albuquerque's sawmill market to include innovative food hall

Plans are well underway for the creation of a 34,000 square foot food hall inside Albuquerque’s transformative Sawmill District.

The district, whose official address is 20th Street at Bellamah Avenue NW, was once the home to a thriving lumber mill dating back to 1903.

The $24 million Sawmill Market is being carved out of the former Frank Paxton Lumber Company building, and will house up to two dozen individual retail spaces offering a variety of foodstuffs.

What is being called “New Mexico’s First Artisanal Food Hall” will be located across Bellamah from the Hotel Chaco.

Work on the individual spaces could see some facility upgrading and conversion, with plans calling for the hall to officially open next February.

As designed, the building will also include cold and dry storage space, and both an interior common area seating space as well as outdoor seating.

The market project was the recipient late last year of $10 million in industrial revenue bonds approved by the Bernalillo County Commission.

A report put together by the county said that the Sawmill District project itself “encourages the use of a re-development strategy that encourages sustainable, smart growth in conserving land resources by attracting new infill development.”

Officials say they regard the new food hall as the epicenter of the larger Sawmill District mixed-use project, which will include walkable space in a neighbor setting populated with restaurants, hotels, and retail shops.

By Garry Boulard

---