Albuquerque Development

[BigTymeABQ]

UNM to condemn land for south campus development

By Astrid Galvan / Journal Staff Writer on Thu, Jun 13, 2013
POSTED: 10:00 am
LAST UPDATED: 10:20 am

The University of New Mexico today began the process of condemning 24 empty lots of land owned by an Albuquerque family for development of its south campus.

UNM is also purchasing nine other lots belonging to different families in what is the continual expansion of its presence in the Avenida César Chávez and University SE vicinity.

It is the 24 lots, off Sunshine Terrace SE owned by a family identified only as the Gutierrezes, that UNM wants to buy through eminent domain. Sunshine Terrace is just south of Avenida César Chávez and runs from Buena Vista Drive to slightly east of Interstate 25. The Gutierrezes have agreed to the condemnation of their land, and UNM today filed a request for a court to appraise the land.

http://www.abqjournal.com/main/21005...velopment.html

[BigTymeABQ]

UNM’s Frank has big plans for a new incubator

Dan Mayfield Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

The University of New Mexico has its sights set on a new incubation space for high-growth businesses.

In a discussion about economic development on Thursday at the League of Women Voters monthly luncheon, UNM President Dr. Robert Frank said the university is stepping up its economic development initiatives, and is looking at a Downtown site for its next incubation experiment.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...0&t=1371159404

[BigTymeABQ]

Coalition eyeing two locations for 'Innovate ABQ'

Joe Renaud
Editor-in-Chief-
Albuquerque Business First

A University of New Mexico design consultant has honed in on two potential locations for innovation and research districts as part of the proposed "Innovate ABQ" initiative, a joint project between UNM, the City of Albuquerque and others.

According to an Albuquerque Journal report, the leading locations are the Central Avenue and Broadway intersection in Downtown Albuquerque and the Aperture Center at Mesa del Sol. Under the initiative, the locations would serve as hubs for innovation and business development, creating high-wage jobs that form the foundation of lively economic development sectors.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...0&t=1371478267

[BigTymeABQ]

A few photos of the ABQ Convention Center remodel.
 

 

 

 

 

[BigTymeABQ]

Here is a photo that I took of the work being done at the Anasazi Downtown.

 

Edited June 26, 2013 by BigTymeABQ

[BigTymeABQ]

County to start talks about buying PNM building

Dan Mayfield
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

The old PNM building on Silver Avenue Downtown may soon have a new owner: Bernalillo County.

At Tuesday night’s Bernalillo County Commission meeting, the commission voted unanimously to allow County Manager Tom Zdunek to negotiate with the owners of the building to purchase it. The building has been listed for sale at $11.1 million with Colliers International New Mexico.

The seller is Albuquerque Plaza Associates LP, an affiliate of Minneapolis’ Hunter Keith Industries, which built Alvarado Square expressly for PNM Resources in 1981. PNM is consolidating its Downtown Albuquerque operations and no longer needs the space, but has one year left on its lease.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...0&t=1372256012

[BigTymeABQ]

Gold Avenue corridor gets social

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

The Gold Avenue corridor in downtown Albuquerque is hoping to land on your social media radar. Billing it as the official site about “the place to stroll, shop, live and dine in urban Albuquerque,” business owner Patti Hoech has launched a Facebook page to promote the area’s offerings.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...0&t=1372861807

[BigTymeABQ]

Albuquerque eyes more neon signs along Route 66

Posted at: 07/08/2013 10:56 AM
By: Elizabeth Reed, KOB.com

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - Albuquerque officials want to encourage businesses to add neon lights that will lighten up Central Avenue along the city's 15-mile stretch of historic Route 66.
The City Council has approved a package of proposals for incentives that the Albuquerque Journal reports that Mayor Richard Berry intends to sign.

http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S...html?cat=10029

[BigTymeABQ]

ABQ Convention Center remodel wraps first phase

Damon ScottReporter-
Albuquerque Business First

The city of Albuquerque hosted an event Tuesday to mark the completion of the first phase of the $20 million Albuquerque Convention Center renovation.
Mayor Richard Berry and other city officials were on hand to show off the downtown complex’s remodeled ballrooms. The city said it refinanced the debt on the building to fund the entire project.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...0&t=1373405517

