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The sale of a major piece of property on the University of New Mexico鈥檚 South Campus is complete, moving the area one step closer to welcoming a major retail hub.

Arizona-based developer SimonCRE is officially the new owner of roughly 38 acres of land previously owned by UNM after a transaction that began last year closed on Tuesday, founder and CEO Josh Simon told the Journal.

Simon also confirmed a portion of tenants slated to join Lobo Crossing Shopping Center 鈥� a 363,000-square-foot, open-air food and retail development planned for the land SimonCRE has acquired.

The tenants officially leased so far include Sierra, HomeGoods, Marshalls, Michaels, Burlington, Boot Barn, Five Below, Spencer鈥檚 and Jersey Mike鈥檚 Subs.

Target will headline the list, according to a memorandum of lease document reviewed by the Journal on Tuesday.

鈥淭his is a pretty powerful lineup,鈥� said Tom Neale, chief operating officer of UNM鈥檚 real estate arm, Lobo Development Corp. 鈥淭his is also the first major retail center in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 in over two decades, and we鈥檙e really proud that it鈥檚 in the South Campus and it鈥檚 helping out the southern tier of the city.鈥�

The Target lease document ends months of speculation and years of conversations 鈥� the first of which were made public when university officials revealed talks to potentially incorporate a Target into UNM鈥檚 South Campus Tax Increment Development District, or TIDD, in 2023.

Simon could not comment on Target but said the project鈥檚 anchor tenant 鈥渄oes offer grocery鈥� and will help to address UNM South Campus鈥� current existence as a food desert.

Target鈥檚 inclusion marks a significant moment for the project, which Simon called 鈥渂y far the biggest thing that鈥檚 been built in sa国际传媒官网网页入口, from a retail standpoint, in decades.鈥� As Lobo Crossing鈥檚 anchor tenant, Target is the national, large-scale food and general merchandise retailer that SimonCRE had to secure for the deal with UNM to go through.

鈥淚 think a lot of people in town were doubting if this thing was even going to happen,鈥� Simon said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been working on this project for several years, and there鈥檚 been plenty of times where I thought the same. So I think it鈥檚 great to finally see this first hurdle pass, now that we鈥檝e closed on it.鈥�

The sale comes several months after UNM announced last year that its Board of Regents had approved a transfer of ownership for the vacant South Campus property, located east of Interstate 25 in Southeast sa国际传媒官网网页入口 near the UNM Lobo sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Complex, Lobo Village and the Science & Technology Park.

Lobo Development Corp. had been working with SimonCRE on the project for about two years prior to last year鈥檚 announcement. CBRE Land Group had also been working with UNM and Lobo Development for several years to market the land and attract a buyer.

SimonCRE agreed to purchase the property for $11.75 million, which Simon said is roughly where the final acquisition cost landed. With the sale finalized and the project almost fully permitted, the developer currently plans to break ground this month with the aim of opening the majority of Lobo Crossing next fall.

The milestone is especially meaningful for Neale, who said the university鈥檚 efforts to get a project like Lobo Crossing underway in the South Campus stretch even farther back than SimonCRE.

鈥淭his was a decade in the making,鈥� Neale said, citing an unsuccessful attempt to get a project similar to Lobo Crossing off the ground several years ago before the creation of UNM鈥檚 TIDD. That attempt is what made the need for a TIDD evident, Neale said.

UNM鈥檚 TIDD sets aside up to 75% of incremental gross receipts and property taxes from the state, city and county for public infrastructure projects. It was created in 2023 to incentivize development and transform UNM鈥檚 largely undeveloped South Campus into a hub of activity.

Lobo Crossing 鈥� expected to be the South Campus TIDD鈥檚 single largest revenue generator 鈥� 鈥渨ouldn鈥檛 have happened鈥� without the district, Simon said.

When all is said and done, Simon said Lobo Crossing will cost 鈥減robably in excess of $150 million鈥� to develop. SimonCRE will fund the majority of the project, with support from the TIDD.

Other tenants slated to join the shopping hub are Old Navy, Ross and Skechers, with those leases currently pending. Leases are also in the works with a national cellular company, dental office and cable provider, while a national dessert company and a breakfast tenant have submitted letters of intent, a flyer for Lobo Crossing shows.

鈥淔or the big-box spaces, the pre-leasing that we鈥檝e done is incredible,鈥� Simon said. 鈥淏eing (more than 90% leased) before closing is very rare. It speaks to just how there has been just a dearth of (new development) activity and high demand for retail space in the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 market.鈥�

Neale said that paucity of activity has been particularly dramatic for UNM鈥檚 South Campus due to 鈥渃hallenging site conditions,鈥� including the presence of a major drainage structure and uneven terrain. These challenges have left the area 鈥渃ompletely underserved鈥� and lacking in retail services, Neale said.

To see Lobo Crossing reach this hurdle after years of conducting analysis and trying to justify why a TIDD was needed is 鈥渞ewarding,鈥� Neale said. The COO said Lobo Crossing is an example of people and entities across the city, county and state working together to make a project happen.

鈥淚 think this is going to be a real big benefit to the community, as well as UNM and our aspirations for really creating a vibrant sports entertainment and technology district,鈥� Neale said.

The milestone comes as the university moves forward with other efforts to revamp one of the area鈥檚 major complexes, University Stadium. UNM announced in October that it had retained sa国际传媒官网网页入口 architecture firm Dekker for a planning and feasibility study to renovate the stadium, and it asked the Legislature for $50 million to help fund the project in January.

SimonCRE will now turn its attention to finding local and regional businesses and restaurants to fill the remaining space 鈥� an undertaking that local brokers with sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 Base 5 Retail Partners will assist with.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long road to get to this point, and we鈥檙e excited,鈥� Simon said.

Kylie Garcia covers retail and real estate for the Journal. You can reach her at kgarcia@abqjournal.com.