Downtown Makeover Ignites Townwide Investment Surge

Alamogordo's Downtown Makeover led by a partnership between Alamogordo MainStreet, New Mexico Mainstreet, private downtown business interests and the City of Alamogordo has ignited townwide investment surge: Alamogordo is fast becoming a case study in block‑by‑block revival. 

Alamogordo’s downtown New York Avenue Corridor from the 800 to 1200 Blockd is no longer just a project on a planner’s map — it has become the spark for a wider wave of private investment, new businesses, and housing projects that together mark the largest concentrated spike of private capital the city has seen in well over a decade. What began as targeted streetscape and façade improvements on New York Avenue has translated into concrete commitments from national and local operators, accelerating rehabs, and renewed investor confidence that is now expanding outward into adjacent corridors and neighborhoods.

City staff, under the leadership of Dr Stephanie Hernandez, this week provided an update showing a long list of incoming and expanding businesses tied to the downtown momentum: 

Seven Brew Coffee; HTeaO; Jersey Mike’s; Domino’s North; Love’s (including Whataburger); Wienerschnitzel at Walmart; Murphy’s on the north side; a new plasma center; RAD Retrocade; Oppenheimer German Restaurant; White Sands Theater in the downtown corridor with work in progress; and PYMO Bistro. 

Dr. Hernandez's staff also noted major reinvestments across town a new Long John Silver’s with work soon to begin, and Sonic buildings (in process), work to rehabilitate the Classic Inn site to address hotel needs (in process), interest from Five Below in the former Melrose building, and the reopening of Rocket City Fun Center — signaling that the downtown makeover is catalyzing broader commercial activity.

This cluster of commitments follows months of public investment and grant capture that gave developers the confidence to act. 

The MainStreet Makeover and related Great Blocks streetscape work is improving sidewalks, lighting, and curb appeal, while the city advanced capital commitments for sidewalks, new water lines, sewer, and gateway infrastructure.  Those public investments reduced entry costs for tenants and will create a measurable uplift in pedestrian access and storefront visibility — the basic market signals that encouraged private rehabilitation and new construction proposals around the city.

City staff and local reporting indicate the scale of the downtown spending is significant: multi‑million dollar rehabs of historic properties (Avis Building), new buildouts for food and entertainment venues (German Restaurant, RadRetrocade), and preliminary estimates of combined private project valuations that add up to the area’s largest downtown reinvestment in recent memory. 

Several new apartment and housing projects (Patriot Point etc) are slated to meet a need as housing demand tied to downtown and Holloman related jobs growth. This all suggests the investment in downtown is translating not only into retail growth, but also into workforce and market‑rate housing solutions.

Taxable gross receipts grew: Otero County's matched taxable gross receipts (MTGR) saw an increase of 6.7% from the second to the third quarter of fiscal year 2025 spurred by the City of Alamogordo as the counties economic engine for sales tax receipts. Total receipts for Q3 FY25 were $389 million, higher than the eight-quarter average.

Key industries performed well: The largest contributor to MTGR in Otero County during Q3 FY25 was retail trade (30%), followed by construction (13%) spurred by downtown development, new business development and the City of Alamogordo's infrastructure repair and investment roadmap awarding jobs such as New York Avenue and Oregon Street Infrastructure improvements. 

Policy change and neighborhood strategy making the positive difference.

Mayor Susan Payne’s direction to modernize codified ordinances and give staff a clear mandate to streamline permitting and align development codes with fast‑growing regional peers reduces friction by standardizing expectations for investment by outside developers and national tenants. Those ordinance updates and process reforms shorten approval timelines and made Alamogordo a more competitive and predictable place to build.  This alignment with other New Mexico cities was necessary in seeking external investment. 

That policy framework was matched by boots‑on‑the‑ground implementation in District 5. Commissioner of District 5 and mayoral candidate Sharon McDonald’s block‑by‑block blueprint — incremental sidewalk and alleyway improvements throughout her district, infrastructure commitments, blight removal, pocket‑park and community‑garden projects, and targeted façade work — turned policy into visible neighborhood change. Mayor Pro Temp McDonald’s approach prioritized small, tangible wins that immediately improved property conditions and resident experience, creating a domino effect: improved blocks drew developer interest, developer projects increase foot traffic, and rising activity validating further private investment.

Taken together, Mayor Susan Paynes, policy push, McDonald’s neighborhood strategy, and city staff under the leadership of Dr. Stephanie Hernandez execution created a practical public‑private playbook. Public infrastructure and incentive programs lowered costs and risk for private actors; merchant coordination, MainStreet façade supports, and event programming provided marketing that will drive initial customer flows; and updated city codes keep deal timelines tight — an alignment that yields rapid, measurable results.

The economic impacts are already emerging: 

Building ‑permit applications and valuations are rising, vacancy rates in the MainStreet district are falling, and merchants report an uptick in pre‑leasing and construction starts. New businesses across the city are filling for prrmits to build- the economic engine is beginning to move forward.

Commentary by Chris Edwards: 

New restaurant and entertainment jobs will expand local employment options, and increased retail sales in the core are expected to further boost sales‑tax capture for municipal services and future reinvestment.

MainStreet leaders and this press organization plan to track metrics such as permit valuations, vacancy changes, sales tax trends, and job counts over the next 12–24 months to quantify the downtown makeover’s continued multiplier effect.

As the city and downtown merchants prepare a grand reopening tied to Small Business Saturday and the holiday season Christmas on MainStreet, local leaders are framing Alamogordo’s experience as more than a local success: it is an applied case study in how targeted, block‑by‑block public investment—when paired with clear policy direction and persistent, hands‑on neighborhood work—can catalyze broader economic renewal. 

Mayor Payne’s ordinance updates and policy focus provided the enabling environment; Sharon McDonald’s grit and neighborhood blueprint supplied the tactical pathway; and city staff, MainStreet volunteers, and private developers converted that alignment into visible projects, private capital, and renewed community confidence.

Alamogordo’s downtown story shows the practical mechanics of place‑based revitalization: invest in the public realm, simplify the rules for doing business, and pair high‑visibility catalytic projects with neighborhood‑scale improvements. The result is economic stimulus that begins in the city center and radiates outward block by block — a replicable model for other small cities seeking to turn modest public investments into durable private growth and neighborhood gains.

City staff and MainStreet leaders say this is only the beginning: with new leases taking hold, construction ramps up, and seasonal programming set to draw shoppers and visitors, Alamogordo expects the downtown makeover to continue generating momentum that strengthens the entire local economy and improves quality of life across neighborhoods.

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