REAL ESTATE
After years of decline, an Uptown shopping center finds new life
Winrock has reached more than 90% occupancy as owners reshape property into a mixed-use town center
Published
Darin Sand watched in awe as a sea of thousands gathered for a Christmas tree-lighting event at Winrock Park just outside his third-story office window in November.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very rewarding to see that,鈥� said Sand, the senior vice president of development for Goodman Realty Group, Winrock鈥檚 owner and developer.
Then last week, he spotted a couple using Winrock鈥檚 empty amphitheater stage as a platform for some extra dance practice during a slow Monday morning at the property鈥檚 park.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 cool that people are just doing that, and feel comfortable,鈥� Sand said.
Both moments, Sand said, represent how far Winrock Town Center has come since its days as an indoor ghost mall nearly two decades ago.
Now, it鈥檚 a growing indoor-outdoor community hub for fitness, health, shopping, eating, entertainment and events. It鈥檚 one of several properties a local economic development agency shows site selectors when trying to attract companies to Albuquerque, according to Sand.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard to believe,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou build something like this, you dream about it all these years (and) you don鈥檛 know 鈥� is it really going to work?鈥�
Over the past few years, Goodman鈥檚 dream for Winrock has started to come to fruition, with the debut of its 2-acre park being a key catalyst.
With a pond, children鈥檚 play area, amphitheater and food truck park, Winrock has welcomed a long lineup of new local and national businesses, including FarmaKeio, Ethan Allen, RS21, StretchLab, Hyena鈥檚 Comedy Club, Chicken Salad Chick, BODYBAR Pilates and Homebody.
Several of the property鈥檚 recent national tenants are new to the Land of Enchantment and have chosen Winrock for their first New Mexico location. That includes Taiwanese chain 85掳C Bakery Cafe, slated to hold its soft opening this week and its grand opening in October.
In the coming months and years, Winrock will welcome a sports bar, a new office building with a food hall, a hotel, and more local and national restaurants 鈥� all of which Sand said have him feeling 鈥渧ery optimistic鈥� about the future.
鈥淒efinitely motivated to keep going,鈥� Sand said, citing what鈥檚 been done so far and the desire to complete Winrock鈥檚 future projects 鈥渁s quickly as possible.鈥�
A growing development
Goodman Realty Group 鈥� an Albuquerque-based real estate company with properties throughout the state and country 鈥� acquired the property in 2007 after it was listed for sale and marketed to local and regional buyers.
Gary Goodman, the company鈥檚 president, saw the vacant mall as an opportunity to localize an emerging national trend of developers converting indoor malls into mixed-use town centers.
鈥淎s a visionary, he really wanted to make something that met the needs of everybody here,鈥� Sand said.
The group鈥檚 original plan was to complete Winrock鈥檚 redevelopment in five to seven years. Nearly 20 years later, Sand said several challenges contributed to the project鈥檚 lengthy timeline 鈥� from the 2008 financial recession to the COVID-19 pandemic and the complexities that come with reinventing an 84-acre property originally built in the 1950s.
New Mexico also struggled to rebound from national setbacks as quickly as other states did, making Albuquerque lower on national retailers鈥� priority lists, Sand said.
But through fatigue and moments of doubt, Sand said the key to moving forward was building a strong local team, taking the project one day at a time, viewing challenges as opportunities to find solutions and holding on to the dream that started it all.
鈥淥ur dream to create something like this for the community is just so real to us,鈥� Sand said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 more than just a job to us; we are really invested in this. It starts with (Goodman鈥檚) vision, and then we just take on these almost impossible things to do and just say we can do it.鈥�
Since 2007, Winrock has gone from an empty shell with seven tenants outside the mall to more than 90% occupied with 57 tenants today. Activity at the town center has 鈥渋ncreased substantially鈥� on all fronts, Sand said, but he declined to share specifics on revenue growth and how much Goodman has invested in redeveloping Winrock.
One of the newer tenants boosting Winrock鈥檚 growth is Homebody, a locally owned small business that serves authentic Japanese matcha. The business opened at Winrock in December and served 6,400 customers last month alone.
Homebody started with 21-year-old owner Janna Manalo. Growing up, she was encouraged to enter the medical field, but always felt a draw to business. She started a home-based dessert business at 14 and asked for an at-home matcha kit for her 15th birthday.
She was working as a patient care tech in the neuroscience unit at University of New Mexico Hospital last year when she decided to purchase a cart off Facebook Marketplace for $500, launching Homebody as a side hustle through pop-ups at local markets. Her appearance at Winrock鈥檚 fall festival, only her second pop-up, quickly caught Sand鈥檚 attention, with people lined up across the park for her drinks.
Sand later invited Manalo to operate a space at Winrock to continue testing the concept.
鈥淚n my head, I鈥檓 like, 鈥楬ow am I going to do this? How is it all going to be?鈥� But ever since then, it鈥檚 been crazy, like a nonstop line out the door,鈥� Manalo said, attributing the success to the support of the community and Sand giving her a chance.
After months of success and the addition of 13 employees, Homebody is now gearing up to relocate to a larger space at Winrock in the next six months.
鈥淚鈥檓 super grateful,鈥� Manalo said. 鈥淚 never envisioned any of this.鈥�
Future projects
Things to do at Winrock will pick up as soon as this fall. Goodman is planning to open its own sports bar in an existing building at Winrock Park in October. The bar, which developers will call The Boathouse, will feature a nautical theme and a patio hovering over the park鈥檚 pond.
Up next, Goodman plans to demolish Winrock Loop and construct a new road immediately north of BJ鈥檚 Restaurant and Brewhouse running directly to a food hall and office building that Goodman will develop on the north end of Winrock Park.
The reconfiguration will create pad space north of BJ鈥檚 that could welcome one to two new buildings, potentially restaurants, Sand said. Winrock Park is also slated to welcome a new restaurant when Goodman finds the right tenant.
Goodman aims to break ground on the new road and food hall, slated to have up to 18 vendor spots, sometime next year. In the next two-and-a-half years, the group also hopes to break ground on a hotel that will also offer condominiums west of Winrock Park.
As is often the case in development, some of these timelines are still up in the air, Sand said. But with the team in place at Goodman and what鈥檚 been done so far, he thinks there is plenty of fuel left in the tank to get those projects done.
鈥淚鈥檓 pretty excited. I just love seeing all these things come together, even though they take years and years,鈥� Sand said. 鈥淓verybody here knows that it鈥檚 been difficult, but when you do it, it鈥檚 pretty sweet.鈥�
Kylie Garcia covers retail and real estate for the Journal. You can reach her at kgarcia@abqjournal.com.
