Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham was joined by Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and members of the Albuquerque City Council, as well as area state legislators Wednesday, to announce the state’s infrastructure investment in the plan to transform downtown Albuquerque’s rail corridor.
The Albuquerque Rail Trail is an urban redevelopment project that the city launched and that aims to build a 7-mile loop of multi-use trails connecting downtown and riverside destinations.
Lujan Grisham said the investment in the rail trail will help unlock future redevelopment potential for downtown Albuquerque.
“What this does, is that it actually spurs well more than, and these are conservative estimates. Well more than $200 million dollars in downtown development and investments. And I’m going to tell you, we are going to need that as we reimagine the state, starting with reimagining Albuquerque, because we never lost sight of its potential,” Lujan Grisham said.
These potential redevelopments come in the form of multifamily housing and business development, with the hope of growing the city’s economic base and creating new job opportunities.
“Overnight, we have a flood of incredible opportunities and frankly this is one of the best ones. Because it's businesses, it's schools, it's jobs, it's housing and it's reimagining the way we do transportation in this city,” Lujan Grisham said.
The state’s contribution of $10 million joins the $15 million already committed by the city of Albuquerque. The full cost of the first 3 phases of this project is estimated to be $39.5 million.
To foot the bill for the remaining $14.5 million, the city is pursuing federal funding opportunities.
Keller said even without the federal funding secured however, the project is beginning to take place in pieces, and now with the state’s support, more of it will become a reality.
“When this project is done, it will be a landmark that every single person in this city knows about and has been too, that’s how impactful and how powerful this vision is,” Keller said.