ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Albuquerque is well-known for its beautiful sky, whether it’s full of balloons or watermelon sunsets, but a developer has a new vision for our skyline.

Geltmore LLC is the local commercial real estate development company behind the new Ex-Novo Brewery, which they converted from the old Firestone facility in downtown Albuquerque. Geltmore was also behind the potential Symphony Tower, a skyscraper that former Mayor Richard Berry pitched to become the tallest building in New Mexico before current Mayor Tim Keller scrapped it.

Now, the company wants to try it again. They recently signed a contract to buy the landmark Wells Fargo Bank building property at Second and Lomas.

According to Adam Silverman, the vice president of Geltmore, the first step is to turn floors 2-13 into affordable housing. The ground floor will be a mix of offices, a restaurant and retail space.

“If we complete our plans as we’ve had them designed, we believe this will be our largest office-to-residential conversion in New Mexico,” Silverman said.

The building is only part of the purchase. Five acres of land also comes with purchasing the building.

“We actually are buying two full city blocks with this property,” Silverman noted.

They’ll begin working on the property’s south parking lot once they complete renovations on the Wells Fargo building.

For that space, Silverman said they have a vision that could transform the way we see Albuquerque.

“I believe that the ever-changing landscape of our downtown and the buildings in it can give us hope and realize the prosperity of things to come,” he said.

With that mentality, Silverman is dreaming up not one but two buildings to be the tallest in New Mexico.

“We know there is need for a hotel in Albuquerque in our downtown to connect to our convention center and so one of those towers could be a hotel. I’d love to maybe even see another tower be market rate or even more condos,” Silverman said.

Until then, Silverman said that he’s excited to see new life on our city streets.

“Between the Rail Trail, some improvements we’ve made in our downtown, it really is on the cusp of something great. And I hope to see a lot of change by the end of the decade,” he said.

Silverman added that the Wells Fargo branch will stay in the building. The entire renovation is expected to cost around $50-60 million. The first challenge is removing asbestos before they can even begin.

Silverman said new tenants could start moving into the building in 2026.