The city this past week announced an agreement reached with the owner of the New Mexico United for partial funding to go towards the stadium construction and also the terms of a potential lease agreement should the stadium bonds be approved and the project gets the go-ahead from voters in November.
https://www.abqjournal.com/2432115/u...nvestment.html
Quote:
The professional soccer team set to occupy a proposed Albuquerque stadium has made public what it plans to invest in what would be its new home.
New Mexico United would contribute $10 million to help construct the city’s proposed multiuse soccer stadium and pay $800,000 annually in base rent to be the venue’s primary tenant, according to terms laid out in a new three-page “letter of intent to lease.”
The team would also have to pay the city another $100,000 per year but otherwise get to keep all revenue generated by the stadium outside of specific city-organized events.
The letter is not a formal lease agreement, which still needs to be negotiated.
The document released Thursday provides new details heading into a Nov. 2 election that is expected to determine the proposed stadium’s fate.
The ballot will ask voters if the city should issue up to $50 million in bonds to help fund a venue estimated to cost $65 million-$70 million. Voter approval is not technically required for this type of bond – backed by the city’s gross receipts tax revenue – but Mayor Tim Keller’s office has said he would not pursue the stadium if the bond fails.
Should voters greenlight the public investment, officials say the $10 million upfront pledge from United – combined with about $8 million in previous state appropriations – means the city should have enough money available to actually build it.
The team’s planned annual rental and revenue payments, meanwhile, would cover about 30% of the city’s stadium bond debt payments.
The city would owe an estimated $3 million annually for a term now expected to last 25 years. The city would use funding recently freed up by paying off old debt so the stadium bond would not raise taxes.
|
The Albuquerque City Council this past week also mandated and approved the terms of a community benefits agreement for any neighborhood where the stadium is ultimately built.
https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-g...occer-stadium/
Quote:
Albuquerque City Councilors paved the way for any neighborhood affected by the new soccer stadium, to have benefits and protections.
The resolution requires ‘community benefits agreement’ between the city, New Mexico United and representatives from neighborhoods adjacent to the proposed stadium when a location is picked. It would be in place before a lease is signed.
The agreement would address transportation, traffic, affordable housing, jobs and make sure the stadium provides services like after-school soccer programs.
|
Albuquerque Business First recently had a story about the city's efforts so far to get a feel for whether property owners within the two preferred locations for a downtown soccer stadium are willing to sell their land for the project. The story has a picture of the Broadway Market Building on the northwest corner of Broadway and Coal. However, the site identified in the study is on the southwest corner of the intersection.
https://www.bizjournals.com/albuquer...r-stadium.html
Quote:
There are plenty of details that remain in flux when it comes to a final site for a New Mexico United soccer stadium in Downtown Albuquerque — or elsewhere.
Business First took a look at the neighborhoods surrounding the identified preferred sites — Coal Avenue SE and Broadway Boulevard SE and 2nd Street SW and Iron Avenue SW — and spoke with property and business owners about what they've heard.
With less than two months before a $50 million bond proposal goes in front of voters, answers aren't likely to present themselves until after voters have their say on Nov. 2.
Johanna Gilligan, the senior director of community development for Homewise, told Business First the nonprofit received a letter from the city of Albuquerque on July 13. The letter was to gauge interest in selling any property, she said, adding Homewise is "not in discussion with [the city]," as of Sept.17.
With offices in both Santa Fe and Albuquerque, Homewise has its Albuquerque homeownership center located just north of one of two preferred sites for a soccer stadium at 500 2nd Street SW. In addition to this location, Homewise owns several parcels within a 300-yard radius of the 2nd Street SW and Iron Avenue SW prospective site, according to Business First's analysis of Bernalillo County property records.
In late July, Homewise broke ground three blocks north of the 2nd Street and Iron Avenue site on a new development that will include 16 townhomes to bring more access to first-time homebuyers and added investment Downtown.
With ambitions to do more in the Downtown area, Gilligan and Homewise will first monitor what happens in November before making decisions on that land.
"We're just taking the approach of waiting to see what happens with the bond measure in November," Gilligan said. "We want to wait and see how the residents of Albuquerque want to see their public funds used."
|
Quote:
Like Homewise, the city of Albuquerque is also in wait-and-see mode.
