Quote:
Originally Posted by Design7
"Fighting crime and grime is a challenge for any downtown. These issues present a particular challenge in Albuquerque, where Downtown’s vacancy rate stands at 23 percent. Reporter Steve Ginsberg dives headfirst into these issues in a front-page package in the Business Weekly’s Nov. 9 edition that looks at the past and future of Downtown. Ginsberg found that many Downtown retailers are frustrated with the fact that longstanding efforts to revitalize Downtown have never truly caught fire." - Albuquerque Business First
I agree that there has been quite a bit of activity in developing residential housing throughout the downtown ABQ area. But to represent it as a thriving downtown with a full range of retail shops and businesses is simply not accurate. The original poster was looking for something akin to what Chicago has to offer, and ABQ does not have it (personally, I consider that a virtue, of sorts). There are bars, a few nice restaurants, but not the full range of retail shops and businesses that make for a truly walkable downtown, with the exception of Nob Hill, and the UNM area. The only true "nightlife" centers around Central Ave & 4th with the bars and local live band scene, which skews toward a very youthful crowd.
ABQ's attributes are many. I love the easily accessible open spaces, and the unique culture of this city. In many ways, it is still a big city that feels more like a small town. But if you are looking for a walkable downtown with a urbane "vibe" to match that of a city like Chicago, you will not find that here. And, that's perfectly OK. |
It's obvious to most people that the OP wasn't expecting a place as urban as Chicago in Albuquerque. And it's obvious to most people that I and others aren't pretending anywhere in Albuquerque is
that urban. The OP wanted to know of areas in Albuquerque where a "city-type" feel exists.
Nobody represented it as how you claim. Perhaps you should reread this thread before you go on claiming things and making characterizations that aren't true.
Some of us gave her a few examples and leads of the more urban and city-type areas in Albuquerque and then you came in and made the outlandish claim that Downtown Albuquerque is dying when nothing could be further from the truth.
That article you quoted and linked to is hardly saying Downtown is dying. All it says is that some are frustrated with the redevelopment efforts and results so far. Their frustration doesn't signal the end for Downtown. Still, if Downtown Albuquerque
were dying there'd be no redevelopment efforts going on at all.
Also, the vacancy rate has
always been high downtown (I'm talking the last four or five decades). So, that isn't yet more proof of Downtown's demise.
Downtown Albuquerque has a long way to go to becoming an incredibly vibrant and thriving area, but it is nowhere near to being dead or on a downward spiral.
I'd also like to point out that restaurants and other small businesses aren't exactly known for their rate of success or longevity in any city or urban area around the country. So, failures of that kind in Downtown Albuquerque don't quite alarm me.
Still, there are plenty of restaurants and businesses downtown that have been there quite a long time. Lindy's and Valliant Printing are two that immediately come to my mind. But, again, that doesn't really say anything.
That article you linked to even quoted longtime businesses as saying that they intend to stay downtown. So, I'm guessing the "secret" you mentioned hasn't yet been revealed to them.
You seem to be thinking that this is the 1950s and 60s in regards to Downtown Albuquerque's demise at the hand of people fleeing and the shift of focus to the more suburban areas of town.
Anybody who is even remotely tuned in to the trends in Albuquerque knows that this is hardly the case today for Downtown.
Interest in Downtown right now for people all over the city hasn't been this high
since the 1950s and 60s.
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