ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Gateway Center is often pitched as the one-stop-shop for many of the crises we see through Albuquerque every day but it is facing another setback.

The City of Albuquerque bought the 570,000-square-foot facility on Gibson in April 2021. The city is building it out in stages but some of their goals are overdue.

That includes the latest unfulfilled goal – a medical sobering center. It is designed to give people a safe place to sober up with medical supervision and to take a load off of emergency rooms.

Crews wrapped up construction of that wing with a big party in November 2024. They expected it to serve patients by the end of the year. Listo Health, LLC., formerly known as Zalfi, was supposed to be the service provider.

In December, Connor Woods, a spokesperson for the City’s Health, Housing and Homelessness Department, said Listo needed more time to hire and train employees before the sobering center could open. Then, on Tuesday, Woods said the city terminated its contract with Listo.

Ellen Braden is the department’s deputy director of special projects and innovations. She said it was because Listo didn’t provide an operation plan and, therefore, didn’t meet the contract terms.

A search for Listo Health doesn’t bring up much information. The company’s website reads “Coming Soon.” The phone number provided goes to voicemail. 

Now, the city hopes to open the Medical Sobering Center by this summer.

Woods claimed this is the only center to be delayed at the Gateway. However, KOB 4 has reported on others over the years, including zoning challenges and asbestos in the building that significantly pushed back timelines. 

According to the city’s website, it hoped the Medical Sobering Center would serve 17,000 people by 2025. So far, it’s served zero.

It also had a goal to serve 320 people in the Medical Respite Center by this year. That center has not opened yet. 

Woods said taxpayers have already spent around $60 million on the Gateway Center, despite it not meeting many of its goals.

There are still a lot of other questions about taxpayers return on investment Woods and Braden couldn’t answer, including how many total people have received services or how many providers are currently contracted at the center.