Gibson Rising to Welcome Chili’s and Chick-fil-A

By Anca Gagiuc, Associate Editor

Gibson Rising is a new 4.5-acre development located on Gibson Boulevard at the southeast corner of the Gibson/University intersection. The property will house two national retail chains, Chili’s and Chick-fil-A. A third restaurant will follow in the future. 

The owner-developer of the land is Skarsgard Development, which purchased the property out of foreclosure in 2013, reports Albuquerque Journal. “We’re calling it Gibson Rising just because Gibson has just (had) such a troubled past; they’ve had buildings half-started and stopped and businesses go vacant, and it’s had kind of a renaissance, a revival,” he said. “You’ve got Buffalo Wild Wings and Dion’s and Denny’s and Towne Center. The momentum has finally grabbed hold of Gibson. That’s why I bought the property.”

Chili’s has already submitted a request for the building permit, with Chick-fil-A to follow. The three restaurants will be standalone buildings. Skarsgard estimates the ground-breaking will take place in January 2015. Funding for the project has been provided by Southwest Capital Bank.

Gibson Rising is not the only location Chick-fil-A plans to expand to. The chicken chain will build four new facilities in the metro area, all on Skarsgard properties. Aside from the one on Gibson, one location will be built in front of Home Depot at Eubank and Central, and one at 2274 Wyoming NE. these three are scheduled to open in 2015, while the one planned for Rio Rancho could come later in 2015 or at the beginning of 2016.

Chili’s is interested in adding more locations in New Mexico, too. One location is being developed by Skarsgard in Bernalillo, across from Wal-Mart, and another is being considered for Santa Fe.