Albuquerque Development

[BigTymeABQ]

Architectural Feature: Imperial Building

New Mexico Architectural Foundation 

http://newmexicoarchitecturalfoundation.org/2014/07/18/architectural-feature-imperial-building/

http://www.dpsdesign.org/assets/uploads/general/Imperial-Building-Final-MFA-Package-web.pdf

[BigTymeABQ]

City signs Rail Yards agreement

Andy Beale
Digital Producer-
Albuquerque Business First

Chief Administrative Officer Rob Perry signed an agreement with Samitaur Constructs today to begin developing the 27-acre Rail Yards site.

The agreement, known as a Master Development Disposition Agreement, lays out the relationship between the city and the developer and defines what is expected of the developer at the site. The MDDA was already approved by the City Council on June 16, along with the overall master development plan.

City Planning Director Suzanne Lubar said once the MDDA has been signed, Samitaur can begin laying the groundwork for actual development.

“Basically, now that the MDDA is being signed today by the CIO, Rob Perry, it allows Samitaur to start predevelopment activities on the site,” Lubar said. “Those activities can include conducting soil studies at the site, meeting and negotiating potential leases with the tenants and working with the city and the state development office to create a memorandum of understanding that will guide how these historic properties will be treated.”

Signing the MDDA also allows the city to start looking for the money it will need for the development efforts.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2014/07/24/city-signs-rail-yards-agreement.html?page=all

[BigTymeABQ]

Upscale lodging at Old Town

By Richard Metcalf
Journal Staff Writer

Old Town is getting an upscale five-story, 118-room boutique hotel, thanks to a bullish move by veteran local hotelier and real-estate investor Jim Long.

“It’s a move that’s a bit ahead of the market right now,” Long told the Journal. “It’s a forward-moving project. This is an expression of our commitment to invest in this community.”

The new hotel is a substantial development play. Although Long declined to give an estimated cost for the project, HVS Global Hospitality Services’s annual hotel development cost survey would put the total project cost at upward of $31 million.

Construction is scheduled to begin by late fall, with completion set for spring 2016.

Owned and operated by Long’s Heritage Hotels and Resorts Inc., the proposed new hotel will be built on the vacant 2.6-acre site just northeast of Heritage’s 11-story, 188-room Hotel Albuquerque at 800 Rio Grande NW.

‘A destination opportunity’

The 120,000-square-foot boutique hotel will be built at the corner of Bellamah and 20th NW in what is officially the Sawmill district, an eclectic neighborhood bordering the north side of Old Town that's seen continuing redevelopment.
The 120,000-square-foot boutique hotel will be built at the corner of Bellamah and 20th NW in what is officially the Sawmill district, an eclectic neighborhood bordering the north side of Old Town that’s seen continuing redevelopment.
The hotel will create about 100 jobs, ranging from management to service positions. Its guests likely will be either “leisure transient” customers – travelers and tourists – or group business customers, Long said.

“Honestly, I think this hotel may become a destination opportunity,” he said.

Room rates will run about $160-$170 a night.

The new property will have its own name, identity and amenities, although its guests will have access to Hotel Albuquerque’s meeting space and swimming pool. The new hotel’s entrance will face the corner of Bellamah and 20th NW. Its working name is Hotel Old Town.

“This will be a step above Hotel Albuquerque,” Long said, saying it will meet the standards of a Four Diamond Hotel by AAA.

The new hotel’s amenities will include a “signature” restaurant featuring modern Native American cuisine, a rooftop restaurant and lounge with adjacent event space, a 6,000-square-foot spa, 1,200-square-foot fitness room and 3,000 square feet of retail space.

Albuquerque Hotel was built in 1975 as a Sheraton. Purchased by Heritage in 1999 and extensively renovated starting a year later, it has an average occupancy rate in the 80 percent range and is one of the most successful hotels in New Mexico, Long said.

A great location

This architect's rendering shows what Albuquerque's newest hotel will look like. The five story property is being developed by hotelier Jim Long on property just northeast of his Hotel Albuquerque. (Courtesy of Gensler)
This architect’s rendering shows what Albuquerque’s newest hotel will look like. The five story property is being developed by hotelier Jim Long on property just northeast of his Hotel Albuquerque. (Courtesy of Gensler)
“It’s an ideal location,” he said.