The city said it isn’t making any determinations, or inquiring any further on a final site or quadrant within the preferred sites, according to city PIO Ava Montoya, who responded to a Business First email with a list of questions for Mayor Tim Keller's office. Instead, the city will also wait until the voters decide on the bond question in November, the email said.
The city said it sent letters to all property owners within the two preferred sites to notify them before officials publicly released a feasibility study of a soccer stadium on July 23, Montoya's email said.
|
Quote:
The two preferred locations outlined in the feasibility study are surrounded by a mix of residential, retail and industrial parcels. Some include services for those in need with shelter, food and recovery like SteelBridge and the Good Shepherd Center, both located near the intersection of 2nd Street SW and Iron Avenue SW.
The Salvation Army, which owns 10 properties near the other preferred location of Coal Avenue SE and Broadway Boulevard SE, also confirmed to Business First that it has been approached by the city about its land. Scott Johnson, public relations director of The Salvation Army's Southwest Division, said no formal offer has been received for the land.
Nick Foran, executive director of Good Shepherd Center, said he too is waiting to find out more.
"I would be commenting on something I'm not sure is going to happen, so I'd have to hear what the city plans — and we haven't heard that yet," Foran said. "We're just going to reserve comments until we find out more."
Just east of the Good Shepherd Center, Gilbert Austin owns Austin's Carports and Patio Covers. Austin said he has not received a letter from the city inquiring about a purchase of the property.
In the event the city does approach him to purchase his property to build a stadium, Austin said he'd have to consider the time it would take to look for a new location and try to re-establish his business in a different location.
|
Quote:
Should voters give the bond proposal a thumbs up in November, construction on the stadium could start in seven to nine months after the vote, city COO Lawrence Rael previously said to city councilors. On the other hand, if voters reject the bond proposal, Keller's office said his administration would not pursue the project.
...
The $50 million raised by a bond issuance represents the "barebones cost" for a professional sports stadium, according to an overview the city released on July 27.
The project budget for Coal Avenue and Broadway Boulevard ranges from $70 million up to $84.4 million. The proposed budget for 2nd and Iron would range from $64.6 million to $79 million. Those costs were calculated based on the assumption that construction would start in 2022, according to previous Business First reporting.
|
Downtown Albuquerque News also recently reported about the possible land acquisition efforts, as well as the obstacles that the 2nd and Iron site faces, including a PNM substation that a city official says would cost millions to move. There is also the ongoing condemnation proceedings for the triangle of land where the city has said it wants to build a roundabout at the entrance to the Rail Yards.
https://downtownalbuquerquenews.com/
Quote:
A potential soccer stadium at Second and Iron could end up being a tighter squeeze than a consultant studying possible locations made it look.
When CAA ICON's city-commissioned report came out in July, an artist's rendering of the site showed it spilling over First Street onto property owned by the BNSF Railway and the city's own Rail Yards property. To the south, it also showed the stadium complex taking over most of a triangle of land that the city itself was in the process of condemning for a future roundabout connecting First, Second, and the main entrance to the Rail Yards (DAN, 11/2/20).
That report immediately attracted the attention of attorneys fighting the triangle's condemnation proceedings, who argued in a July 28 filing that the city in reality had no intention of developing a roundabout and that condemning property for a soccer stadium would not be allowed under current state law
The city responded on August 30 with its own argument: Pay no attention to the consultant.
"To be very clear, the fanciful concept drawing by the consultant ... cannot be taken seriously by any rational person considering placement of a soccer stadium meeting FIFA and U.S. Soccer Federation field specifications," wrote Mark Motsko, a top city transportation official in the Department of Municipal Development.
Motsko argued that in fact the stadium would not encroach on Rail Yards property or on a PNM substation located at the beveled corner of First and Hazeldine.
"The city has past experience with PNM transformer substations and the cost of relocating such substations can generally be expected to be in the millions of dollars," he wrote in an affidavit. "In addition, building a soccer stadium would be contrary to the historic preservation rules protecting the city's Rail Yards property."
Motsko also reiterated the city's desire to place a roundabout on the property. He did not address the possible use of BNSF land.
