Mayor Wants Proposals for Downtown Grocery

Mayor Richard Berry is offering about an acre of city-owned land at Second and Silver in hopes of landing a grocery store Downtown.

Bringing a grocery to the city’s Downtown core has been a decades-long goal of revitalization efforts. Over the last dozen years, Downtown has seen development of a movie-theater complex, affordable housing and high-end lofts.

Berry said the city will issue a request for proposals from developers who want access to the site. He is leaving the details open for now, but City Hall could lease the land cheaply to the developer.

The city of Albuquerque acquired the vacant land — it’s basically a level, gravelly lot — in 2000 for around $575,000.

“Downtown needs a grocery store,” Berry said in a news conference. “I’ve been hearing about it since the day I took over as mayor.”

Advisers from Grubb & Ellis said they believe the demographics of the area will support a traditional grocery.