AN ADVISORY SERVICES PANEL REPORT Albuque rque Ra il Ya rds Albuque rque, New Mexico Urban L an d $ Ins ti tute Albuquerque Rail Yards Albuquerque, New Mexico Redeveloping the City’s Historic Rail Yards February 24 –29, 2008 An Advisory Services Panel Report ULI–the Urban Land Institute 1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W. Suite 500 West Washington, D.C. 20007-5201 About ULI–the Urban Land Institute he mission of the Urban Land Institute is to • Sustaining a diverse global network of local provide leadership in the responsible use of practice and advisory efforts that address cur - land and in creating and sustaining thriving rent and future challenges. Tcommunities worldwide. ULI is committed to Established in 1936, the Institute today has more • Bringing together leaders from across the fields than 40,000 members worldwide, represent ing t he of real estate and land use policy to exchange entire spectrum of the land use and develop ment best practices and serve community needs; disciplines. Professionals represented include de - velopers, builders, property owners, investors, ar - • Fostering collaboration within and beyond chitects, public officials, planners, real estate bro - ULI’s membership through mentoring, dia - kers, appraisers, attorneys, engineers, financiers , logue, and problem solving; academics, students, and librarians. ULI relies • Exploring issues of urbanization, conservation, heavily on the experience of its members. It is regeneration, land use, capital formation, and through member involvement and information sustainable development; resources that ULI has been able to set standards of excellence in development practice. The Insti - • Advancing land use policies and design prac - tute has long been recognized as one of the world’s tices that respect the uniqueness of both built most respected and widely quoted sources of ob - and natural environments; jective information on urban planning, growth, and development. • Sharing knowledge through education, applied research, publishing, and electronic media; and ©2008 by ULI–the Urban Land Institute 1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, N.W. Suite 500 West Washington, D.C. 20007-5201 All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission of the copy - right holder is prohibited. Cover photo by Cary Sheih. 2 An Advisory Services Panel Report About ULI Adviso ry Se rvices he goal of ULI’s Advisory Services Program pants in ULI’s five-day panel assignments are is to bring the finest expertise in the real able to make accurate assessments of a sponsor’s estate field to bear on complex land use plan - issues and to provide recommendations in a com - Tning and development projects, programs, pressed amount of time. and policies. Since 1947, this program has assem - bled well over 400 ULI-member teams to help A major strength of the program is ULI’s unique sponsors find creative, practical solutions for ability to draw on the knowledge and expertise of issues such as downtown redevelopment, land its members, including land developers and own - management strategies, evaluation of develop - ers, public officials, academics, representatives of ment potential, growth management, community financial institutions, and others. In fulfillment of revitalization, brownfields redevelopment, mili - the mission of the Urban Land Institute, this tary base reuse, provision of low-cost and afford - Advisory Services panel report is intended to able housing, and asset management strategies, provide objective advice that will promote the re - among other matters. A wide variety of public, sponsible use of land to enhance the environment. private, and nonprofit organizations have con - tracted for ULI’s Advisory Services. ULI Program Staff Marta Goldsmith Each panel team is composed of highly qualified Vice President, Community professionals who volunteer their time to ULI. They are chosen for their knowledge of the panel Thomas W. Eitler topic and screened to ensure their objectivity. Director, Advisory Services ULI’s interdisciplinary panel teams provide a Cary Sheih holistic look at development problems. A re - Senior Associate, Advisory Services spected ULI member who has previous panel Matthew Rader experience chairs each panel. Senior Associate, Advisory Services The agenda for a five-day panel assignment is in - Caroline Dietrich tensive. It includes an in-depth briefing day com - Panel Coordinator, Advisory Services posed of a tour of the site and meetings with spon- Nancy H. Stewart sor representatives; a day of hour-long interviews Director, Book Program of typically 50 to 75 key community representa - tives; and two days of formulating recommenda - Laura Glassman, Publications Professionals LLC tions. Long nights of discussion