The Journal Center and Journal Center 2 are part of a Master Development Plan as defined by the City of Albuquerque. The Journal Center Master Development Plan was first approved in 1984 and updated in 2001 when Journal Center 2 was added. The adoption of the Journal Center Master Development Plan included not only the layout of streets and tracts, but also Park Development Standards, Project Standards, Covenants, and a Sign Code.
The documents referenced above also apply to tracts within Journal Center 2 and are supplemented with the Journal Center 2 Land Development Design Guidelines.
These documents help guide the quality and consistency of development within the Journal Center to make it the premier business park in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and the Southwest. Compliance with the standards and guidelines is enforced by the Journal Center Architectural Review Committee (JCARC), which was established as a key component of the City’s original Master Development Plan approval.
Development plans must be reviewed and approved by the JCARC prior to submission to the City’s planning department for their required reviews. Once approved, the JCARC will issue a letter to the property owner for inclusion in the City’s required documentation for the review of a Site Plan-Administrative through the Planning Department’s Development Facilitation Team or DFT. See IDO section 6-5(G) for more information on the Site Plan-Administrative process. With a couple of exceptions, all tracts within Journal Center and Journal Center 2 are zoned NR-BP by the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) of the City of Albuquerque. See IDO section 2-5(B) for more information on the NR-BP zoning designation. Also, see IDO section 2-5(B)(3)(d) for more information on the applicability of the Journal Center Master Development Plan relative to its NR-BP zoning.
The following is a summary of the steps required to obtain the JCARC’s approval to develop property within Journal Center and Journal Center 2.