REAL ESTATE
Former American Home Furniture site to welcome major retail project
Panda Express, Mister Car Wash are confirmed tenants so far
Published
Dirt is moving at a new development aimed at revitalizing land near the intersection of Menaul and Carlisle NE.
Two local real estate companies, Sedberry & Associates and AMC Development, are partnering to bring a major retail hub to 3535 Menaul NE 鈥� a site formerly occupied by a now-demolished American Home Furniture store.
The development, which does not have an official name yet, will feature six new individual commercial buildings spanning more than 55,000 square feet of retail space across nearly 10 acres, according to John Sedberry, president of Sedberry & Associates.
The project has secured three tenants so far: Panda Express, Mister Car Wash and a third Sedberry said doesn鈥檛 want to be named yet but will fill 30,000 square feet of retail space.
鈥淚t鈥檚 definitely going to add a lot of vitality and excitement to this trade area,鈥� Sedberry said of the project, expected to reach completion in two phases during the spring and summer of 2027.
American Home Furniture occupied the site since the late 1960s before closing and moving to a smaller property across Interstate 40. Sedberry & Associates, which has owned the Menaul Boulevard property for seven years, demolished the American Home Furniture store in 2024.
鈥淭hat building was so old; it was 60-plus years old,鈥� Sedberry said. 鈥淚t would have been a wonderful building to renovate and keep, but it was pretty obsolete in terms of the infrastructure.鈥�
Sedberry said location and his experience developing other successful retail projects in the area 鈥� including the Pavilions at San Mateo and a Starbucks on the corner of Menaul and Carlisle NE 鈥� also influenced the decision to start fresh at the site.
鈥淚t was centralized in the city, and it鈥檚 very difficult to find large properties,鈥� Sedberry said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 such a good piece of real estate.鈥�
Sedberry is tackling the project alongside AMC Development President Jeff Jesionowski, who also launched his company around the same time as Sedberry in the 1990s.
The pair have been partnering on projects for years under the name of Vista Oriente, the official developer of the Menaul and Carlisle NE project. Sedberry & Associates will handle leasing for the project while AMC Development will oversee the construction and development.
In late 2025, the project received city approval to replat the land into six new parcels. Construction started in March. Vista Oriente鈥檚 contractors are now leveling the property, installing utilities and implementing offsite street improvements.
Sedberry said vertical construction on the first three buildings 鈥� which will include the Panda Express and Mister Car Wash 鈥� is expected to begin in roughly two months, and the other three will begin later this year.
One of the development鈥檚 buildings could be a multi-tenant strip center 鈥� a development format that Sedberry said is in high demand, but the developer is undecided because of the high cost of building materials. A total development cost for the project hasn鈥檛 been determined yet.
Sedberry is targeting retail tenants and quick-service and sit-down restaurants for the remaining available buildings, adding that his company is currently in conversations with a sit-down restaurant and a bank.
Because of the aging infrastructure of the site, the project has been much more time- consuming and complicated than Sedberry said many people would expect.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 very rewarding when it鈥檚 all completed,鈥� Sedberry said.
The ultimate hope for the project, he added, is to 鈥渢ake this intersection that has been very dormant for years now and revitalize it and bring more life back to it.鈥�
Kylie Garcia covers retail and real estate for the Journal. You can reach her at kgarcia@abqjournal.com.
