The Auge boys are back — selling property

August 12, 2009

Belen Consolidated Schools might be moving its bus compound to the former Auge’s dealership at the intersection of River and Gabaldon roads, according to a source familiar with internal discussions.

The Auge family built a new dealership on River Road several years back, leaving their original dealership mostly vacant. The original dealership had been converted for a time into a consignment store and later a dance studio.

The school district is now considering buying the old dealership for use as a bus compound.

The existing bus compound is located near Belen Middle School, taking up two full blocks, including office space, a maintenance building and a parking lot for the yellow school buses.

The bus facility and parking lot surround Castillo Avenue between Fourth and Fifth streets, which means that stretch of the avenue is closed to general traffic.

While the reasons for the move are unclear, the City of Belen has privately discussed opening up that stretch of Castillo Avenue for some time, as a part of continued revitalization of downtown and the so-called Heart of Belen district along Becker Avenue.

Superintendent Patricia Rael wouldn’t directly confirm that discussions are underway to purchase the former Auge’s dealership, but two members of the Auge family — the two “Auge boys,” as they were called in television commercials – were spotted leaving a closed executive session with the board last night.

“Owning property, leasing property, selling property, buying property — that’s all the board’s prerogative, and they have not discussed that with me,” Rael said.

Posted in: Archive