City Council District Six Coalition of Neighborhood Associations
600 San Pablo St NE
Albuquerque, NM 87108
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 7, 2008
For further information contact Nancy Bearce
Coalition President (505) 254-7841
SE Heights Neighborhood Groups Issue Recommendations for Expo NM
ALBUQUERQUE - As part of the RFI process and in anticipation of the Governor’s visit to Expo NM this Friday at 1:30 pm at the African American Performing Arts Center, surrounding neighborhood groups and elected officials have outlined several desired themes to help guide Expo New Mexico's future planning. Earlier last month, 23 citizens representing 7 neighborhood associations, 4 organizations and 5 public officials gathered for a brainstorming session and are pleased to make the following recommendations. Ideas for a new plan for Expo NM include:
1. Keep the State Fair
2. Provide more job opportunities for area residents and be an asset for creating a
community economic engine
3. Incorporate “Best of " ideas from other cities, i.e. Central Park, NYC;
Millennium Park, Chicago; Soulard Market, St. Louis
4. Be an International/Cultural Destination (cultural centers, sister city cultures,
International Consulate offices, etc.)
5. Include a Rt 66/Central Avenue Promenade
6. Home to a Permanent Grower’s Market/Flea Market (open, inviting, public) such as
the Soulard Market, St. Louis
7. Be a Daily and Year-round Destination including Retail, Restaurants and
Government Offices
8. Provide Year-round Family recreation that is community supported and include all
age activities for children, teens, adults and elders
9. Provide Green Open walkways, lighted and no walls
10. A World Class Event Center like O2 in London that is multi-functional
11. Incorporate thoughtful mixed use planning with a parking garage, gate re-designs,
multi-modal transportation, workable traffic flows, and safe
12. Use Green Building and alternative energy, i.e. solar panels on the covered
grower’s market structure and utilize local companies
13. Include Athletic Fields for a variety of community sports such as soccer, Little
League, etc
14. Include an Equestrian Center, depending on Mesa Del Sol plans
15. Exclude ideas for established long-term housing but consider State Fair housing
and ‘artist in residence’ programs like the Santa Fe Opera
16. Follow a process that permanently includes Neighborhoods and other stakeholders
" The Fairgrounds re-development will impact area residents and neighborhoods for 50 years or more. The Governor is well served by having engaged citizens, their sharing of ideas and the value of their input," says Nancy Bearce, Coalition President.
"What to do with Expo NM was an important issue in the recent primary, I'm pleased our district is proactively voicing its ideas. I'm looking forward to working on this in the legislature," says State Senate District 17 Senator - Elect Tim Keller.
"I am excited to work with the Governor and community leaders on promoting a re-vitalized and vibrant Expo New Mexico that will serve the local neighborhoods as well as the entire state,” says State Representative Al Park, District 26.
*****************
Showing posts with label NM state fair. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NM state fair. Show all posts
Friday, August 8, 2008
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Governor Asking for Your Ideas
from the Albuquerque Journal
Got Any Ideas for Expo? Speak Up!
AlbuquerqueJournal-->By Jeff JonesJournal Staff Writer
Gov. Bill Richardson, who envisions a dramatic revamp of the state fairgrounds in Albuquerque, wants to know what developers, businesses, architects and anyone else who's interested have in mind.
The options, including moving the fairgrounds elsewhere, seem to be wide open.
The state on Monday issued a written “request for information” on ideas for the future of the 237-acre Expo New Mexico grounds on Central Avenue. And the state is continuing to explore a public-private partnership to make big changes on the valuable chunk of central Albuquerque real estate.
Richardson earlier this year made headlines when he announced the partnership possibility and tossed out the idea of replacing the aging Tingley Coliseum and the Downs at Albuquerque horse track with a new “world-class” exhibit center.
Some of the other possibilities in the new request for information are also likely to spark conversation.
“Expo New Mexico grounds are large enough and located in an area that lends itself to any number of possible uses, including but by no means limited to a year-round theme park, commercial, residential and/or retail development, an equestrian center, land leases, a state office campus for the Albuquerque area, expansion of the flea market, etc.,” the request says.
The request also says the state is seeking ideas for keeping the fair “as an integral part of the new development” as well as a “development with the state fair moved to an alternate location.”
The potential exhibit center, convention facilities, green space and “destination retail” are also mentioned in the request.
