OPINION: The Fairgrounds can transform our neighborhood. Here's how we get it right.

The New Mexico State Fairgrounds redevelopment is one of the most significant investments Albuquerque has seen in decades. As the councilor for District 6, which includes the International District and the neighborhoods surrounding the fairgrounds, I see this as a real opportunity to get this right from the beginning and deliver something meaningful for the people who already call this community home.

This is our chance to build a project that doesn’t just change the landscape, but changes outcomes. If we are intentional, this investment can expand homeownership, support small businesses, create pathways to good-paying jobs and reinvest directly into the surrounding neighborhoods. In other words, it can be a real strategy for reducing poverty and building generational wealth.

We already know how to do this. New Mexico has taken important steps to ensure public investment delivers real value. With House Bill 6, we established prevailing wage requirements for publicly financed construction, raising standards for workers and supporting economic stability.

Bernalillo County followed by adopting a community benefits rubric that ties tax incentives to measurable commitments like local hiring and workforce training. These are tools that work, and we should build on them.

For the fairgrounds, that means putting a binding Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) in place through the State Fair Tax Increment Development District, the entity responsible for financing and governing this project. I have already drafted what that agreement should look like.

Homeownership is at the center of what I’d like to see that agreement guarantee. At least 30% of residential units should be homes people can actually buy, with affordability protections locked in for 99 years, priority access for first-time and first-generation buyers, and explicit restrictions on corporate investors and short-term rental operators so these homes stay in the community rather than becoming commodities. The development should create real jobs, with at least 35% local hiring and apprenticeship pathways that open doors for young people and residents who have historically been left out. Local and minority-owned businesses should have guaranteed commercial space, with priority for the grocery stores, child care and health care this neighborhood has been asking for.

I am excited that the draft plan also includes meaningful green space, a central community park, shaded streets and safe connections for walking and biking, because the people who live here deserve a neighborhood that feels like it was built for them. And a portion of the tax revenues this project generates should flow directly back into the surrounding community through a dedicated fund, creating a cycle where this investment keeps lifting up the neighborhood long after the construction is done.

Just as important as what's in the agreement is how it's shaped. Community voices must be part of the process through a formal advisory structure that works alongside the State Fair TIDD Board. This ensures transparency, accountability and that the people most impacted help guide the outcome.

Other cities have been through this and made it work. Nashville negotiated a binding agreement alongside a soccer stadium development that delivered affordable housing, living wages and space for local small businesses at reduced rent. Austin wrote affordable housing commitments directly into its stadium lease, making them legally enforceable obligations rather than just promises. Denver City Council members pressed for a CBA before casting their votes, and the project was approved in December 2025 with one in place. These cities decided the deal needed to work for the people who live there, not only for the people building it.

The next step in the master plan will be on the agenda at a meeting of the New Mexico State Fairgrounds District Board on Monday. I genuinely believe this project can change things for the International District, but nothing should move forward without a Community Benefits Agreement in place that protects existing residents and ensures the community has a genuine voice in what gets built.

This is about more than a project. It’s about making sure growth works for the people who are already here, and that this investment becomes a foundation for generational opportunity.

We have to take the time to put the right agreement in place now to ensure that the fairgrounds redevelopment becomes a model for how we build stronger, more equitable communities.

Nichole Rogers represents District 6 on the Albuquerque City Council.