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Albuquerque to move forward to demolition of dilapidated buildings

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Visit Albuquerque
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City of Albuquerque

In an effort to continue improving the quality of life across Albuquerque, the city is moving forward with the identification of problematic properties and razing unsafe structures.

Since 2022, there have been 32 structures that have been demolished as a result of actions taken by the Planning Department’s Divisions for Code Enforcement and Building safety.

Five more emergency demolitions are on the horizon and seven potential demolitions are currently under review.

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller provided an update Tuesday morning on these efforts while standing in front of a building about to be demolished located at Mary Ellen St NE.

“In the last 12 months this particular building has had 54 APD calls, it’s had 7 fire calls and been boarded up 10 times. This is the other issue, first the city boards it up and we try to secure property. But at some point, if we can not secure the property and the owner can not secure the property, then we have to resort to things like demolition.”

Keller also went on to say that dilapidated buildings attract crime and reduce the appeal of surrounding buildings, which in turn affects the greater community. 

Gino Gutierrez was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A lifelong resident of New Mexico, he found interest in broadcasting after falling in love with sports. He attended the University of New Mexico, where he majored in multimedia journalism. While at UNM, he worked the New Mexico Daily Lobo, serving as both sports and managing editor. In addition to working at KSFR, Gino is a freelance photojournalist and can also be heard providing play-by-play commentary for the NA3HL New Mexico Ice Wolves.