The addition of the new hotel’s 118 rooms will bring the overall property’s room count to just past the 300 threshold, which will give Heritage more flexibility in marketing Hotel Albuquerque’s extensive meeting space, upward of 41,000 square feet, for conventions, Long said.

The hotel was designed by Gensler, a global architecture firm headquartered in San Francisco, and inspired in part by the ruins at Chaco Canyon. The design blends contemporary and traditional pueblo elements.

 

http://www.abqjournal.com/436373/biz/upscale-lodging-at-old-town.html

[BigTymeABQ]

East Downtown’s Pop ‘N’ Taco could become mixed-use development

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

In some ways, the vacant and dilapidated Pop ‘N’ Taco is East Downtown’s version of Nob Hill’s De Anza Motor Lodge.
Although it’s not on city-owned land, the site on the northeast corner of Edith Boulevard and Central Avenue is one of the corridor’s biggest eyesores. But it also has the potential to be a profound catalytic project in the area.
The EDo Neighborhood Association, Huning Highland Historic District Association and others have successfully prevented the property from becoming a Subway drive-thru concept. That is what the owners of the land had wanted to do, represented through a Wells Fargo trust.
The issue for most was not necessarily the Subway itself, but the drive-thru concept. The EDo master plan calls for neighborhood development to be pedestrian-friendly.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2014/07/28/east-downtown-s-pop-n-taco-could-become-mixed-use.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[BigTymeABQ]

Office to apartments play in Uptown

By Associated Press

A four-story, 77,647-square-foot office building in the center of Uptown has been offered for sale as a residential conversion opportunity, a real estate play that could be a harbinger of things to come in the Albuquerque metro area’s beleaguered office market.

“We’ve had this collision of a depressed office market, which I think will take a long time to recover, and the Uptown Village apartments that are fully occupied with a waiting list,” said John Lewinger, who is part of a local investment group that owns the building at 2424 Louisiana NE.

Opened in 2008 by Hunt Development Group, the 198-unit apartment property at 2222 Uptown Loop NE, next to Trader Joe’s specialty grocery store, is widely recognized as one of the metro’s top-performing apartment properties. It’s part of the stylish ABQ Uptown mixed-use development.

Founder of what is now Colliers International, a commercial real estate services firm that leases its office at 2424 Louisiana, Lewinger said the germ of the idea to “repurpose” the office building was partly his own personal circumstance.

An East Mountain resident for 25 years, the 69-year-old and his wife have been contemplating a move to an urban setting near restaurants, movies and shopping. He said the building at 2424 Louisiana would be a perfect place to have an urban apartment.

“The buzzword today is walkability,” said Jane Pilger, a broker at Colliers who, with Lewinger, is marketing 2424 Louisiana at an asking price of $6,395,000. “This property has walkability in spades.”

 

http://www.abqjournal.com/441160/biz/office-to-apartments-play-in-uptown.html

[BigTymeABQ]

UNM lays out master plan for Innovation District

Dan Mayfield
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

There’s a rule of thumb city planners use: for every 100 square feet of restaurant space, that restaurant needs one parking space.
“So, for every 100 square feet of dining space, you need 300 square feet of parking. That’s just insane. That rule comes from one study, done in 1971, from one restaurant in Oklahoma City,” said David Green, one of the planners with Perkins & Will, the company that the University of New Mexico has hired to do the master plan for Innovate ABQ. “But that’s the rule.”
Rules like that, he said on Wednesday morning at the University of New Mexico, can hamper cities’ efforts to develop innovation districts that are walkable, sustainable and convenient. Green presented, for the first time to the public, the overall view of the Innovation District and how UNM’s new Innovate ABQ will fit in.
Restaurant parking policies, Green said, are just one example of how city planning — in Albuquerque and elsewhere — can ruin a master plan like his.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2014/08/06/unm-lays-out-master-plan-for-innovation-district.html?page=all

[BigTymeABQ]

Jeff Speck Lecture: Toward A Walkable Albuquerque

 

[BigTymeABQ]

Rail Yards developer required to build some workforce housing

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First
 

Quote:

