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Following an appeal of the city’s approval of building renovations to the rundown Vagabond Inn near south campus, plans for development have stalled.
The project, which was proposed by developer Lance Sigmon in a public meeting in May, aimed to convert Vagabond Inn into another apartment complex. But the University administration and residents of Clayton Heights-Lomas del Cielo, a neighborhood near Lobo Village, opposed the renovations.
After the project was approved by Albuquerque’s Environmental Planning Commission (EPC) during that meeting, the University and the Clayton Heights-Lomas del Cielo Neighborhood Association filed an appeal with Albuquerque City Council.
“In a one-mile radius, we have 2,000 residents,” neighborhood association president Lee Graham said. “We don’t need any more high-density residential units.”
Instead of more residents, the neighborhood needs nearby commercial spaces, Graham said.
“We have three restaurants and a gas station, and that’s all our businesses in the area,” he said.
The nearest grocery store is one-and-a-half miles away, and the nearest large-purchase store, Walmart, is on San Mateo, he said. A shopping center, Graham said, would make the area more convenient for residents, especially students.
In addition, Graham estimates that 56,000 people drive by the neighborhood regularly, so erecting an industrial complex would also make it accessible for them.
Graham said that in an effort to compromise, the neighborhood association suggested the space could be used for senior housing, but Sigmon refused because senior housing would require the installation of handicap-accessible facilities, which would be expensive.
Graham said that although Sigmon did not include important aspects of development, such as landscaping, parking and bus stop plans, in his proposal, the EPC decided the project met minimum requirements and approved it.
“The EPC has harshly examined people in opposition,” Graham said. “In the end, the developer didn’t really go out of the way to give a presentation, but met minimal requirements to pass it through.”
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Despite attempts to contact Sigmon, he could not be reached for comment.
The City Council required the neighborhood association and UNM to get signatures from at least 20 percent of residents and businesses in the neighborhood for their appeal.
Graham said only 13 of the 6,000 neighborhood association members approved the project and almost all of the community members opposed the renovation.
The City Council formally vetoed the EPC’s decision in a meeting held Aug. 20.
Graham said that even if the renovations were approved, the project would have cost millions of dollars to replace stripped electrical wiring.
“It requires a significant amount of funds just for basic repair,” he said.
UNM Director of Real Estate Kim Murphy said that although the University is not against the renovation of the inn, it is against this particular proposal because the developer failed to provide sufficient information about the project.
“The University opposed the rezoning request because the applicant had not adequately demonstrated that the proposed use would be better for the area,” he said.
Murphy said that with the recent developments near south campus, including Lobo Village, Broadstone Apartments and Dion’s Pizza, UNM’s Campus Master Plan requires more commercial spaces and athletic facilities in the area.
He said the University owns two vacant lots on opposite sides of Vagabond Inn, which would be ideal places for a commercial center.
He said that converting the inn into a residential area between the two lots would make it hard for the University to start planning development.
“Our concern (is) that the proposed use would in fact be detrimental to implementation of the South Campus Master Plan and to recent private developments and investments in the area,” Murphy said.
Plans for the lots include community retail stores, such as a grocery store, restaurants and a fitness center.
Murphy said the University planned to develop the area for a number of years, but that he is not certain when development will start or how much it will cost. He said any plan regarding the commercial center must undergo an evaluation process and be approved by the Board of Regents.
But Murphy said businesses and residents are already enthusiastic about a shopping center opening near south campus.
“Many folks who use south campus facilities, including students, staff and visitors … see a need for commercial goods and services in the area, since so few exist today to serve this population,” he said.
Both Graham and Murphy agree that the Vagabond Inn project will definitely not happen in the future.
Despite uncertainty about UNM’s planned shopping center project, Graham said that the neighborhood association will support the University and that he hopes the University will begin developing the area soon.
“It’s hard to say right now, but I hope it comes in perhaps sooner than later,” he said.
