About Gamma Development, its founders, and their affiliates.

Gamma Development is owned by Mackenzie Bishop and Brian McCarthy. Mackenzie and Brian founded Abrazo Homes in 2010 in the midst of the worst downturn in the history of the US housing market. Here’s a little bit of information about the principals:

Mackenzie Bishop – Born and raised in Albuquerque, Mackenzie is a distinguished graduate of both East Mountain High School and the Anderson School of Management at the University of New Mexico where he graduated Summa Cum Laude. Mackenzie currently serves as the Board President for the East Mountain High School (EMHS) foundation board and is also the 2nd Vice President of the Home Builders Association of Central NM (HBACNM). In 2018, Mackenzie was awarded both the ‘Rising Star’ award and the ‘President’s Award’ from the HBA of CNM, in particular for representing the industry during the rollout of the City of Albuquerque’s Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO). Mackenzie and his wife Misty are proud parents of one son – who Mackenzie coaches in youth basketball.

Brian McCarthy – Brian grew up in Albuquerque as well, and graduated from St. Pius X High School. In fact, during his senior year in high school, Brian and a friend rode a canoe to school on the Rio Grande. Brian has always been an outdoors enthusiast and avid user of the Bosque Open Space and Rio Grande River. Brian received his undergraduate degree from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas before receiving his Executive MBA from the Anderson School of Management in 2005. Brian entered the construction industry in 2001 and was formerly the division president of another large regional builder that built and sold over 800 homes/year at its peak. Brian served on the board of the HBA of CNM from 2012-2015 – serving as Board President in 2015. He then served on the board of the NMHBA at the state level, where he also served as Board President in 2018. Brian has received the following awards during his tenure: Builder Rising Star (2014), Builder Member of the Year (2015), Builder Hall of Fame (2016). Brian served as Ex-Oficio Trustee to Builders Trust – the second-largest Worker’s Compensation Fund in the state of New Mexico that focuses on insuring and safety training of New Mexico’s construction workforce. Additionally, Brian has served on the board of Junior Achievement of New Mexico and numerous other charities and non-profits. Brian and his wife Autumn have 5 children and Brian also serves as a youth Basketball coach.

Together, Mackenzie and Brian have been recognized for the following:

• Best places to work, Abrazo Homes (Albuquerque Business First) - 2019, 2018, 2017
• New Mexico’s fastest-growing companies (Albuquerque Business First) - 2018, 2017
• NM Private 100 (Albuquerque Business First) - 2018
• Top companies in New Mexico (Albuquerque Business First) - 2019, 2018 – Top 5 Finalist
• Premier Award, Best Kitchen, Best Bathroom and Innovation Award – Homes of Enchantment Parade - 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012

Community Involvement – Over the past 9 years, Brian and Mackenzie have supported numerous charities and non-profits, having given over $50,000 to the EMHS Foundation Board, $50,000 to Junior Achievement of New Mexico, and $10,000 to the Wounded Warrior Project. Additionally, Abrazo Homes built 2 ‘Charity Homes’ (2017 and 2018) for El Ranchito de Los Niños – a local orphanage that specializes in keeping orphaned siblings living together. Through Junior Achievement, Brian has volunteered in the classroom to teach local high schoolers about financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and workforce readiness. Mackenzie and Brian have both been recognized as speakers and have made presentations for NAIOP, NMHBA, HBACNM, UNM Business School, Saint Pius X High School, Albuquerque Business First, and more.

In the Past – In 2007, Brian and Mackenzie co-founded ‘Por Fin Nuestra Casa’ or PFNC, an environmentally conscious social enterprise that repurposed used shipping containers into ultra-affordable housing for employees of the Maquiladoras – or US-owned factories along the US/Mexico border. The average maquiladora employee earns just over $2 (US) per hour and can only afford an ~$8000 home – which PFNC delivered. PFNC was the winner of the 2007 University of Notre Dame Business Plan competition, Recognized by CNN, PopTech!, ‘The Colbert Report’, NPR, and received the ‘sustainable business’ award from the United Nations in 2009.

Environmental Stewardship

• Every Abrazo Home built today is both HERS tested and Blow door tested to ensure its energy efficiency.
• All Abrazo Homes are built to the Build Green NM Silver equivalent.
• Abrazo Homes use (on average) 45% less energy than a comparable home built ‘to code’ in 2009 and similarly, about 45% less water as well.
• Abrazo Homes plant approximately 200 trees/year and only installs water-sensitive xeriscape landscapes with plant species that are appropriate for our city and aquifer.
• Abrazo Homes was the first production builder in Albuquerque to bring Smart Homes to the masses. These ‘automated’ smart homes use programmable devices, automated scenes, motion sensors, and other devices to minimize electrical consumption and offer remote operability and access to their homeowners.
• Abrazo Homes installs 95% efficient furnaces and 95% efficient tankless water heaters that emit only water vapor as exhaust.
• Mackenzie and Brian recently completed a 2.4MW Solar Farm in Corrales to produce clean renewable energy for the Rio Rancho Waste Water Treatment Facility. This Solar farm consists of 4,250 Solar Panels and provides upwards of 70% of the total power for the neighboring Wastewater Treatment Facility.
• Mackenzie and Brian have also dedicated approximately 5.5 acres of land in the Corrales to the Southern Sandoval County Area Flood Authority (SSCAFCA) to build out a water quality structure to trap and catch pollutants and chemicals that would otherwise drain and directly discharge into the Rio Grande River. This quality structure will enhance water quality for the Rio Grande watershed and all downstream areas.  
• As 2015 HBA CNM Board President, Brian led the HBA’s initiative to pass a $50 Million State Tax Credit for Sustainable Building. This tax credit remains in place today and has dramatically promoted Green Building throughout the State of New Mexico. This bill helps builders offset the additional costs of building to higher standards of energy efficiency and helps customers to save monthly on their energy expenses – all while promoting more sustainable building practices as well.
• In 2019, Brian (Immediate Past President) is working with the NMHBA to draft and support a bill that would provide a State Tax Credit for the remodeling of ‘existing’ homes. This draft bill would require testing (both before improvements and after) by a third-party energy auditor to determine the increases in energy efficiency and help a homeowner subsidize the cost of said improvements. This bill would be particularly impactful in rural, pueblo, and underprivileged areas where extreme temperatures and utility bills can adversely affect our marginalized neighbors and friends.
• Mackenzie Bishop is presently sitting in the City of Albuquerque IECC committee, working with the city staff and other constituents to raise the building code standards to a higher level of energy efficiency for every new home built within the City of Albuquerque.

Some opponents of the ‘Poole Property’ (aka Overlook at Oxbow) development see this proposed subdivision as an irresponsible initiative fueled by personal greed. They view this as a plan which is oblivious to its surroundings, the environment, and the community at large. Rest assured that the principals involved with the advancement of this project are local, socially, and environmentally conscious entrepreneurs that have used their businesses (and their profits) as a flywheel for the continued advancement of the environment, their employees, their customers, and the community at large. As owners, Mackenzie and Brian don’t just ‘talk the talk’… they have actually invested time, energy, resources, talent, and hundreds of thousands of dollars to advance these goals. Throughout their careers, they have demonstrated their commitment to the ‘Triple Bottom Line’ – Social, Environmental, and Financial. While many opponents of this project claim to value the environment more than the applicant, few, if any, have matched the financial investment and initiative of these two principals.