affirming the previous November approval with a unanimous vote. The work that has been done to improve the design, capture fugitive light, mitigate traffic and improve the quality of life for the community has paid off. We still have a lot of work to do with the neighbors, city and state but today was an important and positive step to bringing a multi-use stadium to Balloon Fiesta Park. We look forward to building a facility that will make New Mexico proud.”

[ABQalex]

It looks like the Two Park Central tower on San Mateo and Central may still end up being converted to housing from office space. A Texas development group apparently bought the structure at its auction last year and will go ahead with plans for the conversion, which the former ownership group had initiated city planning approvals for in the last couple of years.

The new ownership group also has plans to add rooftop amenities and balconies to the structure. The rooftop amenities will add twelve feet to the structural height, which is currently 140 feet. No word on whether they will also add the pool and landscaping planned by the previous ownership group. The plan is for 100 units of housing, both affordable and market-rate.

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquer...t-route66.html

On April 11, the Fair West Neighborhood Association (FWNA) held a public meeting to discuss future plans to convert an existing office building into apartments on San Mateo Boulevard.

Two Park Central Tower is located at 300 San Mateo Blvd. NE, just north of Central Avenue. Route 66 Multifamily ABQ, a Texas-based developer, plans to remodel the 10-story tower into 100 apartment units ranging from 650 to 1,000 square feet.

In addition, the developer aims to add balconies to the units and rooftop amenities such as a fitness room and an observation deck. The modification requires the developer to apply for “expansion of nonconforming use or structure” approval from the City of Albuquerque.

Thus, the developer is requesting a 12-foot height increase to accommodate the planned amenities.

“The IDEO, which is the zoning ordinance for the city of Albuquerque, doesn't allow buildings [10-stories] tall in that zone district,” Delcie Dobrovolny, managing principal at Equiterra Regenerative Design, said. “The building was built before the IDEO went into effect, so if we want to change anything over the maximum height, we have to go through the variance.”

Route 66 Multifamily ABQ began planning to redevelop the property when they purchased the 101,000-square-foot building for an undisclosed price in October 2023.

The apartment complex, which will feature one- and two-bedroom apartments, is currently being designed to house a mix of low-income and market rate residents.

Dobrovolny has notified neighbors surrounding the project and is now finalizing the application packet for review by the City of Albuquerque’s zoning hearing officer. The deadline is in early May, Dobrovolny said.

Although Equiterra Regenerative Design is the architect, a contractor for the final build has yet to be finalized. The tower has remained vacant since 2022, Dobrovolny said.

“[The developer] is cleaning up a site that has been derelict for a while,” Dobrovolny said. “There's not a lot of people who want to rent commercial spaces anymore, and a lot of people need houses. So the developer sees a need in Albuquerque that he thinks he can fulfill.”

Here's a story from the Albuquerque Journal last year about the auction and building sale. It was sold for about $2 million and they say it attracted over 200 bidders.

https://www.abqjournal.com/business/...ac93ed4ac.html

One of the city’s tallest buildings outside of Downtown has officially sold following an auction that took place in August.

The sale of the 10-story, 101,000-square-foot Two Park Central Tower at 300 San Mateo NE was finalized last month for just under $2 million, said Todd Clarke of New Mexico Apartment Advisors, who was the listed broker for the building. The building was sold by Nevada-based Rhino Investment Group to a group of out-of-state engineers from Houston, Texas.

The building initially went up for auction in June and again in July. But the final auction took place in August, netting over 200 bidders on the property, Clarke said. He added that the new owners, who declined to comment for the story, intend on using the property for multi-family housing.

“As you know, we have a huge housing shortage,” Clarke said.

The building is roughly six miles east of Downtown. It opened for occupancy in the summer of 1975 with Travelers Insurance Co. serving as the primary tenant, according to Journal records.

Clarke previously told the Journal that the building’s construction reflects Albuquerque and Route 66 history. At the time of the tower’s construction, developers were uncertain if the best places to build were along the new interstates or Route 66, which included Central Avenue.

