ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – After a junkyard occupied its space years ago, the corner of Central Avenue and Unser Boulevard will soon be home to a new mixed-use development.
On Tuesday, Nuevo Atrisco broke ground on Albuquerque’s Westside. The development will include a four-story, 86-unit apartment complex, 30,000 square feet of office, restaurant and retail space and a 20,000-square-foot community plaza. The $26 million project is a public-private partnership between the city of Albuquerque, YES Housing Inc., Wells Fargo, New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority and Maestas Development Group.
“It’s taken a while for us to get here, but we’re here,” Chris Baca, president and CEO of Yes Housing. “This is going to get done because of that kind of partnership. … Hopefully in a year and a half, you’re going to see something really great in this corner.”
The apartment complex is scheduled to be completed by May 2020 with the remaining commercial amenities of Nuevo Atrisco set for a 2021 completion date.
YES Housing applied for and was awarded over $10 million for loan income housing tax credits to build the residential component of the project, said Jay Czar, executive director of New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority.
Steve Maestas, CEO of Maestas Development Group, added that the idea is to bring a national brand restaurant to Nuevo Atrisco and add a restaurant incubator where a small business can get a start with a flexible lease.
Several speakers from the parties involved told stories of the process of bringing the Nuevo Atrisco project to fruition, which stretched back to Mayor Marty Chavez’s administration, working together across sectors, and the surrounding area being underserved historically.
A mariachi band capped off the groundbreaking event as everyone involved dug their shovels in the ground.
“This project will spawn additional development. … You’ll see it further west on Central, you’ll it across the street on the southeast corner,” Maestas said. “[The apartment complex] validates the location. It brings energy, it brings capital and it brings consumers.”
By Ron Davis Reporter Albuquerque Business First | April 23, 2019