Building permit moves San Mateo tower redevelopment project forward

Redevelopment of a long-vacant tower near the intersection of San Mateo and Central is inching closer to fruition.

The city of Albuquerque recently approved a building permit for the project, slated to transform a 10-story vacant office building known as Two Park Central Tower at 300 San Mateo NE into mixed-income apartments. The development is called Serenade by Park Central.

“That means they can begin to move dirt on the project; that means their contractor is on board and ready to go, so we’re hoping by November,” said Terry Brunner, the city’s Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency director.

The building permit comes two years after the building sold to Houston-based Silverstone Equity Partners.

Silverstone couldn’t be reached for comment.

Brunner said the two-year delay between the property’s purchase and building permit approval is due to the developer evaluating both Two Park Central and One Park Central, a much larger tower also on the property purchased by Silverstone.

Brunner said it took the developer a while to decide whether to do both towers at once or start with one and work on the other later, as well as how to approach financing for the project.

The developer ultimately decided to start with Two Park Central, Brunner said. He added that the developer’s plans and timeline for redeveloping the second tower are currently unknown.

It will cost $23 million to redevelop the smaller, 10-story tower. The city awarded Silverstone $2 million for the project in August, Brunner said. The project will also benefit from a tax abatement the city approved in June, providing more than seven years of tax breaks valued at nearly $750,000, Brunner said.

The Serenade by Park Central redevelopment will feature 110 studios and one-bedroom units, 41 of which will be affordably priced for families making at or below 80% of the area’s median income. The remaining units will be market rate, Brunner said.

The apartments will also offer amenities including a fitness center, an outdoor pool and shared community spaces, city officials said.

“These are two really iconic mid-century buildings in Albuquerque,” Brunner said. “These were very prominent for many years as banking buildings that have just gone vacant for a while. They’re on everybody’s mind, so it’s great that they’re taking this on.”