A $35 million project that will bring more businesses and residents Downtown is about to kick off, with plans to break ground next Monday.
Rendering of One Central (ABQ Business First)The big development on the northeast corner of Central Avenue and First Street has been called many things, including an entertainment district, its actual name One Central and a catalytic project for Downtown Albuquerque.
It has two major parts: a 429-space parking structure and a six-story building that includes 66 apartment units and 44,000 square feet of commercial space.
The partners of One Central include Jerry Mosher, who with his wife, redeveloped the former First National Bank building nearby; Tony Pisto of Maranatha Construction; and Dale Armstrong of TLC Plumbing & Utility.
The developers have a public-private partnership with the city of Albuquerque. The city earmarked $15.5 million of its lodgers’ tax for the parking garage. The developers are going before Bernalillo County commissioners this week to ask for industrial revenue bonds to further finance the project.
“Both the city and the county look at the revitalization of Downtown as catalytic. It’s long-term thinking. Once the entertainment district is up and Innovate ABQ, this is going to be a whole different place,” said Mosher, the president of Mosher Enterprises Inc.
Mosher said public-private partnerships allow a big project like One Central to get off the ground.
New construction is expensive, especially in a dense area, and those costs are passed on to tenants. With various tax breaks, Mosher said people will be able to afford to rent a two-bedroom apartment Downtown with washers and dryers in the units. He’s aiming for a rent price point of $1,200. And he says lease rates will be competitive.
“If you build a new building Downtown, with the rent rates you have to have to pay the debt off the building, it doesn’t work. That’s why you have to come up with enough incentives, and all those incentives we have to pass directly onto the users,” Mosher said.
Some have questioned why a parking garage is needed Downtown, especially when the city is trying to promote more public transportation. But Mosher said the demand is high, and he’s gotten phone calls asking if the garage can go higher.
“There’s people all around there wanting parking. We’ve been asked to increase the parking structure two more levels, but we can’t really do it at this point because it’s a timing thing,” Mosher said.
With the garage expected to break ground next week, Mosher said his team is now turning its attention to the commercial side of the project. It will be unique, with large communal areas and plenty of patio space looking out at Downtown’s skyline.
He said leases haven’t been signed yet, but there are many letters of intent for the building from potential tenants. Mosher said the plan is to build a bowling alley, restaurants, coffee shops, grab-and-go stores and from his personal wish list, “a real New York-style deli.”
“We’re being picky because we want everyone to complement each other. I don’t want them competing against each other,” Mosher said.
Mosher said Klinger Constructors, the project’s general contractor, expects to turn over the parking garage in November 2017. They’re pushing to open the apartments around the same time, and will likely see them occupied in early 2018.
By: Stephanie Guzman-Barrera (Albuquerque Business First)
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