State pursues purchase of Maya Plaza building

The state of New Mexico is pursuing the purchase of the four-story Plaza Maya building in Downtown, empty since the Bureau of Indian Affairs moved out in 2004, for the consolidation of three Department of Corrections offices in Albuquerque.

The purchase price for the bunkerlike, 62,287-square-foot building at 615 1st NW is not being disclosed, pending further negotiations, said Tim Korte, spokesman for the General Services Department. The price is likely to be heavily discounted.

A major reason why the building, built in 1980, has sat empty for so long is that it has an acute lack of on-site or dedicated parking.

Recent marketing material for Plaza Maya says it has 90 spaces on the premises, for a ratio of about one-and-a-half parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of space. Three spaces per 1,000 is considered minimal for an office building. Paid parking is available nearby.

If the deal goes through, the corrections department would move 217 employees into the building from its probation and parole office at 3010 Monte Vista NE, special programs office at 111 Gold NE and the Book Alliance office at 3415 Pan American NE, said company spokeswoman Alex Tomlin.

In late 2012, the asking price for the property was $1,970,000, a 44 percent drop from nearly 10 years ago when past owner BGK Properties, now Rosemont Realty, put it on the market at $3.5 million. The price was dropped to $2.7 million the following October.

The property had been sold by 2007 to a developer from California who planned an extensive renovation into condos, but the conversion project died with the credit crunch of 2008. Plaza Maya returned to the market in September 2008 at an asking price of $4.25 million.

The property is likely to sell for less than an asking price of $1,970,000, given current conditions in the office real-estate market. The regional manager for the corrections department found the bargain building – the asking price works out to about $32 a square foot – and suggested it to the General Services Department, Tomlin said.
— This article appeared on page B1 of the Albuquerque Journal