Company’s Comin’ to Albuquerque

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is one of the biggest events in town, year in and year out. It’s has “international” in the name for a reason - the fiesta draws people not only from all parts of the country, but the world.

This is one of our best opportunities to showcase all the city has to offer and how our residents can work together to create something great. So leading up to the International Balloon Fiesta, the city needs our help cleaning up - so tomorrow morning, consider spending some time at Keep Albuquerque Beautiful’s 4th Annual Company’s Comin’ Community Cleanup:

Help us prepare for the more than 700,000 visitors expected to enjoy the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta. Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Starbucks Coffee will be served, while supplies last. 

An affiliate of Keep America Beautiful since 1982, Keep Albuquerque Beautiful is dedicated to community education on all solid waste management issues and alternatives through litter control, beautification, and graffiti eradication activities. These activities are geared toward increasing awareness and changing attitudes through public information.
 Keep Albuquerque Beautiful is part of a national network, the Keep America Beautiful System. They are respected for their success in litter prevention and recognized by the Wirthlin Public Opinion Survey as the most credible source for environmental information. 

For more information about the community cleanup day, click here. The event will be at the Albuquerque Balloon Museum, from 9 am to 12 pm.

Paseo del Norte Construction Will Pay Off (Eventually)

Even on a normal day, Albuquerque traffic can be pretty frustrating. And as you’re probably aware, there are some major construction projects that will be starting within the coming months. Among them is the Paseo/I-25 Interchange Project, which recently began and likely won’t end anytime soon.

Although the construction will inconvenience those of us who commute using Paseo Del Norte/I-25, it will have benefits--in time. According to the project’s website, it will accomplish the following:

A reconstruction project to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety and air quality in one of New Mexico's busiest transportation corridors that includes six major improvements: 

1.     A two-lane free-flow ramp to improve the eastbound-to-southbound traffic movement in the morning peak travel time (7-9 a.m.). 

2.     A two-lane flyover ramp to improve the northbound-to-westbound traffic movement in the evening peak travel time (4:30-6:30 p.m.). 

3.     An overpass at the intersection of Jefferson Street and Paseo Del Norte to improve east-west access and local traffic flow. 

4.     Bicycle and pedestrian improvements to provide a critical link across I-25 and connect existing paths in the area. 

5.     Improved freeway access for traffic originating from the area east of the Paseo Del Norte/I-25 interchange. 

6.     I-25 mainline improvements between the Alameda Boulevard and Jefferson Street interchanges to improve safety and traffic flow.

And what will the benefits of all these additions be? According to the project’s website, once completed, it will save Albuquerqueans a ton of time, will reduce automobile accidents, and will save the city lots of money:

Expected Traffic Benefits 

Economic Analysis 

Based on engineering traffic modeling, the estimated project results are: 

●      Potential savings of more than 350,000 hours in travel time annually. 

○      Equivalent to more than one hour per person per week or more than 170 person work years in increased work productivity every year. 

●      Safety improvements to Paseo Del Norte/I-25 area. 

○      Anticipated reduction in approximately 470 accidents a year between three intersections due to reduction in congestion, weaving, and intersections with traffic signals. 

●      Congestion relief on parallel river crossings. 

●      Improved air quality due to reduced congestion. Based on Mid-Region Council of Governments Economic Modeling, the projected effects to the local economy include: 

●      $2.8 billion in net new economic activity from year 2013-2031 for the Albuquerque region. 

●      More than 3,000 net new jobs within 20 years. 

●      An estimated $2.5 million annual savings in fuel for the region over the next 20 years, supporting a local workforce of approximately 38,000 current jobs (20% of workforce). 

For more information on the Paseo/I-25 Interchange Project, click here. You can even watch a virtual simulation of what it will be like to drive through the new sections. And for updates, remember to follow @paseoi25 on Twitter.

Fall-ify Your Apartment for a New Look

Summer has come to an end, and fall is here. If you really love summers here at The Arbors Apartments (we do have three pools), then you’re probably sad to say goodbye to the warmer weather.

But the coming of fall can be a great excuse to redecorate, and what better theme than fall? Even if you don’t like fall weather, who can resist those classic autumn auburns, oranges, browns, and yellows? If your apartment needs a fresh start this fall, we’ve put together some ideas, courtesy of Bond Magazine, to help fall-ify your apartment.

Among Bond Magazine’s tips, were:

• Interesting decorative pillows made from colorful scarves: Scarves in gorgeous, fun, Fall prints make for an affordable fabric choice when it comes to toss pillows.
• Used books with colorful hard covers or wrapped in decorative paper: Covering hardcover books with beautiful printed or decorative patterned paper is a great way to display books and incorporate a decorative element into your Fall décor at the same time. The idea behind this tip is to use old books as a decorative item.
• Decorating with fruit – fruit placed in long tall vases: I really love working with lemons, and limes, placing them in tall cylindrical vases. I also like using tall long vases and placing baby apples in them. Using fruits and vegetables in your Fall décor is a wonderful way to incorporate the “Fruits of Fall”.
• Potted succulents instead of plants or flowers: Although Fall is typically a season for leaves and foliage, why not use potted succulents instead! Succulents are quite hardy, I especially love them because they last a long time and don’t require a lot of care. Succulents are not only beautiful but they look fabulous in everything from rubbed terra cotta pots to glass vessels filled with stones and moss.

To read Bond Magazine’s complete list of autumn decor tips, click here!

Have you fall-ified you apartment? We’d love to see what you’ve done! Post a photo of it to our Facebook wall, and remember to check us out not only on Facebook, but also on Twitter, and Google Plus.

