ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Construction is ramping up across the metro. Many of these new sites are not far from big developments like Amazon, Orion, and Mesa del Sol. During your commute, you’ve likely spotted big dirt lots with crews at work. Conveniently, a lot of the projects in the northwest are just minutes away from the massive Amazon warehouse taking rise.
“When we see large projects like Amazon, it’s not uncommon to see kind of the tentacles of that project go out,” said Brennon Williams, planning director for the City of Albuquerque. “It’s not uncommon for those two to kind of depend upon each other and work off of each other as it relates to one gets started and then inevitably, the other one is coming in.”
According to the city’s Development Review Board, many of the new construction projects applying for permits are apartment complexes. In addition to the potential apartment complex at the mixed-use center in the works near Unser and McMahon, a massive 333-unit complex is already under construction at Paseo and Woodmont, south of Ventana Ranch and minutes from the Amazon warehouse.
Around the corner, a 52-unit townhome development is also in the works near Rainbow and Paseo. The city’s planning department says construction has remained steady through the pandemic, keeping city projects going.
“Obviously, during the pandemic, construction helped considerably with the GRT which is what drives government and that sort of thing,” said Williams. “When those tax bases are maintained or they increase, that helps all sorts of municipal roads, street improvements, that sort of thing, landscaping improvements for the public. All of those benefit from these larger projects.”
The city is also looking at other “satellite” projects in other parts of the metro. Renderings are now in place for the Gateway Apartments at Mesa del Sol, not far from the expansion of Netflix Studios. A plot of land set for six commercial buildings is in the works just a half-mile from the proposed Orion site on Gibson. Work is picking back up at Winrock with a 199-unit apartment in the works off of Indian School and a 149-room hotel off Louisiana.
As for the development off Unser and McMahon, the far western nine acres of the plot of land is already a zone for a three-story apartment complex. A timeline for when that could be finished is still in the works.
According to NAI Sun Vista which is leasing the developed land, groundwork on the retail and commercial space should be done in about three months with building construction completed and businesses opening by early 2022. About eight plots of land are set aside along with one already leased out for a convenience store and other plots committed to retail, dining, and a bank.
