City Opens Second Location for Free Bike Shop
Oct. 9, 2021
Today, Mayor Tim Keller, Parks and Recreation Director Dave Simon, Councilor Diane Gibson, and the Boys and Girls Club of Central New Mexico announced a new partnership that will bring a satellite location of the City’s popular Esperanza Bike Shop and Education center to the east side of Albuquerque. The partnership is a result of the donation of the Boys and Girls Club property (located at 3333 Truman St NE) to the City. The Boys and Girls Club will continue to operate out of a portion of the property with a ‘Teen Center’, while the Esperanza Bike Shop opens up its secondary location out of the other portion.
“This partnership is a win for everyone – for us, for bike riders, youth, families, and more,” said Mayor Tim Keller. “We are proud to be partnering with the Boys and Girls Club of Central New Mexico to find out-of-the-box solutions that deliver for our community. The work they do is so important to the development of our youth.”
Since the first Esperanza Bike Shop and Education Center opened on Albuquerque west side in 2014, staff has refurbished and given away nearly 3,000 bicycles through its Earn-A-Bike education program, and pre-COVID, was serving about 4,200 individuals a year. During COVID, the center staff held 185 open-air pop-up shops across the duke city, attended by more than 2,000 individuals.
“Albuquerque truly is a bicycle friendly city,” said Dave Simon, Director of Parks and Recreation. “Expanding the Esperanza Bike Shop and Education Center will give more Burqueños a chance to use this great service.”
“I am excited to have a location for the new Bike Center! The partnership with the Boys and Girls Club will allow us to provide bike services to teens and pre-teens through the Boys and Girls Club,” said City Councilor Diane Gibson. “This is a project I have worked on for years and am excited to see it come to fruition. I cannot wait for this community asset to be in place.”
“This partnership will have a tremendous positive impact on youth development and economic development in Albuquerque,” said Colby Wilson, Chief Encouragement Officer, Boys and Girls Club of Central New Mexico. “Together we will give teens the space and programs they want and need to build a plan for success after high school. We congratulate Mayor Keller, City Councilor Gibson and Director Simon for their vision and commitment to making Albuquerque a great place to learn and grow.”
The new satellite location is expected to occupy about 3,000 square feet of the building. The Boys and Girls Club will operate out of the rest of the building, and continue with their programming. Renovations to the building will begin before year-end, are expected to cost about $1 million dollars. Funding for this project is provided through state capital outlay and previous GO Bond cycles.