The request for ideas is not a formal request seeking bids on an Expo revamp, and the state is not paying anything for the ideas it generates — though Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said the ideas could eventually be incorporated into a bid request.
A meeting for anyone wishing to give their two cents' worth is set to take place 10 a.m. July 18 on the Expo grounds, and responses must be submitted to the state by Aug. 15.
“If there's something we need from the Legislature, we'd like to get it to them by the next session,” Gallegos said of the potential state involvement in an Expo makeover.
Richardson in May announced that he had directed state Finance Secretary Katherine Miller and Expo General Manager Judith Espinosa to hammer out a proposal for a public-private partnership to revamp the aging fairgrounds, which for years has been a major money pit for repair and maintenance work.
The order came after the state Racing Commission approved a request by the Downs to move its track and casino operations to a new site in Moriarty. At the time, Gallegos said moving the track would strip about $2 million a year from Expo's $15.7 million budget.
Gallegos has said Richardson preferred keeping the fair on the Expo grounds, though the new request for information leaves a move elsewhere as one option.
Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez would like to see the fair moved to the developing Mesa del Sol area south of Albuquerque.
It wasn't immediately clear whether a new exhibit center would conflict in any way with Chávez's plans to bring a new arena and hotel project to Downtown Albuquerque, though the new request for information appears to refer to the other project at one point:
It mentions “keeping in mind other similarly planned projects in the Albuquerque metro area.”
A message left for Chávez on Monday afternoon wasn't immediately returned, though one city official has said Richardson appears to be supportive of the Downtown plans.
Got Any Ideas for Expo? Speak Up!
AlbuquerqueJournal-->By Jeff JonesJournal Staff Writer
Gov. Bill Richardson, who envisions a dramatic revamp of the state fairgrounds in Albuquerque, wants to know what developers, businesses, architects and anyone else who's interested have in mind.
The options, including moving the fairgrounds elsewhere, seem to be wide open.
The state on Monday issued a written “request for information” on ideas for the future of the 237-acre Expo New Mexico grounds on Central Avenue. And the state is continuing to explore a public-private partnership to make big changes on the valuable chunk of central Albuquerque real estate.
Richardson earlier this year made headlines when he announced the partnership possibility and tossed out the idea of replacing the aging Tingley Coliseum and the Downs at Albuquerque horse track with a new “world-class” exhibit center.
Some of the other possibilities in the new request for information are also likely to spark conversation.
“Expo New Mexico grounds are large enough and located in an area that lends itself to any number of possible uses, including but by no means limited to a year-round theme park, commercial, residential and/or retail development, an equestrian center, land leases, a state office campus for the Albuquerque area, expansion of the flea market, etc.,” the request says.
The request also says the state is seeking ideas for keeping the fair “as an integral part of the new development” as well as a “development with the state fair moved to an alternate location.”
The potential exhibit center, convention facilities, green space and “destination retail” are also mentioned in the request.
The request for ideas is not a formal request seeking bids on an Expo revamp, and the state is not paying anything for the ideas it generates — though Richardson spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said the ideas could eventually be incorporated into a bid request.
A meeting for anyone wishing to give their two cents' worth is set to take place 10 a.m. July 18 on the Expo grounds, and responses must be submitted to the state by Aug. 15.
“If there's something we need from the Legislature, we'd like to get it to them by the next session,” Gallegos said of the potential state involvement in an Expo makeover.
Richardson in May announced that he had directed state Finance Secretary Katherine Miller and Expo General Manager Judith Espinosa to hammer out a proposal for a public-private partnership to revamp the aging fairgrounds, which for years has been a major money pit for repair and maintenance work.
The order came after the state Racing Commission approved a request by the Downs to move its track and casino operations to a new site in Moriarty. At the time, Gallegos said moving the track would strip about $2 million a year from Expo's $15.7 million budget.
Gallegos has said Richardson preferred keeping the fair on the Expo grounds, though the new request for information leaves a move elsewhere as one option.
Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chávez would like to see the fair moved to the developing Mesa del Sol area south of Albuquerque.
It wasn't immediately clear whether a new exhibit center would conflict in any way with Chávez's plans to bring a new arena and hotel project to Downtown Albuquerque, though the new request for information appears to refer to the other project at one point:
It mentions “keeping in mind other similarly planned projects in the Albuquerque metro area.”
A message left for Chávez on Monday afternoon wasn't immediately returned, though one city official has said Richardson appears to be supportive of the Downtown plans.
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