Contention brewing over zoning change in University area

Albuquerque property owner Augustine Grace wants to convert two of his adjacent residential properties near the University area into a new coffee shop but after pushback from a neighborhood association, the future of the project is in the hands of City Council. 

At their meeting Monday, city councilors will hear from Grace about his proposal to transform the houses near the Bricklight District into a café and community gathering space. Councilors will also hear from members of the University Heights Neighborhood Association (UHNA) about why they think Grace’s proposal is out of line. 

Grace owns the houses — 201 and 203 Harvard Drive on the corner of Silver Avenue — and rents them out to tenants monthly. He said he plans to create the “world’s greatest coffee shop” using the houses so “it fits within the residential look.” 

Since the properties are in a residential zone, Grace sought to change them to a mixed-use zone through the city’s Environmental Planning Commission (EPC). 

“We’re trying to transform a corner so that we could transform the neighborhood because right now, the neighborhood is dying,” Grace said. “This neighborhood, the [University of New Mexico] area, is literally being dismantled as a safe, livable neighborhood every single month and we’re trying to change that.” 

The EPC approved the request to change the zone, but the UHNA appealed the decision, arguing Grace’s plan goes against the neighborhood’s history. 

Don Hancock, UHNA’s secretary, said the change would set an “incredibly dangerous precedent” for the neighborhood. 

“It would be the first time in more than 45 years that the residential area of the neighborhood has gotten changed to be commercial, or, in this case, mixed-use,”  Hancock said. “If you can pick out two properties, residential properties, in the neighborhood and change them to mixed-use or commercial, why can’t you do that with literally hundreds of similar properties in the neighborhood?” 

Hancock said the zone change would ignore the University Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan the council approved in 2022. Specifically where the plan states “the lower density residential character of neighborhoods south of Silver should be preserved.”  

“Maintaining and strengthening the residential nature of the neighborhood is essential for reinvigorating this less-than-optimum commercial environment in the area,” Hancock said. 

However, Grace said there are already other businesses all around the area. 

“It’s not like we’re doing something new,” he said.

He also said his property is not fully residential because of a public parking lot behind the houses, which makes up “two-thirds” of it. He plans to turn part of the parking lot into a landscaped sitting area and add a second story to the houses. 

But, he added, if the council sides with the neighborhood association, Grace won’t pursue any sort of appeal in court. 

“If the neighborhood association doesn’t want something new and beautiful, well, they can have old and ugly,” Grace said. 

Councilors were told a land use hearing officer agreed that the planning commission erred and the hearing officer recommended the council deny the zone change request. 

Council President Dan Lewis during an Aug. 5 meeting called for a public hearing because he said the appeal deserved more explanation and discussion from both parties before the council votes. 

If the council grants the appeal, Grace said “I am not going to waste my time.” 

He said he would consider contributing something else to the community, such as a low-density multifamily home.