Get ready for boxes and blocks. At least, as far as what's new on the Albuquerque shopping scene in 2006 goes. And, at least, for now. Jeff Yearsley shops with his mother, Joanna Yearsley, at Trader Joe's in Santa Fe. The natural-foods store, which is opening a much-anticipated outlet in Albuquerque, is Yearsley's favorite, he says. "We try to avoid everywhere else. It's organic. It's reasonable," he says. (Ben Chrisman/Special to The Tribune)

FROM THE RUMOR MILL The Trib has heard the scuttle, too. Around town, on Web logs and in coffee shops, people are talking about what they've heard is coming to the Duke City. Among them, J.Crew, Nordstrom, J.Jill and Urban Outfitters. The first two gave The Tribune a definite and resounding no on plans to announce an Albuquerque store opening. Women's clothier J.Jill, however, seems more promising - the customer service department says yes but couldn't find confirming details. The company's spokeswoman said she would not be able to confirm anything for a few weeks about the Boston store's expansion in the West. Urban Outfitters, which is rumored to be ready to occupy space on Central Avenue, also did not return calls for this story.

More giant retailers are charging in, and whatever retail land they leave untouched will be filled with blocks and blocks of shopping centers.

David Chavez, associate broker for Maestas & Ward, says high-end retailers are being courted, and that's good news for Albuquerque.

"When retailers come into this market, it gives us as leasing agents or as brokers more reasons why their concept will work," he says. "If, for instance, Crate and Barrel comes in, it gives us more reasons why Ikea should come in.

"Success follows success, right?"

Chavez says most of the projects at Maestas & Ward are shopping centers, and most of those are along streets that are carrying more and more traffic every year: Paseo del Norte and Coors Boulevard.

Still, luring big retailers - aside from big-box stores - often presents a challenge, Chavez said. Albuquerque is still not quite a Phoenix or Denver - markets just now being tapped by furniture bargain giant Ikea.

But Chavez says he and his colleagues tout as one of the area's strengths its growth by leaps and bounds.

"(Retailers are) fairly heavily driven by demographics. One of the reasons you see some of the bigger guys coming into the market is because of the growth we've seen in Albuquerque," he said. "The Nob Hill area is fairly dense. In a 3-mile radius, you have 139,000 people.

"I would say that they, any of these national tenants, take a strong look at demographics to make sure their concept is going to work. They know where their businesses have been successful in the past. That's what they go on, their own track record."

Chavez said he's confident some of the larger and higher-end retailers will come to the area soon, and he is working on courting some of them. But that part is, for now, a secret.

Some of the rest of Albuquerque's retail real estate agents say they are also excited about lots of new - and big - construction projects, and offer The Trib a peek at where Duke City dwellers can expect to open their wallets this year.

"We're going to see a lot of activity from Office Depot; Bed, Bath & Beyond; and a couple of others that are a little tentative right now," says Anthony Johnson of Sedberry & Associates.

Bed, Bath & Beyond will open a few free-standing stores this year. Store spokeswoman Noemi Villani says she has no information to offer, including whether the stores will be in addition to or replace the one in Winrock mall.

Johnson says one of the stores will open near Cottonwood Mall on the West Side. The locations for two other stores are not definite, he says, but one will likely be along Paseo del Norte in the Northeast Heights.

Office Depot will open three stores: one on the West Side, one along Paseo near San Pedro Drive, and another in the Uptown area, Johnson says.

In addition to the boxes, Johnson says his company is working on filling out outparcel space in front of a South Valley Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market. That area has 25,000 square feet of shopping space.

"For the outparcel, we're looking at a bank, fast food," he says. "But we have no commitments yet."

He says Sedberry also has space in front of the Wal-Mart Supercenter being built in Rio Rancho. That project, at Southern and Unser boulevards, has 20,000 square feet of shop space.

Also in Rio Rancho, at N.M. 528 and Enchanted Hills Drive, a shopping center with 200,000 square feet of retail space is being built. Johnson says they've had no takers on the space, but he is excited about the possibilities.

Sedberry also has a few pans in the fire on the restaurant scene. Baja Bumble Bee Grill and Pei Wei Asian Diner will come to the West Side, with the former also moving into spaces on Paseo and on Central Avenue in Nob Hill.

"Pei Wei (will have) a new West Side location next to Circuit City and Borders," Johnson says. "West Siders will finally get their Pei Wei, and that should make them very happy."

At Grubb & Ellis New Mexico, agent Tom Jones says the biggest news is something Albuquerque has known about for some time: Trader Joe's is opening.

