ABQ land purchases need to be judicious

On one hand, local businesses are fleeing or being targeted for closure. On the other, the city of Albuquerque appears to be going on a private land shopping spree. Neither is a recipe for a vibrant private sector.

For decades the Franklin Plaza strip center at East Central and Juan Tabo has been neglected. On March 10 the Walmart at 301 San Mateo SE closed — and the rumor mill is crime and homelessness were in great part to blame.

Now the city has announced plans to buy both, suggesting a grocery store and housing for the Walmart site and a new fire station, urgent care and workforce housing for the strip center that used to house a Furrs’ grocery.

Both could very well have merit. But good intentions are nowhere near enough: The city can’t buy every blighted property in its limits; once you take an address off the property tax rolls it’s unlikely to ever return; and while city officials have experience running a fire station, even professional grocery chains failed at these sites.

Meanwhile, in a move that smacks of picking winners and losers, the city has gone to court to close a third storefront — with no intent on making a third purchase — saying Adam Food Market at 7817 Central NE has been a haven for criminal activity. Property owner Sharif Rabadi says the city is shifting blame for crime onto businesses. He points out another vacant property on Central isn’t going to help.

He’s right. Each of these proposals warrants a thorough discussion and a clear-eyed examination of return on investment for taxpayers, who will foot the bill for the purchases and improvements, as well as likely have to pick up the slack when those properties stop generating tax revenue.