East Downtown Albuquerque

A fresh, new look for Albuquerque, New Mexico’s East Downtown (EDO). That’s what the EDO Project aimed for when it incorporated New Urbanist thinking into revitalization of Central Avenue, Broadway Boulevard, and the Old Albuquerque High School, which is now lofts. Sites participated in the overall design plan for EDO, collaborated with other team members on site composition and conceived landscapes for initial development phases. One of the first redevelopment projects was the rehabilitation of the Old Albuquerque High School structures and campus. The High School Project took a classic old building and plaza and rehabilitated it into residential lofts. Outer areas featured a new central plaza replete with landscaping, sitting spaces and outdoor “rooms” for entertaining. The project was extremely successful and had a waiting list for tenants. The EDO Master Plan extended from the High School Project. It developed design standards for revitalization of the area surrounding the high school. Sites’s role in this project entailed conceptual design and cost estimating for the streetscapes, parks, roundabouts and all-important public plazas. Sustainability and the needs of surrounding buildings and residents were planning priorities. Sites also assisted the developer in documenting on-street parking availability,