“It ended up being a lot more important to be on Interstate 40, and that’s why they are kind of off on their own,” Clarke said of the building.

Here are a few more pics of the structure from its auction listing, including some nice aerial views and a few pics showing the gutted interior of the structure.

https://www.showcase.com/300-san-mat...7108/14371465/

















Here's a picture of the building when it first opened in the mid-1970s. You can also see its associated bank drive-through structure that faces Copper Avenue, which is also visible in the aerial pic above.



Here are a couple of renderings visioning a renovation of the exterior of the structure from a previous real estate listing. Hopefully this planned renovation may include such a dramatic change for the facade. I must imagine the added balconies will make quite a difference on their own. I'm intrigued and can't wait to see more about the plans and details for this iteration of a conversion of the structure!





The taller tower right on the corner of the intersection was also sold at auction last year by the same ownership group as Two Park Central. Rumors are that it will also be redeveloped and converted to residential use. The previous owners intended to keep it as office space and had moved the remaining tenants from the shorter structure into this structure, while also renovating the public spaces. I'm not certain whether the coworking space they had also planned ever opened or not.

https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquer...r-auction.html

An Albuquerque landmark, the former Bank of the West Tower, is up for auction.

The 17-story, 163,000-square-foot office building is located at 5301 Central Ave. NE, at San Mateo. Anthony Johnson, president of Pegasus Group LLC, is the broker.

The auction on the vacant building is set to begin on Oct. 30 with a starting bid of $900,000. In 2023, the property was renovated and is now equipped with four elevators and a 660-space parking lot, according to the listing.

At the time of its construction in the early 1960s, the building was the tallest in the Duke City, according to previous Albuquerque Business First reporting. The tower, built by the Del Webb Corp., was named after Bank of the West when the company moved into the space in 2001. In 2012, the firm moved out of the tower.

Below are some aerial pics of the building from a listing while it was apparently renamed for a short while as "Tower 17" as part of the "District 505" plans of the former ownership group. That's something that I hope is achieved, the renaming of the building. It hasn't been home to Bank of the West for over a decade and even Bank of the West itself is no longer around.

Some have suggested naming it "One Park Central Tower" which makes sense considering the name of the shorter structure. That may have even been its original name. But hopefully entirely new names will come about for both buildings and an identity created for this entire plot of land that they sit on, like the previous ownership group was trying to achieve.

https://www.showcase.com/5301-centra...7108/29422044/







There are existing penthouse apartments atop the building that I assume have been vacated as well for the auction and sale of the structure. I assume any conversion of the rest of the building to residential uses would keep these units and possibly renovate them as well.

https://www.apartments.com/5301-cent...ue-nm/81qslz1/

















Here are a few pics of the structure while it was under construction and shortly after it was completed from the Albuquerque Museum's online photo archives.











Here's a picture of the building in 1974 just before the Two Park Central tower was built and when it still had its original signs for First National Bank.

https://ericjohnsonphoto.com/voracio...que-nm-1974-2/


https://ericjohnsonphoto.com/wp-cont...ue-NM-1974.jpg

Finally, here's another interesting possible apartment project nearby that I came across a few weeks ago and wanted to post about here but never had an opportunity previously. It's a real estate listing for a plot of land at Alvarado Drive and Acoma Road SE.

The listing includes plans and renderings for a 36-unit apartment building that they are calling "Nob Hill Crossings" even though it's not actually in Nob Hill. I'm sure those who are irked by the name of the Shops at Nob Hill shopping center at Lomas and San Mateo will be absolutely apoplectic at the incongruity of this particular name and location.

Who knows if the project will ever come to fruition as planned, but I think it's a nice project and would be a great addition to the area and another great development project along the ART route. The only thing I don't like is the parking spaces in front. I think it would be nicer with street parking and the building moved up directly to the sidewalk and street. That would allow for a landscaped strip for residents on the back of the building next to the parking lot there.

https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/9999...e-NM/30878383/