ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Kimo Park on San Mateo near the I-40 interchange has been fenced off for years, but it won’t be for much longer. 

“Unanimously, city council approved swapping this piece of property for a piece of property near Uptown,” said Dan Mayfield, public information officer for the city’s Department of Municipal Development.

The city will get Kimo Park and its owners will get a piece of city property next to the Uptown shopping center they also own.

“It’s really hard to develop a property if the city owns a major portion of it, so it’ll help them, it’ll help Uptown quite a bit. And then it helps us have continuity here too,” said Mayfield. 

The city’s Health, Housing, and Homelessness Department already has plans for the park. It will become part of its Youth Housing Navigation Center under construction now just feet away at the former San Mateo Inn.

“The building will be beautiful, but being able to come out in the sunshine and be able to socialize, to be able to hold some of our classes out here, is going to be crucial for our work,” said Jennifer McDonald, a Gateway Operations officer. 

The center will be part of the city’s Gateway system, serving 18 to 25-year-olds stepping out of childhood into adulthood.

“We have at least 12,000 people in that age range who are experiencing housing insecurity, and this gives us a way to specifically work with the needs of that age group,” said McDonald. 

Education and career training will also be part of this program. 

“This gives us a way to transfer the safety net from whatever they had when they were minors to keeping that safety net under them as they transition into adulthood,” said McDonald. 

Leaders plan to have Phase 1 done and be able to serve 30 clients by this fall. Phase 2, including the park renovation, will follow shortly after.

KOB 4 reached out to the developer for information on their plans for the Uptown property, but have not heard back. 

David Silverman, with Geltmore LLC, sent the following statement:

“We appreciate the city’s willingness to work on something to help promote economic development in the metro while helping to achieve the goals of the administration. 

We don’t have solid plans for the property yet, but we’re glad the swap is approved and can put more energy into figuring out that property’s future.”