The first phase of construction for the highly anticipated Southwest Activity Node Park on the city's south side is now up for bid.
Santa Fe has already narrowed the field to three firms who prequalified to take on the $5 million job in Tierra Contenta. "All big contractors," says Mary MacDonald, a project administrator for the city's Facilities Division. "All Albuquerque."
But don't get all worked up over city rivalries yet—MacDonald says that the overall project will need lots of subcontractors and surveyors, all of whom could end up being local.
And the need for a park in the south side—which contains only about 10 acres of parks compared to the northeast side's 363 acres—
is undeniably large. The SWAN Park will be located south of Jaguar Drive and just east of Plaza Central.
The first phase is set to include 16.5 acres with a multi-purpose field, a baseball field, a basketball court and a shaded picnic area. Construction should start in January and end around September, the city says. (Joey Peters)