How many living units might end up at Albuquerque’s historic Rail Yards? It’s still a little too early to tell.
Now that the city has signed a development agreement with Samitaur Constructs, predevelopment work will ramp up — like soil tests and historic preservation activities — but it will also begin looking at potential tenants.
Because it is a relatively large site at 27.5 acres and is a mixed-use development, housing stands to be in the blend. And the city expects it as well.
“Housing is an important component of any mixed-use redevelopment,” said Rebecca Velarde, who is the city’s metropolitan redevelopment manager. “The master development plan provides three locations on the site where housing could potentially be developed. These locations are along the edge of the property, where housing can act as an appropriate transition between the neighborhood and the site,” she said.
Velarde said since the Rail Yards were purchased in part using workforce housing funds, Samitaur will be required to build a minimum of 30 workforce housing units.
Workforce housing is generally defined as mixed-income, often including those in professions like nursing, first responders, teachers, police and fire department workers.
East Downtown developer Rob Dickson hopes the Rail Yards land much more than just 30 living units.
“Great public spaces are constantly and inevitably occupied,” Dickson said. “Will [the Rail Yards] become such a place? Only if Samitaur builds a lot of housing there, and that housing frames the public spaces.” 

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2014/08/12/rail-yards-developer-required-to-build-some.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&page=all

[BigTymeABQ]

Albuquerque rail yards named historic district

By: The Associated Press

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Albuquerque's rail yards and an expanded area of downtown Raton have been designated as state historic districts.

The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs announced the new historic sites on Monday.

The department says Albuquerque's rail yards, which were established in 1880, are the state's largest historic industrial complex.

The Cultural Affairs Department's properties review committee listed the Albuquerque rail yards on Aug. 8, noting the area's historical and architectural significance. It also forwarded the nomination to the National Park Service as a potential National Register of Historic Places listing.

The committee also expanded the Raton Downtown Historic District by increasing its northern and southern boundaries, and by including buildings constructed through 1966 as contributing to the district.  The historic district originally established in 1977 included buildings constructed between 1880 and 1927.

 

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S3530339.shtml?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=t.co&cat=504

Edited August 12, 2014 by BigTymeABQ

[BigTymeABQ]

Design build plan to rescue De Anza Motor Lodge

By Richard Metcalf
Journal Staff Writer

The proposed redevelopment of the long-closed De Anza Motor Lodge in Nob Hill reached a pivotal point Thursday when a city official announced the release of a request for proposals at an “Infill 101″ workshop held by NAIOP, the commercial real-estate development association.

The RFP is the equivalent of soliciting bids or proposals from developers to design and build a new life for the historic but now derelict property at 4301 Central NE, built in 1939 and purchased by the city of Albuquerque in 2003. The deadline for the proposals is Jan. 9.

The RFP’s release at the Infill 101 workshop coincided with the presentation of a hypothetical plan to redevelop the 2.1-acre De Anza site as a mix of uses, including high-end apartments and a hotel, at an estimated cost of $9.9 million. The redevelopment was based on the city donating the site and private financing.

The hypothetical plan to redevelop the De Anza was one of several case studies outlined by teams of commercial real estate pros at the workshop to illustrate the challenges of urban infill. While the De Anza plan isn’t a real proposal, it was based on onsite visits, brainstorming and real world cost estimates.

“The site is something the community knows about and has strong feelings about,” said team member Tom Jenkins of Real Estate Advisors. “That was something we had to keep in mind.”

The city’s RFP and the hypothetical plan coincided on one important element in the De Anza’s redevelopment: the property’s three buildings fronting on Central and a basement with murals by a Zuni artist would be preserved and renovated.

While the city’s RFP doesn’t get into details on what happens to the rest of the property, the hypothetical plan calls for tearing the rest down and replacing it with a 45-room hotel and 41 apartments, both in three-story buildings. The hotel and apartment would share a clubhouse, fitness center and swimming pool.

The hotel and apartments would be built atop “subterranean” or partially underground parking structures.

http://www.abqjournal.com/445995/biz/design-build-plan-to-rescue-de-anza-motor-lodge.html

[BigTymeABQ]

Councilors tired of waiting for the bus
 

Dan Mayfield Reporter-Albuquerque Business First

 

The city’s medians along Central Avenue have not been landscaped because of Bus Rapid Transit planning, but several city councilors are fed up with waiting.

Bus Rapid Transit is a new type of service that will speed up the city’s busses by giving them dedicated bus lanes, or extra right-of-way through medians.

At Monday night’s City Council meeting, four of the nine councilors asked for an updated time line to the BRT plan, and showed displeasure at the time it is taking for the city’s Transit Department to have public meetings on BRT.