The natural-foods store has been sought after for years by New Mexicans, and people in Albuquerque have been eagerly awaiting its arrival since before the 2004 opening of a Santa Fe location. Company spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki says the store is tentatively looking at a spring opening.

Jones says the exterior of the building is finished, and "they should be doing their finishes soon."

"It's a frenzy," he says with a laugh.

Trader Joe's marketing vice president, Jon Basalone, says it is rare for the company to have only one store in a state for such a long period of time. He says he understands Albuquerque's excitement over the store and that the wait will be worth it.

"A lot of little things tend to hold us up. Especially when we've been wanting to go into a city like Albuquerque for quite some time," he says, referring to the long period between the announcement it was being built to the date of opening. "We want to be there as soon as we possibly can."

He says the store would have opened in Albuquerque before Santa Fe if it could have found the right location then.

"It was about what's available and how quickly we can get a deal done," he says. "We are looking at more than one store in Albuquerque. I think eventually we will be in those other parts of town where people want us."

In addition to the grocer, Sedberry's Jones says he and fellow agent Bob Feinberg are seeing a few other things in store for Albuquerque shoppers.

"We're working on a handful of new projects," he says.

Most of them are shopping centers, including the rest of Ventura Place, along Paseo del Norte, where Trader Joe's will be. Others are Cabezon Commons in Rio Rancho, Silver Tree Commons at 98th Street and Gibson Boulevard, and an unnamed area at 5112 Lomas Blvd. N.E.

Maestas & Ward's Chavez says his biggest project is going to bring big change to Nob Hill. His team is working on a 30,000-square-foot shopping center at Central and Tulane Drive that will also have 26 high-end lofts for sale above it. The project is no small feat, considering the Nob Hill neighborhood lifted its moratorium that prohibited new construction specifically for this project, Chavez says.

He says the retail space will be occupied by both local and national tenants. The national tenants being wooed are all very high-end clothiers, he says. The space will not be open to restaurants or the like.

"One of the very interesting things about Nob Hill, people park their cars and literally walk up and down the street," he says. "It's very rare for Albuquerque. You just don't see it.

"One of the things we need is for shoppers to go to Nob Hill and look at what it has to offer. You have 11 of Albuquerque's best restaurants. It's one of the best retail corridors in Albuquerque and even in all New Mexico. The shoppers go for an unusual experience."

In addition to that project, Chavez and colleague Michael Butler are working on several shopping centers around town.

Quail Plaza, at Coors and I-40, will take advantage of the reconstruction of the interchange, Butler says.

"We're having a lot of success leasing that space," he says. "The fundamentals on that site suggest 83,000 cars a day (travel) on Coors. On the interstate it's an additional 130,000. It's great visibility. It's almost unmatched by any other intersection in the state."

For the project, one potential tenant is Sherman Williams.

Another project is called On Street Plaza, at Menaul Boulevard and Jefferson Street, on the north side. The space was an old building that was basically gutted, Chavez says. Top Dog will move its hot dogs, pennants and cheese fries to this area when it is completed near the end of February.

At Second Street and Osuna Road Northeast, redevelopment is afoot. In the old Grandma's Restaurant spot will be 4,000 square feet of retail space, which has the potential to double.

Butler is also working on Central Mercado, at the southwest corner of Central and San Pedro. It is anchored by El Mesquite market and has a few thousand feet of retail space available, he says.

"It's exciting, because it services the Latino market with specialty brands," he says. "Because of that, there's synergy with local tenants that cater to that demographic."

Maestas & Ward is also finishing up the development project at Coors and Monta?o Road. Next to the Hastings will be 19,000 square feet of space. Checker Auto Parts will take up part of that, and the area is scheduled to be finished by April.

Also on the coattails of the new Rio Rancho Wal-Mart Supercenter will be pad sites featuring Chili's Grill & Bar and Village Inn. Butler says they are also talking with Starbucks for that area.

"The growth in that trade area is robust, and we're looking to provide services and opportunities to that area, which is largely underserved," Butler says. The project will be finished by summer or fall.

More shops will also come along Paseo del Norte, including Palomas Plaza, near San Pedro, which will have a Euphoria tea shop, a photography studio and a China Luck restaurant. Across the way on San Pedro will be Paseo Place, which is still in the planning stages.

Another center being planned for that busy strip to the north is the Shops at Paseo Crossing, on the southeast corner of Wyoming Boulevard and Paseo del Norte.

Butler says it is a "larger development" that should be finished near the end of the year and is a "higher-end concept."