Former Walmart remains unsold as city’s redevelopment plans stall

The former Walmart on San Mateo remains on the market two years after its closure, as the city of Albuquerque’s efforts to purchase and redevelop the property have come to a standstill.

News that the Southeast Albuquerque store would close in March 2023 left residents of the area dismayed and concerned over the lack of access to grocery stores in the International District. A Walgreens just across the street from the former Walmart shuttered its doors the following November, adding to fears of a food desert in the making.

City officials swiftly announced their intention to purchase and redevelop the property, located at 301 San Mateo SE, securing approximately $2 million from the Legislature in 2023 to support redevelopment in the area, including the former Walmart.

Without enough funding to fully purchase the property, which is currently listed for $9 million, according to a posting on Crexi, the city said at the time that it would search for additional funding sources.

The city has yet to find that funding, Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency spokesperson Sarah Supple recently wrote to the Journal in an email.

“We remain open to working with a future buyer on redevelopment plans,” Supple said.

Terry Brunner, MRA director, told the Journal the city had been in negotiations with Walmart for about a year and a half before the deal fell flat.

“We were ... trying to figure out if there was a way we could lower the price (and) make a deal with them on that property,” Brunner said. “Unfortunately, we kind of didn’t reach a conclusion to those negotiations.”

CBRE agents overseeing the listing directed the Journal’s questions to Walmart.

A statement by a Walmart spokesperson said the retail corporation is “actively working with national and local brokers to identify a buyer or tenant ... and (has) no additional information to offer at this time.”

Brunner said he thinks Walmart has received a few offers from private development entities. The roughly $2 million is still at the city’s disposal to help redevelop the site, Brunner said.

He added that the city could offer a future buyer of the property assistance such as tax abatements and development incentives.

While the price tag has hampered city efforts, the cost is comparable with the average purchase price of a Walmart property. Equity Retail Brokers, a data-driven online resource for investors, lists the average price for a Walmart property around $10 million.

Brunner said he thinks the size of the site, which includes a 206,278-square-foot building sitting on roughly 17 acres, has contributed to its staying on the market. The kinds of projects Brunner would like to see and thinks would be the most viable for the area are “mixed-use” projects, such as housing, retail or a small park or community center.

“To fill up that large of a space, you’d have to have a pretty large development,” Brunner said. “And I don’t think there’s been a developer yet that’s figured out the best use for that site.”