[BigTymeABQ]

Albuquerque's Industrial Cathedral: The ATSF Rail Yards

Posted by John Mulhouse on July 17, 2013 at 10:00am

There are numerous towns in New Mexico that owe their lives to the railroad. Many can also lay their deaths at the feet of that very same railroad, which quickly abandoned them when their services were no longer needed. One city that can trace the foundation of its modern character to the railroad but has now grown so far beyond it that the connection has nearly been lost is Albuquerque. Yet recently interest in the railroad has been growing in the Duke City. Aside from the popularity of the Rail Runner and National Train Day, there has been renewed attention given to the Albuquerque Rail Yards, which once employed 25% of the city’s workforce. The rail yards may have defined Albuquerque for the first half of the 20th Century, but for the last couple decades they have been quietly slipping from public view.

http://www.dukecityfix.com/profiles/...tsf-rail-yards

[BigTymeABQ]

Winrock completion four to six years away

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

It was first developed in the 1950s and was once the largest regional mall between Los Angeles and Dallas.

Its size is almost that of Downtown Albuquerque, and at one point it even had an amusement park on its grounds.

The highly anticipated and ambitious redevelopment of Winrock Mall — now Winrock Town Center — began in earnest in 2007, when the Goodman Realty Group purchased the 84-acre site. But a total buildout of the project is still about four to six years away, according to a top executive.

Goodman Vice President of Development Darin Sand gave the North I-25 Business Association a Winrock status report at a luncheon Thursday.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...82996&page=all

[BigTymeABQ]

State moves forward on Plaza Maya purchase

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

After the New Mexico Corrections Department announced this spring that it would relocate its Albuquerque probation and parole division to Downtown’s Plaza Maya, opposition began to surface from some groups that work with young people in the area.

A purchasing agreement had been signed by the state’s General Services Department to buy the 62,287-square-foot building at 615 First St. NW — a move that could lower Downtown’s chronically high office vacancy rate.

Now, months later, GSD Public Information Officer and Records Custodian Tim Korte says plans for the purchase are moving forward, with a policy change in the works to help address community concerns.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq....html?page=all

[BigTymeABQ]

Work has begun at the Silver Moon Lodge in downtown ABQ.

 

[BigTymeABQ]

Downtown ABQ from a distance.

 

[BigTymeABQ]

Can Albuquerque become a walkable city?

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

The greater Albuquerque area is about 400 square miles, its residential and commercial developments generally spread out far and wide.

The most populous city in the U.S. — New York City — is about 468 square miles, but it is also considered one of the country’s most walkable, along with San Francisco and Boston.

Anyone that’s lived in the Albuquerque area for any length of time will tell you it’s often difficult to get around without a vehicle. Still, there are neighborhoods that are considered walkable, mostly the areas between Old Town and Nob Hill along Route 66. Even so, our city’s quadrants are often accessed by two of the country’s longest interstates — I-40 and I-25 — that intersect the sprawling metro. Author Jeff Speck, a city planner and architectural designer who advocates for cities to develop through smart growth and sustainable design, argues that developing transient-friendly municipalities makes good economic sense. Speck, the author of “Walkable City,” published last year, will be in Albuquerque next month for a free event.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...00934&page=all

[BigTymeABQ]

Berry asks Udall for help on De Anza project

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry has asked Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., for assistance on the proposed redevelopment of the De Anza Motor Lodge on Central Avenue.

The rehabilitation of the De Anza, which is owned by the city, is in jeopardy after historical tax credits that would be applied to the cost of the development were denied last month.

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

[BigTymeABQ]

Company picked for Paseo del Norte/I-25 project

Dan Mayfield
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

There were dozens, then three, and by Sunday, only one company remained in the quest to take over the Paseo/I-25 interchange program.

Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry, flanked by representatives from Bernalillo County, the New Mexico Department of Transportation and others, announced that Kiewit New Mexico/Bohannan Huston Inc./Terracon team had won the bid to construct the new $93 million roads project.

The design build project will be the largest public works project in the city since the reconstruction of the Big-I interchange about 10 years ago.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...0&t=1375714382

[BigTymeABQ]

Summerfest in downtown ABQ.

