Oct. 20—Local developers are targeting a quiet stretch of parking lots near the University of New Mexico to transform into a bustling hospitality destination for visitors and students alike.
The property slated to welcome the mixed-use redevelopment project, dubbed The District, sits just a few minutes northwest of UNM’s Main Campus.
Black Bear Development LLC, an Albuquerque-based commercial real estate firm, announced plans to construct a new hotel and dining, retail and community spaces at the site, located at 1300 Lomas NE, this month.
“Our vision for The District goes beyond bricks and mortar,” Black Bear co-owner Prakash Sundaram said in a statement. “It’s about creating an experience that brings people together — a place where visitors, locals, students, and professionals can connect, dine, stay, and engage with the community.”
The District is expected to support roughly 200 construction and 300 permanent jobs, depending on the types of tenants brought in, Sundaram said. He added the project cost is in the neighborhood of $53 million.
Anchoring the project will be a seven-story, 140-room Courtyard by Marriott hotel, topped with a Volaré Rooftop Bar — a local bar with one other location at the Element by Westin hotel in Uptown, Black Bear officials said.
The District will also feature nearly 20,000 square feet of retail and dining space, two standalone restaurants and a central public plaza, which Sundaram told the Journal will be “highly landscaped.”
The plaza design is shaping up to mimic that of a botanical garden experience, making the space walkable for UNM students, visitors and hospital staff in the area, Sundaram added.
“We just want this to be a really welcoming respite for everyone — when they’ve got a loved one in the hospital or they need a place to escape,” he said.
The District is roughly two years in the making, Sundaram said. He and his business partner, Black Bear co-owner Nathan Koontz, are both from Albuquerque and drove by the nearly five-acre property for years before initiating a plan.
“We always wondered, ‘Why isn’t anybody developing this great piece of property?’ And we were able to sit down with the Sandia Foundation, who owns the land,” Sundaram said. “We were able to strike a deal to get them to stay in as an investor and we presented this concept and everybody was really excited about it.”
Today, the Sandia Foundation — a nonprofit created in 1948 to support educational, scientific, benevolent, religious and charitable institutions — owns 24% of the property and will contribute all proceeds from its share to UNM scholarships, a news release said. The development is also expected to provide opportunities to UNM students through hospitality internships and workforce initiatives.
In a statement to the Journal, UNM Spokesperson Ben Cloutier hailed the development for its “potential to strengthen the surrounding community, enhance the visitor experience, and create new opportunities for our students.”
Cloutier said the project compliments UNM’s long-term vision of investment and new development for the Lomas corridor and coincides with the university’s plan to expand the UNM School of Medicine campus at Lomas and University.
The Lomas corridor isn’t the only area UNM is working to revitalize. The District project joins a wave of new development plans slated for UNM’s South Campus Tax Increment Development District, or TIDD, including the Lobo Crossing Shopping Center.
Sundaram expects construction on The District to begin early next year. The developer will start with the two restaurants, retail space and plaza area, aiming to deliver those spaces by the end of 2026, Sundaram said. The hotel will come next, with construction expected to finish by late 2028.
New Mexico-based Sundaram Builders Inc. is serving as general contractor for the project, local hospitality company Total Management Systems Inc. will manage the hotel and Black Bear partnered with Studio Southwest Architects and Base4 on design.
Sundaram said the firm is in talks with local business owners to set up shop at the development, with “one prominent local restaurateur” expressing interest, but no agreements have been made yet.
“We think it’s going to be a great addition to the university community,” Sundaram said.