The filing would appear to leave the city with much less space to work with at the Second and Iron site, should it ultimately be selected following voter approval in November. Assuming that First remains a street (a street ultimately connected to the roundabout), there is about 330 feet of potential space between there and Second, but the width of the field alone looks to be 210 feet, leaving about 120 feet (roughly the distance between San Felipe Street and the Old Town Plaza gazebo) for sidelines and stands.
How exactly the city would pull off such a tight fit is, for the time being at least, not something it is willing to talk about. Saying it is too early in the process, officials have consistently avoided specifics, whether with city councilors, the press, or indeed the court hearing this case.
|
The city’s response to this filing is quite absurd. They're all over the place and quite uncoordinated on this project. It's quite maddening and annoying to see. Somebody needs to take charge and set things straight on the project and the potential sites.
There is nothing that absolutely precludes the city from building a stadium within the Rail Yards. There is nothing that precludes using some of the Rail Yards property for development. Otherwise, why would the city already be planning housing, parking structures, etc. within the property as part of its redevelopment? Also, demolishing minor historic structures can occur if it is decided there is a greater good involved, like making it more likely that the overall site is renovated and revitalized. The city has already demolished other minor buildings on the site with this justification.
Something not mentioned by the DAN report is the Spirit Station project, which would be housed in the Pattern House structure of the Rail Yards. The conceptual site plan options for the 2nd and Iron stadium site in the consultant's study both showed the stadium footprint overlapping the existing Pattern House structure and the land directly north of it where additions would be made for the Spirit Station project. The Pattern House is not a major historic structure within the Rail Yards. However, Spirit Station is a worthy reuse of the Pattern House structure, which would make the structure much better. For that reason I'd like to see it accommodated.
A solution to all these issues, I think, would be to move the stadium site a half-block further north and have the site begin just south of the existing Orpheum Community Hub/Homewise headquarters property. There are overhead power lines (and presumably a utility easement) along the south side of Iron Avenue that cross over the railroad tracks which present an obstacle. However, using the second layout option above, the stadium could begin immediately south of the power lines and the parking structure/commercial spaces immediately north of the power lines. It at least seems like a more manageable issue/impediment to me.
In this scenario, 1st Street would dead-end south of the Coal Avenue overpass as an entrance to the parking structure. Perhaps it could also be used as the vehicular entrance for the players and staff. The existing small, empty plot of land (about 1/4th of a block) east of the Orpheum/Homewise site could be used for development, such as an apartment building. I would also use the small bit of land leftover east of 1st Street to extend the Alvarado Transportation Center with a dedicated transit/park-and-ride hub with a pavilion or station of some sort for the stadium.
First Street would no longer exist in the stadium area itself so I would get rid of the entrance roundabout idea and let the property owner proceed with his plans for the property. The Homewise/Street Food Institute project could also proceed. I would also vacate/eliminate Hazeldine Avenue east of 2nd Street and what's left of 1st Street south of the stadium site. The Spirit Station project could then also proceed, and along with the old Firehouse structure, would have extra land to the west where 1st Street used to be for additional outdoor amenities like restaurant patios, entrance plazas, outdoor exhibit and art space, etc. The PNM substation could stay and be obscured with some kind of artful walls/murals/artwork/landscaping.
I would also use the old Hazeldine alignment east of 2nd Street to create the main pedestrian entrance/pedestrian mall/entrance plaza to the Rail Yards site. Second Street would continue through as a straight shot and would no longer have the problems created by the awkward intersection with 1st and Hazeldine. I'd also move the Rail Trail completely along 2nd Street south of the Coal Avenue overpass by way of a corridor along the northern edge of the stadium site. This would help create a buffer between the Orpheum/Homewise property and the stadium site.
Below are renderings of the various proposed projects within the area as a refresher and point of reference. I've also included the rendering of the city's current vision for the Rail Trail alignment and entrance roundabout in the area:
Homewise/Street Food Institute proposal
Mixed-use proposal put forth by the owner of the triangle of land which the city is trying to acquire for the roundabout
Spirit Station proposal
Current Rail Trail alignment and roundabout proposal
Prev
Linear Mode
