Starting July 1, Albuquerque property owners must register and maintain vacant buildings downtown under a new ordinance designed to reduce blight and boost economic activity.
Passed by City Council in January, the Downtown Vacant Premises Ordinance targets unused properties within a defined downtown core area, where vacancy rates remain high and over 30% of land serves as surface parking. By enforcing registration and upkeep, the city aims to reactivate empty spaces, attract new businesses, and revitalize the neighborhood for residents and visitors.
“The Vacant Premises Ordinance will help activate the empty buildings downtown and allow new businesses to thrive,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “By working together, we can make the most of our downtown core and revitalize the area for residents to live, work, and enjoy.”
According to the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Comprehensive Plan, the Downtown Core is where the city expects the most activity, with shops, offices and residents close to each other. But vacancy remains high — about 12.8% for retail, 23% for office space and over 30% of the land is just surface parking. Which means more than half the area isn’t reaching its potential.
The law
To understand how Albuquerque’s new downtown vacancy rule could reshape the city’s core, it helps to know what it requires, where it applies and how enforcement will work. Here’s a rundown of the key rules, boundaries, fees and exceptions.
“For decades we’ve seen many of our historic buildings sit vacant and empty, today we are seeing movement and the beginning of a renaissance downtown,” said City Councilor Joaquín Baca.
The ordinance defines the “Downtown Core” as the area between 1st and 8th streets, from Copper Avenue on the north to Gold Avenue on the south. It also includes any property that fronts Gold Avenue.
Each year by June 30, property owners must register with the city if their building was vacant for at least nine months during the previous fiscal year, which runs from July 1 to June 30. Owners planning to vacate must register and get a license at least 15 days in advance. They also have to explain how they’ll keep the building secure, weather-tight, safe for emergency crews, free of nuisances and in good condition.
Owners must also get a vacant building maintenance license and renew it annually if the property stays empty. To track compliance, the city will survey all properties in the Downtown Core each year to check for vacancy.
A property is considered vacant if no one lives or runs a licensed business there full time. A building also counts as vacant if more than 30% of its ground floor is empty. Empty lots qualify as well.
Some properties may be exempt, but the city must approve them. Exemptions may include buildings with active construction permits, properties listed for sale or lease and foreclosed properties still within the redemption period.
Code Enforcement started notifying property owners on May 1. A survey completed May 15 found 20 vacant properties out of 137. The city will repeat this survey each year, with owners receiving at least 30 days’ notice. Each August, the mayor or a designee will report to the City Council on vacant buildings, their condition, vacancy rates, cleanup progress and any approved exemptions.
The vacancy registration fee depends on how long a building has been empty and its ground-floor size. The fee equals the (years vacant) multiplied by (square-foot base cost). Base costs range from $1,000 for buildings under 1,000 square feet to $5,000 for those over 15,000 square feet:
- Under 1,000 sqft: $1,000
- 1,001 to 5,000 sqft: $2,000
- 5,001 to 10,000 sqft: $3,000
- 10,001 to 15,000 sqft: $4,000
- Over 15,000 sqft: $5,000
Owners also pay a $200 annual license fee plus a $14 tech fee. All fees and fines go directly toward enforcing the vacancy rule.
