The City of Albuquerque announced it has officially ended its contract with the group that was supposed to develop the iconic rail yards.

In what he called a ceremonious act, Mayor Tim Keller ripped up the contract with Samitaur, the California-based contractor, at the Rail Yards Market Sunday morning.

The mayor says now efforts to redevelop the area can really begin after no movement from Samitaur for years.

“So by cutting ties with this firm, the ball is now in our court. We know we got to do things and it’s going to be a piece by piece effort,” says Keller.

The City says the objective now is to remediate the dilapidating buildings for future community use.

The City purchased the 27-acre site over a decade ago.