“After four years now, people are starting to wonder if it’s ever going to happen,” Councilor Rey Garduno said.

Councilors whose districts contain parts of Central Avenue have wanted to have medians landscaped but have been unable to, they said.

City Transit Director Bruce Rizzeri said that his department has been following a time line that it established in February, and that it would be able to move forward with BRT plans once it has public meetings in October.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/blog/morning-edition/2014/08/councilors-tired-of-waiting-for-the-bus.html?ana=e_abq_rdup&s=newsletter&ed=2014-08-19&u=QWbVgCvipWuhWtd1eDprQQ08961b90&t=1408459263&page=all

Edited August 19, 2014 by BigTymeABQ

[BigTymeABQ]

Albuquerque approves plan to make downtown streets safer

By: Kai Porter
KOB Eyewitness News 4

If you've ever thought it can be a little hairy driving around downtown Albuquerque, you're not alone.
City officials are taking a closer look at some of the most dangerous intersections, and have a plan to do something about them. Albuquerque just released a traffic study that determined the most dangerous intersections in the city.
The City Council approved new money to fix up the number one problem intersection on the list – 3rd and Mountain.
Josh Meyer works on the corner of 3rd and Mountain and says he's not surprised it earned the top spot on the list.
"We're worried that someone's going to come through the building," Meyer said. "We've seen numerous accidents – I've seen cars parked up on the sidewalk after accidents. I've seen cars turned over. I've seen cars in just about any precarious position you can imagine."
He said he's glad to hear the city will finally be making some improvements to the area.
"We've been talking to people trying to get some kind of situation where they can be alerted that there's an intersection here, because I think people look past it trying to get some deterrent or flashing lights to slow some people down," Meyer said.
Albuquerque Business first compiled the top ten most dangerous intersections list, according to the downtown neighborhood traffic study.

 

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/s3537214.shtml#.U_Sxt8VdW5h

[BigTymeABQ]

Downtown campus plan in progress

By Daniel Montaño
Daily Lobo

After 18 months of planning, the grand vision of Innovate ABQ is coming into focus.

The design firm Perkins and Will publicly presented its initial master plan for Innovate ABQ to the Board of Regents on Aug 8, explaining the different possibilities for the future of the venture. Although because plans just got underway, specific details are still being worked out.

Lisa Kuuttila, CEO of STC.UNM, has been heavily involved with the project and said unveiling the master plan marks a pivotal moment for Innovate ABQ.

"This is a very interesting process and we're very excited to kick this off," Kuuttila said. "This marks a critical step forward taken with a critical mindset."

Andrew Cullen, associate vice president of planning, budget and analysis, said the planning process is expected to be finished and presented to the Board of Regents for approval by December.

In the week before their presentation, representatives from Perkins and Will met with several groups - including ASUNM, GPSA, the Dean's council and neighborhood organizations - to discuss the plans, Cullen said.

"We're very excited about the prospect of moving forward with the master plan," he said. "We had an excellent reception from all of our constituent groups."

Innovate ABQ's main campus will include office space that will be available for high-tech industries, research firms and similar companies, Cullen said.

The main campus will be located on the northeast corner of First Street and Broadway Boulevard, where the First Baptist Church is currently located, but Innovate ABQ will also include a research district, which will extend along Central Avenue and Broadway, he said. 

 

http://www.dailylobo.com/article/2014/08/8-18-innovate-abq-update

[BigTymeABQ]

Walk-bike-transit scores driving higher apartment rents in Albuquerque

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

Apartment communities in the Albuquerque area that have solid walking, biking and transit scores command an average rent that is almost 26 percent higher than those that do not.
That was one of the main takeaways Wednesday at the Apartment Association of New Mexico’s 2014 outlook held at the Hyatt Regency Albuquerque.
It is the first time the association has included a walk score in its assessments and, New Mexico apartment expert Todd Clarke said, probably one of the first groups in the country to do so.
“They drive less, and some are already not buying cars,” Clarke said. The “they” are millennials — 18-to-35-year-olds — and they are sparking the apartment market across the country and in part in Albuquerque.
Clarke is a consultant who has been studying millennials and their effect on real estate for many years.
He said new data shows that there is less than one car per millennial nationwide. He said the cities that cater to the group’s desire to rent and use mass transit are seeing a payoff.
The good news for Albuquerque is that it is one of the top cities in the Southwest for walkability, bikability and mass transit, Clarke said.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2014/08/20/walk-bike-transit-scores-driving-higher-apartment.html?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=t.co&page=all

