Bernalillo County announced it selected a contractor to build the nearly $10 million Route 66 Visitor Center on Albuquerque’s west side and that construction would begin next month.
The county stated in a news release Wednesday it authorized the county manager to execute and approve the construction agreement with Enterprise Builders in the amount of $9.6 million, the lowest bid on the project.
More about it:
The Route 66 Visitors Center is a collaborative effort between Bernalillo County, the City of Albuquerque and local stakeholders, SWAN (Southwest Alliance of Neighbors) and the West Central Community Development Group, to create a space that celebrates Route 66 while serving the local community.
Current funding for this project will allow the first phase of construction to begin in February. Phase one includes a 21,000 square foot museum, assembly space, catering kitchen, taproom, office space, outdoor amphitheater, parking and landscaping.
“The Route 66 Visitor Center is a project that has been 29 years in the making,” said Commission Vice Chair Steven Michael Quezada. “I’m so glad to see the construction getting ready to start on this long-awaited community-led project on the Southwest Mesa.”
The city in late 2016 bought land on Nine Mile Hill west of town for the project.
It originally was slated to cost $3.4 million, but county and city officials added more features to the building.
(Hat tip to the Associated Press; artist’s rendering of the proposed Route 66 Visitor Center in Albuquerque via Bernalillo County)