precede the Manuscript Editor panel’s conclusions. On the final day on site, the Betsy VanBuskirk panel makes an oral presentation of its findings Art Director and conclusions to the sponsor. A written report is prepared and published. Martha Loomis Desktop Publishing Specialist/Graphics Because the sponsoring entities are responsible Craig Chapman for significant preparation before the panel’s visit, Director, Publishing Operations including sending extensive briefing materials to each member and arranging for the panel to meet with key local community members and stake - holders in the project under consideration, partici - Albuquerque, New Mexico, February 24 –29, 2008 3 Acknowledgments n behalf of the Urban Land Institute, the The panel extends particular thanks to Roger panel thanks Mayor Martin Chavez, Coun - Schluntz, dean of the School of Architecture and cilor Isaac Benton and his staff, the city of Planning at the University of New Mexico, for OAlbuquerque, the WHEELS Museum, and preparing comprehensive briefing materials and the University of New Mexico School of Architec - serving as an ongoing source of technical informa - ture and Planning for sponsoring the study of the tion about the site; to Tom Pederson of the Uni - Albuquerque rail yards. versity of New Mexico for technical and graphic support; to Kara Shair-Rosenfield of Councilor The panel also recognizes the numerous other en - Benton’s staff for her guidance and knowledge of tities that contributed to its success, including the the Albuquerque scene; and to Leba Freed, presi - Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau, dent of the WHEELS Museum. Bernalillo County, the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce, Albuquerque Studios, Finally, the panel appreciates the participation of Build New Mexico, the City of Albuquerque Land - the many community members, including resi - marks and Urban Conservation Commission, the dents of the Barelas and South Broadway neigh - City of Albuquerque Planning Department and borhoods, and other individuals who contributed Historic Preservation Planner, the Greater Albu - their time, experience, and knowledge of all things querque Chamber of Commerce, the Mid-Region Albuquerque, to the visioning process for the rail Council of Governments, the National Hispanic yards. Your participation was vital to recommen - Cultural Center, the Romero-Rose Company, the dations set forth in this report. state of New Mexico, and the Urban Council. 4 An Advisory Services Panel Report Contents ULI Panel and Project Staff 6 Foreword: The Panel’s Assignment 7 Market Potential 12 Planning and Design 22 Development Strategies 30 Implementation 32 Conclusion 38 About the Panel 39 Albuquerque, New Mexico, February 24 –29, 2008 5 ULI Panel and Pr oject Staff Panel Chair Philip Hart President Christopher W. Kurz Hart Realty Advisors President/CEO Los Angeles, California Linden Associates, Inc. Baltimore, Maryland Anita Morrison Principal Panel Members Bay Area Economics Washington, D.C. Guillermo Aguilar Principal ULI Project Staff GKK Works Irvine, California Cary Sheih Senior Associate Luis Belmonte Advisory Services Executive Vice President AMB Property Corporation Matthew F. Johnston San Francisco, California Research Manager Initiatives Group Michael Berne President MJB Consulting ULI On-Site Coordinator New York, New York Caroline Dietrich Panel Coordinator Modesto Bigas-Valedon Advisory Services Architect/LEED AP Wallace, Roberts & Todd, LLC Philiadelphia, Pennsylvania Diana Gonzalez President DMG Consulting Services Miami, Florida John J. Griffin, Jr. Partner Edwards, Angell, Palmer & Dodge, LLP Boston, Massachusetts 6 An Advisory Services Panel Report Foreword: The Panel’s Assignment Location map. t the invitation of the city of Albuquerque, COLORADO the WHEELS Museum, and the Univer - Farmington sity of New Mexico School of Architecture Aand Planning, a ULI Advisory Services panel was convened to evaluate redevelopment Santa Fe opportunities for Albuquerque’s historic rail Rio Rancho yards. Founded in 1912, and in use through the Albuquerque 1960s before closing its doors in the early 1990s, the rail yards, a once-thriving steam locomotive NEW MEXICO Clovis re pair operation, were at one time the city’s lead ing employer. Roswell In 2007, the city of Albuquerque and the WHEELS Alamogordo Museum formed a partnership to purchase the rail Hobbs Carlsbad yards from Old Locomotive Shops LLC. The ac - Las Cruces quisition was made possible, in part, by grants from the New Mexico state legislature and Gover - TEXAS nor Bill Richardson. The Albuquerque City Coun - MEXICO cil appropriated more than 50 percent of the total cost to purchase the property, and the city became Regional map. LOS ALAMOS the new owner of the