 

 

[BigTymeABQ]

Things looking up for ABQ's Downtown

Updated: Saturday, 03 Aug 2013, 12:01 PM MDT

Published : Friday, 02 Aug 2013, 10:24 PM MDT

Amanda Goodman

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Downtown Albuquerque is buzzing with multiple major construction projects underway all at once.

"I've never seen this much building going on Downtown at once so its super exciting," said Downtown Action Team Executive Director Debbie Stover.

Currently there are five projects in the works.

Starting at the west end of Downtown on Central and 15th Street a new bank is going in.

A few blocks east of the bank will be a new apartment complex.

"When I see something getting built, I get happy. I think its pretty exciting there's new businesses coming in and more foot traffic," said Downtown Business Owner Tommy Ill.

In the heart of Downtown, the long-delayed and much anticipated Anasazi Building, which will be home to retail and residences alike.

http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/busines...erway-downtown

[BigTymeABQ]

Anasazi redevelopment interior work begins

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

Downtown Albuquerque’s nine-story Anasazi high-rise development is wrapping up the first phase of the property’s overhaul and has begun to move on to a second phase of work.

The first phase was a $1 million exterior renovation headed by Albuquerque’s AIC General Contractor. That phase included painting, new stucco, the installation of balcony rails, sheeting and repair of the sidewalk around the building.

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

[BigTymeABQ]

I found this rendering of the proposed downtown ABQ grocery.

205 Silver Avenue SW, Albuquerque, NM, 87102 - Neighborhood Center Property for Lease on LoopNet.com
 

Edited August 6, 2013 by BigTymeABQ

[BigTymeABQ]

Plan could determine future of Westside development

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

A strategy that could set the course for long-term development on Albuquerque’s Westside moved forward this week.

The City Council unanimously approved the third and final sector development plan for Volcano Heights in the Volcano Mesa area August 5. Volcano Heights comprises about 570 acres of raw land near the city’s northwest mesa.

The plan calls for a mixed-use, walkable environment as part of a larger plan to reduce traffic congestion on the west side. It seeks to replace existing residential zoning with mixed-use zoning and provide incentives to attract employment and urban development.

http://www.bizjournals.com/albuquerq...0&t=1375972057

[BigTymeABQ]

Downtown’s former One Up converted to office space

Damon Scott
Reporter-
Albuquerque Business First

After the One Up Elevated Lounge in Downtown Albuquerque closed its doors late last year, there was some speculation that another lounge-themed business would move in. Instead, the space has been converted into offices and is now the new home to Real Time Solutions.

Real Time is a Web design and content and documents management company with 22 employees. The firm moved into the 8,500-square-foot site Aug. 1 after the space on the second floor of 301 Central Ave. NW was redesigned. Owned by Compass Realty, it includes open areas, no cubicles, two pool tables, a recreation room, kitchen, small conference rooms and plenty of natural light.

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

[BigTymeABQ]

Breaking Bad's chemistry cooks up tourism in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Town seeks to attract more TV, movie production as series ends

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — It’s been five years of meth addicts, deadly shootings, violent drug traffickers and hidden secrets of the desert.

And throughout the filming of AMC hit television series Breaking Bad in Albuquerque, interest in this Southwestern U.S. city from tourists has grown and local businesses have sought to cash in. A doughnut shop sells treats laced with blue “meth” toppings, for example, while a bike rental business gives tours of characters’ favourite spots.

But now that Breaking Bad is returning for its final episodes, Albuquerque shops and tourist attractions are trying to take advantage of the popular show’s last moments before the series fades from memory.

The city’s visitors’ bureau hosted a watch party Sunday for the premiere of the last season’s first episode, drawing more than 450 fans. Stores held specials to sell Breaking Bad memorabilia. There was even a Breaking Bad marathon at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Albuquerque, followed by mass, then its own watch party for the last season’s premiere.

http://www.vancouversun.com/entertai...665/story.html

Edited August 14, 2013 by BigTymeABQ

[BigTymeABQ]

_{ABQ Convention Center rendering}

_{http://www.cabq.gov/mayor/priorities-and-initiatives/initiatives/abq-the-plan/images/3rdStreetFlags.jpg/view}