Shops for Sale

The future of Sanbusco Market Center is up in the air again, but one this is for certain, the shopping mall at 500 and 560 Montezuma Ave., near the Railyard hits the virtual auction block next month.

The 88,712 square feet is set for bidding beginning Aug. 17 on Auction.com for a starting bid of $1.7 million.

The shopping center that's struggled to keep its footing since the years-ago departure of Borders bookstore is currently 64.25 percent occupied, anchored by by Cost Plus World Market with additional tenants that include pp.cit books, Pandora's, women's clothing stores Get it Together and Kioti, Tecu Tu pet store, Rock Paper Scissor salon, On Your Feet, Dell Fox Jewlery, Bodhi Bazaar and Pranzo Italian Grill. The auction listing touts the center's "rare amenity" of 295 on-site parking spaces and status as a registered historic structure.

The shopping center, built in 1882, was purchased in 1984 by Joseph Schepps, who opened the Sanbusco Market Center in 1986, according to a 2012 story on Schepps in the Santa Fe New Mexican when then-Mayor David Coss announced Joseph Schepps Day to recognize his contributions to Santa Fe as a developer.

"What can I say about Sanbusco?" Schepps told the New Mexican. "It was one of the most important projects of my life, and it is very sad to have to hand over the keys to someone else after 28 years. The tenants are all great, and the employees I had were dedicated and wonderful people. I know it will continue to be an important asset to the Railyard."

At the time, US Bank had just foreclosed on Sanbusco, which had struggled to refill the 30 percent of space left vacant when the Borders store closed in 2011 when that company filed bankruptcy. The property was then auctioned to an affiliate of General Electric Capital Corp.

The New Mexican recently reported that the Santa Fe Place mall was working to recruit the center's current anchor tenant, Cost Plus World Market, alongside its parent company Bed, Bath and Beyond, to the mall.

Sanbusco Market's status on the state register of cultural properties, though not on the national register of historic places, won't prevent a future owner from altering the building, according to Tom Drake with the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division. The nomination was based on the original building's use as a lumber supply company that supplied much of the lumber for early Santa Fe buildings and was sited to meet the arrival of the railroad, he says. A subsequent owner could, however, qualify for tax credits to assist with improvements to the building, which would, of course, bring historic preservation guidelines into play.

Santa Fe Reporter