depending on bond's success, albuquerque's modernist alvarado square may see significant renovation

Roughly $3.5 million will target an extensive upgrading and renovation of the eight-story Alvarado Square in downtown Albuquerque.

Located at 415 Silver Avenue SW, the structure was built in 1980 and served as the long-time offices of the Public Service Company of New Mexico.

When PNM, in 2015, moved its offices to another part of the metro area, that left the big 280,000 square-foot structure empty, a conspicuous vacancy on a busy downtown street.

But looking for a place to consolidate a host of country offices, members of the Bernalillo County Commission approved a proposal last year to purchase the $2.7 million property.

It was initially estimated that it would cost around $36 million to bring the structure up to date, but a survey of the building’s needs, including an update of its plumbing systems, not to mention the renovation of office space throughout Alvarado Square, shortly brought that figure up to $48 million.

Now commission members have voted to include the Alvarado Square upgrading project in a larger $38.5 million general obligation bond that will go before county voters this coming November.

That bond will fund Bernalillo’s six-year capital improvement plan, a plan that also calls for the building of public housing and installation of transportation infrastructure.

The $3.5 million allotted for the Alvarado Square work will also see the construction of a separate stand-alone building next to the main structure that will house the commission’s chambers.
Nearly $39 million in funding for the project will come from the county’s gross receipts tax revenue.

Upon completion of the Alvarado Square upgrading and renovation, the building will house the offices of the country clerk, treasurer, and assessor, among other departments.

By Garry Boulard

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