REAL ESTATE
New Sunward branch coming to Albuquerque’s West Side
The branch will expand the credit union’s footprint to 17 locations across three states
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One of New Mexico’s largest credit unions has a new location in the works.
Sunward Federal Credit Union is planning to open a new branch on Albuquerque’s West Side, it said in a Thursday news release. The nearly 3,500-square-foot branch, currently under construction at 5760 St. Josephs NW, is slated to open in the fall.
“With the West Side of town expanding at such an incredible rate, we want to keep pace and make sure we’re accessible to everyone who can benefit from what we have to offer,” said Brenda Arroyo, the future location’s branch manager, in a statement.
The branch will be the latest to join Sunward’s growing footprint, marking the credit union’s 11th branch in Albuquerque and 17th overall. Sunward also has locations in California and Colorado. The company’s most recent openings include branches in Durango, Colorado, and Albuquerque’s South Valley.
Sandia National Laboratories employees formed the credit union, formerly Sandia Laboratory Federal Credit Union, in 1948. The company, which rebranded to Sunward in 2024, now serves more than 173,000 members and manages more than $4.6 billion in assets.
The company’s new West Side branch will feature an open, modern layout while also offering spaces catering to privacy — a design also found at the Durango and South Valley branches. Construction will reach completion in late summer, with operations expected to launch in September.
The branch joins several other new construction projects in Oxbow Center, a commercial development near St. Pius X High School. Its neighbors include 7 Brew, Olive Garden and Raising Cane’s.
A sit-down Mexican concept and a new-to-market burger concept — thought to be an In-N-Out Burger — are also planned for the site, according to a Commercial Association of Realtors New Mexico listing.
The area’s quickly expanding housing and retail developments were a draw for Sunward, which aims to bring a greater level of banking convenience to the West Side — the “fastest growing sector of the city,” according to NAI SunVista’s Oxbow Center listing fact sheet.
“This branch, like everything we do at Sunward, is built to meet members where they are,” Arroyo said.
Kylie Garcia covers retail and real estate for the Journal. You can reach her at kgarcia@abqjournal.com.
