Another effort to revitalize Downtown Albuquerque is in motion.
The Downtown Core, which is bound by I-25 to the Rio Grande River and I-40 to Avenida Cesar Chavez, is home to three neighborhoods designated as historic districts by the City of Albuquerque - Old Town, Huning Highland and the 4th Ward.
Huning Highland - the area from I-25 to the railroad tracks and Martin Luther King Avenue to Coal Avenue - is in danger of losing the heritage and distinctive architectural styles that make it unique, said Bill Hoch, chairman of Land Use and Zoning for the Huning Highland Historic District Association.
Almost 34,000 Albuquerque residents call the Downtown area home. UNM junior Laura Timm-Kreitzer lived Downtown for about a year and said she opposes more commercial development in the area.
"Destroying historical Albuquerque to bring in more commercial businesses ruins the integrity that Downtown has," she said. "It is vital to have these things in Albuquerque because they have a huge amount of significance to our city."
In a proposal called the East Downtown Project, 51 percent of the business owners in the Huning Highland Historic District have petitioned the Landmarks and Urban Conservation Commission to remove the Huning Highland Historic Overlay Zone along Central Avenue and Broadway Boulevard.
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Brian Morris, spokesman for the Downtown Action Team said the organization fully supports the project as part of the entire Downtown revitalization effort.
"Having mixed-use businesses makes urban centers more livable," he said. "People can work, shop and play in the same area. It is all part of the changing urban lifestyle."
The Huning Highland area was awarded historic status in 1979. As a historic overlay zone, all new construction, renovation or alteration of existing residential structures must follow strict guidelines provided by the City of Albuquerque.
If the proposal is successful, the whole area would face dramatic changes as a result of losing its status as a historic district, Hoch said.
The project proposes zoning changes that would allow grocery stores with package liquor sales as well as the removal of limits on residential density.
In addition, the proposal would allow for the implementation of the city's first Urban Conservation Overlay Zone, which will contain design standards that address architectural design, taller building heights and parking standards, among others.
The UCOZ will also identify significant and contributing structures in the Central and Broadway corridors for conservation, the proposal stated.
Hoch said if the proposal passes, Albuquerque's remaining historic districts would also be in peril.
"If the historic district is removed, then all the other districts are going to face the same dissolution of their district. That is not a good thing,"
Hoch said.