Finding the “Goldilocks” Temperature in Your Apartment

As we transition from summer into fall, we should expect temperatures to rise and drop a bit over the next month or so. One of the most common points of contention between couples and families this time of year is the temperature in the apartment. Dad wants it warmer than Mom does, and Suzie want’s it even colder than Mom! So how do you find a compromise or solution that pleases everyone?

On ApartmentTherapy.com, Tess Wilson wrote a little bit about how she and her husband managed to solve their problem of different temperature preferences. It turns out that the secret is humidity:

“...You don't have to cool the house very much in order to make a big difference! A tiny adjustment can remove the humidity from the house, which makes all the difference in the world. On hot days, we've been setting the thermostat at about 83ºF, and if it's in the low 80ºs with low humidity, we simply open all the windows and turn on the ceiling fans. At night, however, all my money — and energy — saving goes out the window because I have a terrible time sleeping unless it's cold. I like to think my daytime thriftiness and my nighttime extravagance balance each other out, and luckily, the rest of my household agrees.”

So by opening windows and using ceiling fans, you can easily achieve a temperature that pleases everyone by removing humidity from the apartment! And, of course, this has the added benefit of saving electricity as well!

Do you and your roommates or family have another secret to finding the right temperature for everyone? Post it to our Facebook wall and share it with the rest of our residents.

Stay cool! (Or warm!)

Celebrate Local Street Food at the Albuquerque Food Truck Showdown

Cities from San Francisco to New York are developing thriving food truck scenes, and Albuquerque is no different. With the city’s gritty aesthetic and its signature Southwest cuisine, it’s no wonder that food trucks, like Goritas Valle Gourmet have taken hold around the city.

On September 8 at the Sandbar Sports Bar & Grill, all of the city’s best food trucks will battle for food truck bragging rights at the Albuquerque Food Truck Throwdown. Along with some of the best street cuisine in Albuquerque, Duke City Food Trucks will also be hosting  live music from local bands and DJs, a beer hall with locally made fine wines, as well as a classic car display from 9 am to 3 pm.

The Albuquerque Food Truck Throwdown isn’t just a celebration of gastronomy, though. To go with the truck theme, all proceeds from the event will be donated towards the renovation of the Wheels Transportation Museum.

To read more about the Albuquerque Food Truck Throwdown, click here. Do you have a favorite food truck in Albuquerque? Or how about a food truck from another city that you WISH were in Albuquerque? Recommend your favorite street food on our Facebook page!

Get to Know The Arbors Apartments

At The Arbors Apartments, we’re pretty proud of all our property has to offer. We’re a community close to downtown Albuquerque, uptown, and the freeway, yet we have the atmosphere and amenities of a residential neighborhood.

Featuring affordable studio apartments as well as homey one and two-bedroom units, The Arbors also has three pools, which are great for you and your guests during the warmer months and a new fitness center. We have laundry on premises, available 24 hours per day, and maintenance service available at your request. To see a more complete list of all the amenities you’ll find at The Arbors Apartments, click here.

And our neighborhood? From food, to restaurants, to entertainment and local art, The Arbors is in close proximity to some of the city’s best establishments. To browse our interactive neighborhood map, click here.

Curious what units we have available now? Check here for pricing estimates and floor plans, to see if we have an apartment that fits your life - rent starts as low as $571 per month!

Head over to ArborsAlbuquerque.com to find out more about what makes The Arbors so unique, and “Like” our Facebook page for news from around town and updates about what we’re doing!

The Bright Side of Breaking Bad Tourism

If you’re an Albuquerque native and you have friends in other cities, maybe they’ve been a little more interested in our city ever since Breaking Bad went on the air.

In this week’s issue of The New Yorker, Rachel Syme has a great article about Breaking Bad tourism in Albuquerque. Syme, an Albuquerque native, calls these tourists “Breaking Bad pilgrims”; and from an outsider’s perspective, all of the imagery and events going on surrounding the TV show might seem a little odd. But many feel like the show represents the grittiness, multicultural appeal, and the natural beauty of Albuquerque.

Syme summed it up nicely in her article:

Driving around Albuquerque, New Mexico, where I grew up, you see “Breaking Bad” pilgrims everywhere. They descend from tour buses and trolleys to snap pictures of Walter White’s house and, possibly, to toss a pizza on the roof (for an extra fee). They visit the city in search of Jesse Pinkman’s R.V. and the wide, cinematic landscapes from the show. Debbie Ball, a local confectioner known as the Candy Lady, who has a shop of the same name, has made a small fortune selling dime bags of blue rock candy meant to evoke Heisenberg’s meth formulation. “They just don’t stop coming,” she told me. “Suddenly, they’re all here.” It took a long time to get people to Albuquerque—but not for locals’ lack of trying.

One concern in the media, however, has been that the show depicts the city negatively. Syme had a great response to that criticism, citing that Albuquerque’s “underbelly” is worth promoting:

Many people have asked me if I think “Breaking Bad” shines a “bad light” on the state. I don’t. And, often, the unabashed love of Walt and co. by locals (citywide events, themed microbrews, Heisenberg hat manufacturers) is puzzling to outsiders. The show is a fable about seediness and monstrosity and a city ravaged by drug trouble. Baltimore isn’t exactly putting up billboards about “The Wire.” (But we are!) I try to explain that New Mexicans are proud of anything that draws us out of neglect, out of never really fitting in. We are just happy to be considered, even if it is for our underbelly.

To read the full article from the New Yorker, click here.