Urban3 was commissioned by the City of Albuquerque, along with Placemakers, Duany Plater-Zyberk, and the Center for Neighborhood Technology, to help the community understand the financial impact of dense development and the benefits of access to transit.

The results of the analysis were clear. Seemingly inconsequential, incremental residential developments had a significant presence in the model. Two and three-story
townhome/condo developments in the Central Avenue corridor were found to bring in more than 10-15 times the property tax revenue of a standard Walmart on a per acre
basis. Perhaps even more encouraging for the future of the BRT and its planning efforts is the amount of value already added within the corridor over the last 10 years, which outpaces the rest of the City. Urban3’s forecast projects more than $14 million increase in property taxes over the first 10-15 years after the transit line is complete.