Free parking helps downtown Albuquerque businesses near collapsed Bliss Building

Downtown Albuquerque businesses near 5th Street and Central Avenue got a modest but useful lifeline as the city began offering free parking validation at the Copper Garage for customers headed to participating spots on the 500 block of Central NW.

The city’s program covers up to two hours, a small concession that may help steady foot traffic while the block around the collapsed Bliss Building remains difficult to reach. The participating list includes 505 Food Hall, Man’s Hat Shop, Red Door Studio, 519 R & D Smoke Shop, Massage Flamenco Works INC., Richard Levy Gallery, 516 ARTS and Sushi Hana, a sign that the city is trying to keep restaurants, retail, arts venues and service businesses connected to downtown customers despite the closures.

That access problem began before the collapse itself. City records show the Planning Department, through Code Enforcement, first made an external inspection on March 20 after a local news tip. Officials said two separate 311 complaints came in between March 21 and April 10, and a more in-depth inspection followed on April 20. That same day, the city red-tagged the building and issued an emergency shutdown order.

Just after noon on April 27, a portion of Lindy’s Diner in the Bliss Building partially collapsed. The city added concrete Jersey barriers around the fencing for safety, and in a May 1 update said road closures at 5th Street and Central Avenue would remain in place for the foreseeable future. For drivers, the hardest access points remain the streets immediately surrounding the site, especially the closed stretch at 5th and Central.

The 121-year-old building has long been treated as a Route 66 icon and downtown landmark, which helps explain why the collapse has carried consequences well beyond one business block. Lindy’s Diner sits inside the structure with other tenants, and the shutdown has left owners and workers managing both an emergency closure and the uncertainty of what comes next.

That next step became clearer on May 30, when the city said Guzman Construction Solutions had been issued a demolition permit for 500 Central Ave SW, allowing crews to begin work immediately. The city also said its asbestos review found asbestos in portions of the piping and flooring adhesive inside the remaining structure, while the debris pile from the collapse tested negative.

For now, the parking validation is less a cure than a bridge. It gives customers a way to reach the block without fighting the closure, while the city works through demolition, safety review and the long economic aftermath of a collapse that shut down one of downtown’s most recognizable corners.