Warehouse 505 rebuild after fire damage.

In the early morning hours of Sunday, June 5, 2022, a fire damaged the downtown building located at 202 Central Avenue NE.

At the time of the fire, 202 Central Avenue SE was leased to Warehouse 505. The non-profit youth center was renovating the building in order to relocate operations from its current location at 508 1st Street NW to the larger facility. Now, the organization that serves teens through creative arts programming is looking at a lofty repair bill and a delay to their projected relocation slated for early Fall 2022. Warehouse 505’s Executive Director Theirry Gonzales says that this occurrence is a significant setback, but not one that will permanently close the organization’s doors.

“Warehouse 505 has enthusiastically served Albuquerque youth for almost 13 years. We are one of the only safe spaces for LGBTQ youth by way of after and out of school-time programming and a hub for underserved and lower income teens looking for creative outlets and training. This fire may slow us down, but we will open the doors at 202 Central Avenue SE ASAP. The new location will allow us to more than double the number of teens served, see an expansion of creative arts programming, and the introduction of a social enterprise program designed to make Warehouse 505 self-sustaining, all while giving our members training in the areas of screen printing, retail management, event management, and hospitality.”

Warehouse 505 is turning to the community for help in making sure the 13yr old program with a brand new building gets a worthy start. The organization has started a GoFundMe account for donations that will go directly towards the repairs and renovations needed. Mr. Gonzales says the organization will also welcome local businesses and tradespeople interested in donating services, equipment, or materials to the repairs.

“Our primary goal is to ensure we get the building repaired and safely opened as soon as possible so that Albuquerque’s youth continue to have a place to go to create, learn, grow, and train.” – Theirry Gonzalez, Executive Director, Warehouse 505