[BigTymeABQ]

Geltmore Group has more plans for Downtown

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

“We want Downtown to grow and become a 21st century place, an amazing place,” he said.
The Silverman’s have been looking at vacant Downtown office buildings and the viability of converting some into market rate apartments. The projects would appeal to millennials and baby boomers, Silverman said, and would steer clear of gentrification and help build a ready labor pool Downtown so potential employers will take note.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/blog/morning-edition/2014/08/geltmore-group-has-more-plans-for-downtown.html?ana=e_abq_rdup&s=newsletter&ed=2014-08-22&u=QWbVgCvipWuhWtd1eDprQQ08961b90&t=1408717364&page=all

[BigTymeABQ]

Nob Hill considers a Business Improvement District

By Associated Press
Albuquerque Journal

Building upon the brand identity of Nob Hill as safe, walkable and interesting is a big reason behind a push to establish a Business Improvement District and levy a tax on commercial property owners along a just over one-mile stretch of Central Avenue, said one of its proponents.

“Why are we distinct from everywhere else?” said Walt Arnold, member of the Nob Hill BID Steering Committee. “Build on that and I think, over time, the payback will be good.”

A BID requires the approval of 51 percent of the affected property owners through a petition. In Nob Hill’s proposed district, there are about 160 commercial property owners in the 44-block area straddling Central from Girard east to just past Washington.

The petition drive is underway. The steering committee plans to submit the petition, BID plan and letters of support to the City Council for final approval in October.

The proposed BID will be discussed Tuesday at an 8 a.m. breakfast meeting for affected commercial property owners at O’Neill’s Pub, 4310 Central SE. O’Neill’s co-owner Robert Munro, a supporter of the BID, is president of the Nob Hill Main Street organization.

The Nob Hill BID plan outlines raising $150,000 in its first year through a real estate tax on property values. When divided among 160 owners, the first-year budget works out to an average of $630 per owner. The plan says the minimum assessment would be $250 and the maximum would be $5,000.

“We tried to learn from things that didn’t go right Downtown and that’s why we’ll have a maximum amount,” Arnold said. “We tried to make it more palatable for the large property owners.”

The only existing BID in the state encompasses Downtown and is administered by the Downtown Action Team. The legality of its tax levy on commercial property owners has been challenged in an ongoing lawsuit in state District Court.

 

http://www.abqjournal.com/450587/biz/nob-hill-considers-a-building-improvement-district.html

[BigTymeABQ]

Renewing Downtown

Stories by Dan Majewski + Mateo Coffman + Mike English
LocaliQ.com
Thursday, 21 August 2014

 

 

Introduction by Mike English
When I moved to Albuquerque in 2001, Jim Baca was mayor and there was excitement in the air about a revitalized Downtown. The enthusiasm was understandable. The movie theater complex had just opened at First and Central. The Alvarado Transportation Center, with a design nod to Downtown’s thriving past, was nearing completion. The old Albuquerque High School buildings had been brought back from the dead and converted into condos.

And here we are 13 years later.

There have been fits and starts toward Downtown revitalization, for sure. Successful restaurants like Farina, The Grove Café, Holy Cow and Standard Diner have joined Artichoke Cafe in sparking a thriving food scene in East Downtown. Hotel Parq Central transformed a derelict hospital into something beautiful. Hotel Andaluz took Albuquerque’s original Hilton Hotel back to its former glory. Marble Brewery opened. Mixed-income apartments went up, including the now almost-completed Silver Moon Lodge. Flying Star breathed new life into an old structure. The Downtown Growers’ Market evolved into a spring-summer-fall Saturday institution.
We don’t need to tally the false starts (multimillion dollar sports complex, anyone?) or failures. Let’s just say it’s been a challenging few years for Albuquerque’s economy at large, and Downtown in particular. But there’s reason for hope. The elements for a thriving Downtown Albuquerque are starting to align in a way they haven’t for decades. So check out these 10 projects changing the face of Downtown. Together, we think they represent a unique moment in Albuquerque’s evolution — and a real reason for optimism about our city’s Downtown.

http://www.local-iq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3979&Itemid=52

[BigTymeABQ]

Downtown makeover

By Dan McKay
Journal Staff Writer

Jeff Speck spent hours looking at traffic counts and walking around Downtown Albuquerque this year.

