{"id":680,"date":"2019-08-10T22:12:13","date_gmt":"2019-08-10T22:12:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wheelsmuseum.org\/?page_id=680"},"modified":"2019-08-10T22:12:13","modified_gmt":"2019-08-10T22:12:13","slug":"train-yard-deal-near","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wheelsmuseum.org\/?page_id=680","title":{"rendered":"Train Yard Deal Near"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Frank Zoretich<\/strong>
Albuquerque Tribune<\/strong> Reporter

Organizers of a transportation museum that would be the backdrop for a $70 million trade-show and exposition center appear close to buying the old locomotive repair yard in Downtown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But whether Amtrak will be a major component of\nthe development as museum organizers discussed last fall is not clear. If\nAlbuquerque officials have their way, the train depot will be part of a new\ntransit hub being built along First Street south of Central. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Urban Council and the Burlington Northern and\nSanta Fe Railway plan to sign a contract in the next few days, the first step\ntoward the nonprofit corporation buying the 27-acre locomotive repair yard and\nits historic buildings. The site, which museum backers have coveted for nearly\nthree years, is less than a mile south of the existing Amtrak station. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deal would end a battle that began last fall\nbetween the museum and Stuart Jones, a Dallas developer competing for the\nproperty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The museum would pay the Fort Worth-based railroad\na $100,000 down payment. The railroad is giving the museum three more months to\ncome up with the rest of the $2.5 million asking price. If the museum finds the\nmoney, the railroad will sell the property to the Urban Council, whose purpose\nis to redevelop older areas in the city such as Barelas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Railroad spokesman Jerry Jenkins said a few minor\nclauses in the contract have to be ironed out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We’re working very diligently with the\nmuseum and trying to secure a deal. We’re hoping they can secure the funding\nand that the bugs, so to speak, in the contract can be worked out,”\nJenkins said Tuesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We know it’s a good deal for the\ncommunity,” he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Joe Craig, vice president of the museum’s board of\ndirectors and an Urban Council officer, said the museum will have to do an\nenvironmental study of the site before it obtains financing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We’re thrilled. They’ve granted us the\nextensions we needed. They’ve been fabulous people to work with,” Craig\nsaid of the railroad. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Once they saw the professional group we\nbrought in, they were very impressed. They are helping us provide the long-term\nplanning the railroad wanted for the site,” he said. Jones has met with\ncity officials but hasn’t talked publicly about his plans for the property. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The museum’s board of directors hired Ohio\nhistoric preservationist Franklin Conaway last year to be the project’s interim\ndirector. The Danter Co. of Columbus, Ohio, is doing a marketing study. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conaway envisions a mixed-use development anchored\nby a trade show and exposition center that would work with the city’s\nconvention center to draw larger shows and events. A brew pub, restaurants and\nretail shops would fill the smaller buildings, and a new hotel would be built\non vacant land north of the shops, designed to resemble the historic Alvarado\nthat was torn down north of the rail yard in 1970. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The project is meant to bring tens of\nthousands of visitors to Albuquerque. But it will also be a place where the\ncitizens of Albuquerque can shop and enjoy a concert and participate in\nDowntown life in a way they cannot do now,” Conaway said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conaway said it will cost $30 million to renovate\nthe old railroad shops, and another $40 million to get the entire complex up\nand running. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I want to stress this will be a private\ninvestment project,” he said. “Because of the historic buildings on\nsite qualify for federal tax credits, it will be possible to attract major\nprivate investment dollars.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conaway said it will take a year to finish\nplanning and another two years to put together a long-range financing package\nthat could have the center open in three years. Last fall, Conaway said a key\nto making the project work would be convincing Amtrak to relocate its depot, so\npassengers could get on and off trains in front of the expo center. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, Conaway said the Urban Council will\nrequest meetings with city officials, Amtrak and others involved in planning\nthe city’s transportation center. The Amtrak station, parking and shuttles that\ncould whisk people between Downtown and the expo center will be among the\ntopics discussed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lawrence Rael, the city’s chief administrative\nofficer, said he hasn’t spoken to Amtrak since Conaway’s plans became public. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Amtrak has indicated in past discussions\nwith us that they are interested in going into the new facility being built by\nthe city,” Rael said. “We have been given no reason to think\notherwise.” \n\n\n\n\n\ncked0 L<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Frank Zoretich Albuquerque Tribune Reporter Organizers of a transportation museum that would be the backdrop for a $70 million trade-show and exposition center appear close to buying the old locomotive repair yard in Downtown. But whether Amtrak will be a major component of the development as museum organizers discussed last fall is not clear….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-680","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wheelsmuseum.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wheelsmuseum.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wheelsmuseum.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wheelsmuseum.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wheelsmuseum.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=680"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wheelsmuseum.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":681,"href":"https:\/\/wheelsmuseum.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/680\/revisions\/681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wheelsmuseum.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}