By Sara Atencio-Gonzales, The Paper. – After serving Albuquerque for decades as a gathering place for community events, fundraisers and professional wrestling shows, the former New Mexico Shriners property in Albuquerque’s International District is entering a new chapter.
The City of Albuquerque has purchased the property at 6600 Zuni Rd. SE and has already issued a request for proposals seeking nonprofit developers to build between 40 and 100 affordable rental units on the site. City leaders also hope to repurpose the existing building into a community resource center while preserving the structure.
The sale also marks a major transition for the New Mexico Shriners and organizations like Phase 1 Pro Wrestling, which recently announced it would cancel its Aug. 28 show after losing its venue.
For the Shriners, however, Recorder P.P. Blair Kaufman explains that the decision to sell came down to changing membership and the rising cost of maintaining a large facility. “We’ve been in this location since about 1964,” says Kaufman. “Organizations such as ours are not growing like they had at one time.”…