A couple of lines of text buried in a developers planning application to the city tease that Target is targeting a new Southeast Albuquerque site for expansion.
The city’s Environmental Planning Commission held a hearing on Thursday to consider zoning changes requested by UNM and private developers working to bring the large Lobo Landing development on Gibson Blvd. near I-25 to life. The agenda item included a request to rezone some of the development already designated for commercial use for retail in order to accommodate “350,000 square feet of new commercial floor area,” according to the application submitted by local planning group Consensus Planning on behalf of UNM. “The proposal includes a new Target with a grocery store, junior anchor tenants, smaller shops, and restaurants,” it says.
The site plans were first reported by Albuquerque Business First (subscription required) on Thursday.
The application to the city goes on to note that the surrounding area, including the International District east of San Mateo Blvd. SE was been designated as a “food desert” following the closure of a Wal Mart Supercenter, the largest grocery store in the area. A City Desk series last year detailed how the area had also become a “pharmacy desert” due to the loss of Wal Mart which had contributed to the closure of independent pharmacies when it opened in the area decades before.
The Lobo Landing site includes a large thirty-five acre plot of vacant land between Avenida Cesar Chavez Blvd. SE and Gibson Blvd. SE south of the UNM Pit. In 2023, UNM and city officials successfully petitioned the legislature to create a new tax district for the area to encourage development of a new employment and activity center supporting development of UNM’s South Campus, and serving the rapidly growing Mesa del Sol community south of the Sunport and nearby neighborhoods of the South Valley and Southeast Heights.
The site has already begun development as the home to a Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers restaurant. In n’ Out Burger previously identified the Lobo Landing property as a future site for the popular burger chain.
Editor’s note: City Desk founder and publisher Pat Davis was a sponsor of some of the city legislation enabling the creation of this district when he served as an Albuquerque City Councilor. His term ended in 2023 prior to the launch of City Desk.