Mayor picked bowling over casino for Albuquerque’s downtown
Rejected proposal called for tribal casino, 12,000 seat arena
By Alex Goldsmith
KRQE News 13
ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) – The intersection of 1st Street and Central Avenue is prime real estate in Albuquerque, sitting at the gateway to downtown Albuquerque.
Although a transportation hub and movie theater occupy the south side of Central right now, the north side of Central is mostly parking lots. As part of efforts to revitalize the city’s downtown, city hall asked for ideas.
They got two very different proposals.
One submitted by One Central Operating Associates LLC, called for a development centered around an upscale bowling lounge. There would be office space and apartments along with a parking garage. Estimates in that proposal were it would create 200 construction jobs and 120 permanent jobs.
While the mayor’s office ultimately chose One Central’s idea, there was another proposal on the table that Mayor Richard J. Berry’s Chief of Staff Gilbert Montaño admits would’ve been a “game changer.”
That plan, submitted by Geltmore LLC and obtained by KRQE News 13, called for building a 12,000 seat multi-purpose arena and a tribal-owned casino hotel in the area of downtown between the railroad tracks, Central, 2nd Street and Tijeras Avenue.