State drops three designs for fairgrounds redevelopment

The Governor’s Office released new designs for the State Fairgrounds’ redevelopment Monday, with one plan that relocates the fair entirely and another where the event shares the grounds with new amenities and housing.

Plans preserve some of the fairgrounds historic charm, avenues and buildings, while adding an event stadium, school, workforce training facility, hotel and museum.

The decision to redevelop the area, which Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced a year ago, has drawn both praise and ire from residents.

The 236-acre tract of land in northeast Albuquerque has hosted the annual State Fair since 1938, but the state and its consultants say that the area is underutilized and its infrastructure is crumbling.

The Governor’s Office called the redevelopment a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” in a news release Monday.

But not everyone agrees.

Some residents have argued in public planning meetings that the fairgrounds should stay for any number of reasons, ranging from childhood nostalgia, to concerns over crime, to fears of gentrification.

Among critics are Albuquerque mayoral candidates Darren White and incumbent Tim Keller, both of whom have said they’d like to see the fairgrounds stay put. However, in debate performances Keller has said he’d be amicable to some redevelopment as long as the fair was preserved.

The preliminary designs are mockups by Stantec Consulting Services Inc., an international firm headquartered in Edmonton, Canada. Earlier this year, the state signed a $850,000 contract with Stantec to develop a master plan for the fairgrounds by February.

Regardless of which design the state chooses, all three share some similarities, including a hotel, event venue, a new park, mixed-income housing and retail space. The tree-lined Main Street is preserved in all three designs.

Two of three designs keep the fair where it is, just on a reduced footprint, and share many of the same amenities, though they differ in size and quantity. The first proposal maintains the midway, using it as a large parking lot for the rest of the year, but adds a new exhibition space, 10-acre park, housing, an event center and a hotel to the grounds’ south side.

In the second design, the midway would be significantly reduced, while new amenities like the event center would take up more space. The second design also includes space for a museum.

The third design is the most sweeping and would require the fairgrounds to be completely relocated. On top of the amenities present in the previous designs, this design would include “hundreds” of housing units, a school, workforce development center and two parks that would add 20 acres of public green space to the city, according to the release.

These aren’t the first designs to drop since the governor’s announcement, as the State Fairgrounds District Board voted in October on some suggestions for the design, including a new park and pedestrian safety improvements. That vote also nixed 1,500 parking spaces in a lot typically used by fair attendees and called for the demolition of some buildings.

That plan is estimated to cost $67.4 million.

The board is expected to meet on Thursday to discuss the new designs. However, the ultimate decision of whether the fair stays in its historic home or moseys on, rests with members of the State Fair Commission.

The public can submit feedback on the designs online at fairgroundsdistrict.nm.gov or in-person at the final public input meeting planned for early January.