Civic Plaza is way too big, he says, and so are the traffic lanes on some streets – overbuilt for the volume of cars that actually travel on them.

Downtown could do without 19 of its traffic lights, he said, which can be replaced by all-way stop signs. The one-way streets of Marquette and Tijeras, meanwhile, should be converted to allow traffic in both directions.

And the city shouldn’t let the fear of attracting homeless people scare it away from creating “green” space Downtown.

These are just some of the ideas Speck – a Washington, D.C.-based planner and designer – has for making Downtown a more “walkable” and bicycle-friendly environment. He evaluated the city’s core under a $50,000 contract paid for through the discretionary fund set aside for City Councilor Isaac Benton’s district.

Speck, a former director of design at the National Endowment for the Arts, is still compiling his final report, but he delivered a two-hour talk earlier this summer to planners, neighborhood leaders and others. The full report is expected next month.

Downtown could use some “green” space and similar urban amenities, Speck said, despite concerns about attracting homeless people.

“Any nice place you make, homeless people will come, and the way to get around that is just to have them outnumbered by” other people out walking, Speck said. “… The reason homelessness seems like such a problem here is because you have so few non-homeless people walking.”

He also contends that many Downtown streets have a lane or two more than necessary, given their traffic volume. The lanes are often too wide, as well, encouraging higher speeds, he said.

http://www.abqjournal.com/452575/news/downtown-makeover-ideas.html

[BigTymeABQ]

County manager to Downtown: ‘Bring something to us’

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

It looks like a case of down but not out.
Bernalillo County manager Tom Zdunek said Thursday that he recently reached out to Downtown Albuquerque stakeholders to bring him ideas for where the county should move its offices.
Zdunek is in the midst of looking at a variety of options for the consolidation of county offices and other operations — many of which are scattered around Downtown and are in deteriorating buildings. In June, he said chances were slim that the county’s needs could be met under a scenario that would keep them Downtown.
He said that in recent months he’s had real estate developers and consultants approach him, too; however, they don’t always understand what his requirements are. One broker told him he had 10,000 square feet available, for example.
Zdunek had the purchasing department issue a public request for information earlier this month that spells it out.
So what are the minimum requirements?
At least 265,000 square feet of space, 750 to 800 on-site parking spaces, access to public transit and a relatively centrally located spot within the county, with access to the freeway system.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2014/08/28/exclusive-county-manager-to-downtown-bring.html

[BigTymeABQ]

Political will in play for keeping county offices Downtown

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

Having hundreds of Bernalillo County employees working in Downtown Albuquerque is important to ongoing revitalization efforts in the corridor.
That was the assertion of elected city and county leaders who spoke at a joint meeting Thursday night at the Vincent E. Griego Chambers.
The issue was officially raised by City Councilor Isaac Benton, whose District 2 covers Downtown. Benton has been concerned about reports that the county has been looking at options outside of Downtown to consolidate its offices and operations.
“It’s worried me that the county was sort of throwing up their arms to some extent,” Benton said, adding that thriving cities across the U.S. have thriving Downtowns in common.
The county is spread out around Downtown in several buildings, many of which were built decades ago and are in need of repair and renovation. County Manager Tom Zdunek has been heading up efforts to identify ways to consolidate not only for greater government efficiency, but to create more convenience for residents that need to conduct county business.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/blog/morning-edition/2014/08/political-will-in-play-for-keeping-county-offices.html?ana=e_abq_rdup&s=newsletter&ed=2014-08-29&u=QWbVgCvipWuhWtd1eDprQQ08961b90&t=1409324536&page=all

[BigTymeABQ]

County wants to demolish former Downtown jail

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

It’s a building that’s gone through a few incarnations since serving as the Bernalillo County Detention Center. And it is one the county would now like to see demolished.
The former Downtown detention center at 415 Roma Ave. NW, was previously the New Mexico Regional Correction Center and then later was used as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility.
County Manager Tom Zdunek says he’ll soon be issuing a request for proposals for its demolition. The complex sits on about 1.5 acres across the street from the county Sheriff’s Department and Albuquerque Police Department headquarters at 400 Roma Ave. NW.
The complex was built in the 1970s, although it did undergo a renovation in the early 2000s. Spokeswoman Tia Bland says the county is always in the process of assessing its buildings and their best uses — many of which are scattered across the Downtown corridor.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2014/08/29/county-wants-to-demolish-former-downtown-jail.html

