ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - The U.S. Commerce Department is awarding the city of Albuquerque a $1.2 million grant to help with redevelopment of its historic rail yards.
Commerce Department officials were joined by Mayor Tim Keller and others in announcing the funding Wednesday. They say the award is expected to create more than 300 jobs and generate $9 million in private investment.
The federal grant will be matched by local funds.
Efforts to revitalize the rail yards began more than a decade ago with the creation of a special advisory board and the city adopted a master plan for the 27-acre (11-hectare) site in 2014. One portion is now used for a popular weekend market that features local vendors.
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the goal of grants awarded through the federal Economic Development Administration are aimed at creating new opportunities through infrastructure improvements. Aside from attracting new retail, office and hospitality businesses, he said it could lead to expansion of Albuquerque’s film industry.
The city and Central New Mexico Community College signed an agreement earlier this year that calls for building the school’s Film Production Center of Excellence at the rail yards. The location already has been used for numerous films and TV productions, including “Terminator: Salvation,” “The Avengers,” “Better Call Saul” and “Breaking Bad.”
Members of New Mexico’s congressional delegation touted the federal funding as another tool for diversifying the state’s economy.
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, pointed to the rail yards’ history, saying the area once provided hundreds of jobs and served as the backbone of the Barelas neighborhood on Albuquerque’s southern end.
“It has been an immense undertaking to find a new path forward and cement the rail yards’ new place as a premier location for New Mexico’s booming film industry,” he said.
The rail yards are located near opportunity zones, which are areas designed by the federal government where tax incentives are available to investors. The Trump administration earlier this year added opportunity zones as an investment priority, with one of the goals being to spur investment in economically-distressed communities nationwide.
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