San Felipe Plaza

The Challenge
San Felipe Plaza was a struggling retail enclave comprised of six southwestern style buildings and a functional two story parking garage in the Old Town area of Albuquerque. The shops sit on 3.4 acres at the corner of Mountain and 20th. Since its opening in 1995 the project had a history of high vacancy and was only 43% occupied in the spring of 2005.

At this same time, Real Estate Advisors (“REA”) represented two office users who desired to purchase space for their occupancy. Additionally, REA was actively looking for a location to relocate their operations. REA believed that San Felipe Plaza had a higher and better use as a mixed use project.
 

The Solution
A two-step transaction resulted. The first step was REA negotiated for the purchase of San Felipe Plaza. During the due diligence period, the firm completed a condominium plat to subdivide the project into a separate parcel for each building. The second step was the sale of each building to prospective buyers. The closing of the project occurred with the sale of the entire project and all six individual building sales that had to occur on the same day. These sales resulted in the project being 100% occupied. Three of the buildings were converted from retail to office use. 

The increase in the number of employees resulting from the conversion of retail space to office has given new life to the center that didn’t exist. The amenities of the Old Town location, near museums and the Hotel Albuquerque, is a plus for the office users for their employees, customers, and particularly for their out-of-state clients.

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