[BigTymeABQ]

EDo’s Pop ‘N’ Taco will become First National Rio Grande bank building

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

A quickly expanding Albuquerque-area bank is making a move in East Downtown.
Officials at First National Rio Grande bank said Thursday it will open a new branch office at 501 Central Ave. NE on a plot that is now the vacant and dilapidated Pop ‘N’ Taco.
The bank expects to be open there in August 2015.
Described as a mixed-use bank building, those behind the project said its proximity to Innovate ABQ made it a desirable location. Innovate ABQ is set to rise at the former First Baptist Church site at Central and Broadway Boulevard.
The future of the Pop ‘N’ Taco site at the northeast corner of Central and Edith Boulevard has been in limbo and the subject of much discussion for years. The family that owns the property through a Wells Fargo trust originally approved it for a drive-thru Subway restaurant concept. That idea was met with resistance from different groups and neighborhood associations and was eventually dropped.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2014/09/11/edo-s-pop-n-taco-will-become-first-national-rio.html

[BigTymeABQ]

City wants Downtown connectivity plans to include Rail Yards

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

The city is looking at expanding its Downtown connectivity plans for workers, residents and visitors to now include the historic Rail Yards to the south.
In May, the city laid out its initial connectivity plan to raise the pedestrian underpasses at First Street and Central Avenue connecting to East Downtown — not only making that it more efficient, but more inviting. With the specter of Innovate ABQ blossoming at Central and Broadway Blvd., the plans would bridge that project to the Convention Center, Alvarado Transportation Center, First Plaza Galeria and a proposed Entertainment District.
The city applied for a $15 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant for that leg of the work, but officials learned this week they didn't receive the grant. However, Michael Riordan, the director of the department of municipal development for the city, said the city is exploring other funding options. And although the primary goal is still to improve the 1st and Central connection, the Rail Yards are now in the mix too.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2014/09/17/city-wants-downtown-connectivity-plans-to-include.html?page=all

[BigTymeABQ]

Downtown's 4th Street Mall, Convention Center renovations progress

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

Two high-profile Downtown Albuquerque construction projects have been progressing this summer, but one experienced a slight weather-related delay.
The $25 million Albuquerque Convention Center renovation has been moving along well, said Michael Riordan, the director of the city's department of municipal development. Riordan said some of the work done on 3rd Street on the west side was delayed due to a relatively wet summer, including a big storm that hit Downtown particularly hard on Aug. 1.
The renovations, led by Bradbury Stamm Construction, include things large and small. There are new ceilings, doors, wall finishes and carpet, as well as newly redone ballrooms, balconies and the addition of a bell tower. The exterior is getting new paint and stucco and 8-by-20-foot banners promoting Albuquerque's amenities will be hung outside soon as well.
The work on 3rd Street includes revising curbs and gutters to make a narrower roadway with a table-top pedestrian walkway. Pedestrians will be able to access the "grand entrance" of the Convention Center from Civic Plaza without walking across traffic. New street trees are being planted too.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2014/09/18/downtowns-4th-street-mall-convention-center.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&page=all

[BigTymeABQ]

City to release high-speed broadband RFP

Dan Mayfield
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

On Friday, the city of Albuquerque said it will release a request for proposals for high-speed Internet along Central Avenue. The RFP will be to operate, maintain and provide an open access, high-speed broadband network, including free wi-fi along Central and inexpensive access throughout the Innovation District, said Peter Ambs, the city’s chief information officer, on Friday.
“We want to make sure we’re supplying ample bandwidth to our Innovation District; our railyards and all the entities along Central will be benefactors on this, whether it’s retail along Nob Hill or a resident,” Ambs said. “We know that the incumbents have fiber along Central. They own it and they control it…and they will have an opportunity to bid on this, and I hope they do. The key is that it’s an open-access fiber broadband network.”
The incumbents include CenturyLink and Comcast.
“If we could get access to the current dark fiber on Central, that’s ideal; the willingness of the incumbents to do that has not always been the case in other cities,” Ambs said.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/news/2014/09/19/city-to-release-high-speed-broadband-rfp.html?ana=twt&page=all