ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It’s been half a year since the City of Albuquerque approved plans to breathe life back into a stretch along the University of New Mexico between University and Girard. Now an Albuquerque developer is set to be the first to help revitalize a piece along that stretch.
Albuquerque developers Jay Rembe with Rembe Urban Design and Allen Lewis are looking to build a three-story apartment complex on an empty parking lot off Yale. Many who work and live in the area say they welcome the idea. “I think it’s just been an issue and it’s not serving any purpose, it’s just an open empty lot. I think it would be nice to see it turn into something nicer and to bring in. I don’t know, just make the neighborhood a little nicer maybe,” said Zoey Sanchez who works near the proposed site.
The city designated the area as a Metropolitan Redevelopment Area, meaning developers are eligible for grants as they aim to revitalize the blighted neighborhood. People like Zoey Sanchez who live and work near the vacant lot off Yale say the area has seen better days, and according to the application, the lot has experienced increased levels of loitering and trash, all distracting from the neighborhood’s atmosphere.
Now, plans to build the three-story, 20-unit apartment complex called “The Parador,” will change that, including improvements along bicycle and pedestrian walkways with new street-scaping along Yale. “Out here on the street, I see people that want to walk their dogs or have their kids and it’s kind of scary, they just kind of trash a lot of stuff and they will defecate all over the place like over there,” Sanchez said.
People like Sanchez say they hope as more developers move in, it will help deter crime as well as bring up the value of the rest of the neighborhood. The project is set to cost around $4 million. Both project developers Allen Lewis and Jay Rembe are well-known local business owners known for the Bricklight Courtyards and Harvard Mall.
KRQE reached out to the developers for comment but did not hear back.
