The Albuquerque City Council unanimously approved issuing nearly a quarter of a million dollars in industrial revenue bonds for a development in the Sawmill area near Rio Grande Boulevard and I-40. The bonds will allow for some major tax breaks for the developer, and were passed without concessions requested by both community leaders and the general public.
Heritage Real Estate Company, the developer behind Sawmill Market, as well as nearby Hotel Chaco and Hotel Albuquerque, has long been pushing for the new development which will include a high-end extended stay hotel dubbed the Chaco Residences, another boutique hotel, and a mixed use complex with 140 apartments, as well as entertainment venues, restaurants and retail space.
During public comment, critics said that since the city was providing tax breaks for the developers, the taxpayers should receive some benefits such as high-paying jobs and affordable housing.
President of Carpenters Union Local 1319 Rosendo Najar said the bonds should require Heritage to hire local workers, and that there should be apprenticeship training programs attached to the construction.
“There needs to be a workforce that now has a check, that now has insurance, that now is able to buy what the school supplies that they need for their kids,” he said. “Our people are not working in the buildings that are being built here. It's out of towners that are coming and building it because it's cheaper to pay people to come from Texas.”
Joan Baker with UA local 512, a plumbers and pipefitters union, agreed with Najar, and said the council has a fiduciary responsibility to taxpayers to maximize the return on investment of tax dollars.
“This IRB the way it is written … is a $227 million giveaway with no worker protections and no affordable housing during our biggest crisis, which is a housing crisis,” she said, “and therefore it is not maximizing those tax dollars.”
Heritage CEO Jim Long, however, said the project will bring in 750 construction jobs, and that he plans to use Jaynes Corporation, a local unionized contractor.
Councilor Klarissa Pena sponsored an amendment guaranteeing prevailing wages for construction workers, which passed on a vote of eight to one.
However, there was no guarantee that any of the housing would be low-income or affordable.
Former U.S. Attorney and current mayoral candidate Alexander Uballez pointed out that Heritage also sought tax incentives from Bernalillo County and questioned whether Heritage came to the city to find a better deal.
“It feels a little bit like a race to the bottom, pitting municipalities against each other to benefit developers over residents,” he said.
Long said the projects are massive investments and that any additional costs could put them at risk.
“These projects are economically sensitive already. That's why we're here requesting the industrial revenue bond,” Long said. “Without the industrial revenue bond, these projects are not feasible, so any additional burdens that we would face with additional costs could make the projects unbuildable.”
Monica Mitchell, deputy director of Albuquerque’s Economic Development Team, said the combined projects will bring in more than $16 million in tax revenue over the next 25 years.
Support for this coverage comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
