Commission: Rail Yards contractor lacked diligence
City officials could terminate contract, seek new contractor
It could be back to the starting line for the Albuquerque Rail Yards development project.
Members of the Albuquerque Development Commission on Thursday determined that the California-based master contractor, Samitaur Constructs, had not employed reasonable diligence over the past year on the project. The annual assessment is part of the development and disposition agreement between the contractor and the city of Albuquerque, in effect since 2014. The vote was 4-0, with Commissioner Grayson Lee Trussell unable to attend the meeting.
It’s the second consecutive year that the ADC had found that Samitaur failed to use reasonable diligence, and that means the city could exercise the option of terminating the contract.
The main hurdle: starting environmental remediation efforts and finding a capital improvement revenue source to fund it.
David Campbell, director
of the city’s Planning Department, told members that city staff is preparing an application to the New Mexico Environment Department’s voluntary remediation program, which would outline the scope of the work required.
He said the city anticipated submitting the application in early fall. He also said the city is working to identify potential funding sources to begin remediation efforts on the north side of the property.
“Mayor Tim Keller is committed to moving this rail yards project forward,” Campbell told members. “It is one of Mayor Keller’s administration’s top priorities and the city is ready to put our public money where our mouth is.”
Arthur Cook, representing Samitaur, said a lack of certainty on the timing of any environmental cleanup frustrates marketing efforts, and in addition, he said no developer can solicit tenants or produce a fully defined business plan under those circumstances.
Cook also said that the company had offered to advance $1 million to the city to start remediation efforts on the condition that the city establish a method for reimbursement and commit to environmental cleanup on the north side of the property.
Cook also expressed the company’s enthusiasm and wish to proceed with the project as master contractor.
“We welcome the new administration and new urgency to get this project done,” Cook told members. “We want to turn that into momentum for the project. It’s a great opportunity and we want to seize that opportunity.”
Samitaur estimates environmental remediation for the north side of the property would cost around $1.9 million.
The immediate future of the project is in the city’s hands. City planning officials or the City Council could choose to terminate the contract or continue with Samitaur as master contractor.
The city bought the site, just south of Downtown, in 2007 for about $8.5 million, with a commitment that redevelopment would include some mixedincome housing and a permanent place for the Wheels Museum.
The site consists of 18 surviving buildings erected between 1915 and 1925. The shops were one of four major maintenance facilities constructed by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway.