Despite TIDD, Winrock needs financing

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Gov. Bill Richardson on Wednesday signed a bill providing funding to help renovate the now mostly vacant Winrock Center, but developers said they still need more funding before they can begin work on the project.

The bill signed Wednesday declares the mall, the city's oldest, a Tax Increment Development District. That allows developers to use more than $100 million in future taxes to pay for infrastructure at the uptown mall.

Developers plan to redesign the mall, transforming it into an outdoor shopping center with retail shops, restaurants, a hotel, offices and an IMAX theater.

They're still working to secure financing, said Gary Goodman of Winrock Partners.

"We'll get it. We'll get it. And it's going to take help (from) our senators, our representatives, we may need some federal loan guarantees to get the banks moving. The banks, despite all the TARP funds, are still not lending."

The project, expected to cost $650 million, is expected to bring 5,000 permanent jobs and 7,000 construction jobs when it begins.

The bill also provides similar funding for ABQ Uptown, a nearby outdoor shopping center. That development will get more than $34 million.

Winrock only contains a few stores, but it has seen some life since the majority of stores moved out. The comedy Observe and Report, which opens on April 10, was mostly filmed there.