Chuck Haegelin posthumously gets Chuck Gara Award

Charles "Chuck" Haegelin's life changed when he stopped for a drink in Santa Fe while driving from Oklahoma to California for a financial job.

He struck up a conversation at the bar with a guy who worked for the New Mexico Department of Transportation, and Haegelin ended up taking a job as a highway appraiser, said his daughter, Dee Dee Penners.

"He was more of a beer and snack guy," she said.

Haegelin was posthumously awarded the 2024 Chuck Gara Community Leader Award by NAIOP New Mexico. The commercial real estate organization said the annual award was named after a man who was a dedicated leader in both the real estate industry and community.

Haegelin died in 2023 at age 86 after living with dementia for several years, Penners said. Haegelin's career achievements including building and designing numerous roads and parks throughout the Albuquerque metro area, as well as designing thousands of homes.

"He was the mastermind. He had the vision," Penners said. "I remember in middle school going out to an arroyo and he's like, 'Picture this: the clubhouse is up here, this where the golf course is, the tennis courts are down here. That's Tanoan.'"

Haegelin was working at Albuquerque Federal Savings and Loan in the late 1980s when the industry collapsed. He took a risk and founded Curb, Inc., which became one of the largest and most successful developers in the state.

Other developments he played a crucial part in were El Rancho Grande, Willow Wood, Cabezon and Huning Ranch, which today are integral Albuquerque-area neighborhoods.

The Curb company was divided to focus on different parts of the city, and Penners still works in accounting for the companies today.

Penners said she has been encouraged to get into the development side of the businesses to follow in her father's footsteps. She has turned down those offers.

"He was a developer and he, unfortunately, never saw a piece of land he didn't want to buy. So we ended up land rich and cash poor, but he corrected that," she said.

NAIOP, in a memo explaining why Haegelin was this year's award winner, said he was not just about building brick and mortar but about building communities.

"His courage, resilience and dedication to his work and community serve as an inspiration to all who knew him," NAIOP said.

Penners said there were several aspects of her father's development that emphasized community. His projects often included parks, dog parks or aquatic centers.

"There were always parks included," she said. "He was always focused on creating the community for whatever developments he did."