Albuquerque's long-neglected ATSF steam-era repair shops will get another chance at rebirth, this time by a California developer, eventually becoming a multi-use property full of greenways, shops, entertainment, a marketplace, and housing.

Samitaur Constructs was recently named to transform the huge mill-sized buildings, transfer table and other structures used to completely rebuild giant steam locomotives on the 27-acre site, bought by the city for $8.7 million in 2007, located in the rebuilding Barelas neighborhood where shop workers once lived, south of downtown.

The firm, a rescuer of “blighted urban areas” for 35 years, describes itself as “urbanist” rather than developer, wants to hire locally, increase area prosperity, create job training, push preservation, wants Barelas-area input, and has built Conjunctive Points, an industrial project in home-state's Culver City.

Samitaur must also build low-cost housing on the shops site, per Albuquerque's four-year-old purchase agreement. Previous developers from Ohio and Dallas have come and gone, making no improvements. City partner/union conglomerate Build New Mexico sees the ten-year shops transformation as providing needed jobs for hundreds of local workers.

The Albuquerque shops, built in the early 20th century, were ATSF’s biggest of four (also at Kansas City, Cleburne, Tex., and San Bernardino, Calif.), and were  for years the Duke City’s main employer. They eventually became Santa Fe’s maintenance-of-way and track vehicle repair facility after big steam was replaced by diesel power in the ‘50s, and finally closed in the ‘70s.

Past concerns have spotlighted possible “brown field” soils contamination lurking below the complex. Its distinctive booming steam whistle, for years announcing noon, the start and end of each day's repair shifts, was heard throughout central Albuquerque.

The complex lay dormant for years, keeping its turntable but losing its roundhouse and landmark smokestack and whistle, until ATSF sold the property to a group of preservation-minded Duke City business men.

Albuquerque Wheels Museum president Leba Freed pressured the new owners to turn part of the site into her new group's home, to include anything moving on wheels.

The hometown auto racing, Indy-winning Unser brothers, Al and Bobby, were originally included, but due to Wheels' apparent invisibility to past developers, opened a separate showplace in nearby suburb Los Ranchos.

Wheels, now part of Samitaur's selection board, joins the NM Steam Locomotive & Railroad Historical Society in wanting exhibition and workspace at the renewed shops.

NMSL&RHS is well along rebuilding ATSF 4-8-4 2926 at an across-downtown leased, cramped site. Having completed '26's massive eight-axle, oil-fuel tender, NMSL leaders want to finish work, establish proper maintenance and secure indoor loco storage in the acres-big shops building containing one remaining large overhead crane and several unused inspection pits.

To emphasize interest as future tenants, Society volunteers have twice chainsawed rogue trees, hauled trash and crumbling building parts, burned huge mounds of tumbleweeds raked up from the littered shop property, under the watchful eye of the Albuquerque Fire Department.

Another steam society, due to constrained operating opportunities and itself needing a garage for its beautifully restored engine, may eventually relocate to Albuquerque's re-done shops.

A further incentive would be the hundreds of miles of now-NMDOT-owned, lightly-used, scenic Class-Four track between Belen and, eventually, Raton Pass. Negotiations transferring BNSF track ownership of the Lamy-Raton segment to the state are stalled over environmental and maintenance cost issues.