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You have to have the 3 story lofts before the 10 floor ones. Remember, the 9 floor building that was supposed to open last year still is not finished. They'll build up and more when the market demands it. And the 3 floor lofts are much better than what was there before. It takes baby steps.. There was a time when even Manhattan was low-rise.
But what is in downtown ABQ that would make the market demand it?
What would attract people to live down there and pay more than they would in other areas?
Im thinking if there were more attractions(jobs,retail,entertainment,) then more people would wanna live in downtown, but for some reason companies dont like to relocate to downtown ABQ.
In my opinion, ABQs biggest problem is not it's downtown, which is actually interesting and getting better. I think ABQs biggest visual problem is the miles of strip malls, miles of unlandscaped medians and freeway offramps (though the Big I landscaping is terrific as is the recent work on the I-40), horrific signage both in town and on the highways. Think of the traveler who lands at the Sunport and cruises north on I-25. What do they see? On the upside: attractive airport landscaping, wonderful Big I landscaping, Beautiful Sandias then it's automobile ghetto — horrific billboards (BTW Maryland and Vermont have banned these - what good do they do our community beyond obscuring the natural beauty of the area?), strip club, porn store, dirt landscaping on freeway offramps, etc. — until you get past Bernalillo. Not a good image.
That is true, they see mostly billboards... But by baby steps, as much as it would be cool to have 10 level homes and what not downtown, there's not the appeal of urban life there, yet. If they can get a grocery store and other amenities, then the area might begin to grow more. I mean, shouldn't we be more focused on getting those kinds of amenities first? Otherwise we might have a bunch of 10 floor buildings sitting vacant.
For instance, the appeal of living in a building like that is walking out the door and picking up a bag of groceries, stop at the pharmacy, grab some coffee and read a magazine... But to get things like a grocery store, you have to start building the population to support these types of amenities. That's where the 3 and 4 floor town homes and lofts come in. They lay the groundwork for grocery stores and other shops and amenities, which bring more jobs, and ultimately you'll end up with some denser development.
But I agree with abqdwell.... Some streets are pretty ugly in town, and the thing is with even just minor landscaping we could have some of the prettiest streets in North America. I mean, many of our streets already face the mountains. What's better than that? Imagine that plus nice landscaping and no billboards.
My goal for ABQ: Its built environment matches its natural environment. JBM, you are right. We are making progress. Now that the Big I has been landscaped along with much of the I-40 pressure builds on the I-25 between the Big I and Bernalillo. Frankly, it's a major eyesore and devalues the Sandia view.
Take my advice as a current non-resident with a grain of salt, but I think ABQ's downtown is fine as-is. One of the things I liked best about ABQ is that it does not show the excessive, sprawling growth that Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and other major southwestern cities do. ABQ's downtown is relatively nice, modest, and unobtrusive, as it should be. Otherwise it'd tend to take away from the natural beauty that's so much a part of the city's identity.
I am, however, a big fan of improving what the city already has. I haven't actually seen it in person, but from what I've heard and seen in pictures, the landscaping project for the Big I is a huge success, and it would be great if other areas got the same kind of treatment.
Take my advice as a current non-resident with a grain of salt,
I tend to agree. But everyone will never agree. But when Albuquerque changes to be like other cities, then we could pull out...
My wife deals with maybe 10 to 50 people per year at work from out of town. Many have never been here before. Some are from other countries.
There are not many negative comments. The dust at times. Some of the loud boom boxes and the associated reckless drivers. The small airport (if you arrive at 9 PM or later, you really can't get a meal), which may have been fixed. The red light runners (yes, we had some British people who were utterly amazed at this phenomenon.)
There have been a lot of positive comments. But the foremost has been the friendliness of the people. The natural landscape. The variety of food... and a lot more.
Yep, I think downtown will get there - change just comes a bit slow around these parts, for better or worse. I'd agree ABQdwell, that more effort should go towards landscaping and strip mall conversions (into more walkable, bikeable areas with higher density housing along major thoroughfares, patio cafes etc). In other words, improve what we've got, and get people outside enjoying the great weather/scenery.
Take my advice as a current non-resident with a grain of salt, but I think ABQ's downtown is fine as-is. One of the things I liked best about ABQ is that it does not show the excessive, sprawling growth that Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and other major southwestern cities do. ABQ's downtown is relatively nice, modest, and unobtrusive, as it should be. Otherwise it'd tend to take away from the natural beauty that's so much a part of the city's identity.
I am, however, a big fan of improving what the city already has. I haven't actually seen it in person, but from what I've heard and seen in pictures, the landscaping project for the Big I is a huge success, and it would be great if other areas got the same kind of treatment.
there is a reason why ABQ hasnt sprawled out like PHX, Vegas or LA, ABQ is no where close to being the city those major cities are,(huge population difference) but if ABQ dosent give more TLC to its downtown and if we grow at a faster rate in the future, then ABQ will start to resemble PHX and Vegas.
and Im not sure what harm it will do to the natural beauty of the city if we improve downtown, or even add a few mid-rises some time, if you are talking about the Sandias, it will have no effect, but Im not sure of any other natural beauty inside the ABQ area.
The city could use a little color though, everywhere is brown, the dirt/sand,Sandias,stucco houses,commercial buildings,landscaping(rocks and even some of the plants that look like weeds) and the Big I.
Yep, I think downtown will get there - change just comes a bit slow around these parts, for better or worse. I'd agree ABQdwell, that more effort should go towards landscaping and strip mall conversions (into more walkable, bikeable areas with higher density housing along major thoroughfares, patio cafes etc). In other words, improve what we've got, and get people outside enjoying the great weather/scenery.
The city is making progress on the landscaping front. Here's a list of 2010 median landscaping projects: abqdwell: 2010 Median Landscaping Projects
Once on this page you can click the individual projects to get start dates. I am especially pleased to see that University in front of the Pit is set to be landscaped.
The first time I visited Albuquerque I thought the downtown area was one of the city's most attractive features. After living in New Mexico and then Chicago for way too long, I'm looking forward to moving back this spring and spending more time in the downtown area. I'd rather be there than the Chicago Loop. The city should focus on retrofitting and revitalizing the great stuff it already has.
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