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.”