Saturday, December 19, 2009

RR May Get A Movie Theater

By Rosalie Rayburn
Journal Staff Writer
          Rio Rancho might finally get a movie theater.
        City Councilors this week approved a resolution creating a tax increment development district for The Village at Rio Rancho, an Uptown-style shopping area that would be near the new Presbyterian hospital.
        Among the plans: A multi-screen movieplex.
        "It is an ideal site for a retail/commercial development for us," City Manager James Jimenez said. "It will help draw, we believe, a lot of patrons from Albuquerque area as well as help keep much of the gross receipts tax revenue in our community that might otherwise be lost."
        The new theater would be about 5 miles from the United Artist theater at Cottonwood Mall.
        The resolution is contingent upon final approval from city staff and Southern Sandoval County Arroyo Flood Control Authority of a plan to realign an arroyo that bisects the property. Jimenez hopes the arroyo plan will be approved by mid-January. Work to realign and build a diversion channel for the arroyo is expected to cost about $11 million.
        A 12- to 14-screen cinema would anchor the development, said Andrew Feola, vice president of Geringer Capital, the Los Angeles-based company spearheading the development.
        Plans for the 75-acre site located between the new hospital and the Cabezon communities also include a couple of hotels, plus retail and office space. With approval for the arroyo project, Feola expects the infrastructure work to begin in July and be complete by spring of 2011. Construction on the commercial buildings could then begin in the fall of 2011.
        Feola said the development would not have been possible without the tax incentive.
        The district will be Rio Rancho's first use of the incentive mechanism. It allows the developer to recoup a portion of the gross receipts taxes generated by the businesses in the development to pay for the infrastructure.
        Councilors first heard a presentation about the development in August. City staff continued negotiating details of the incentive agreement until just before Wednesday's council meeting.
        A couple of residents who spoke at the meeting were concerned about the tax incentive.
        "This is private industry. I think it should be supported privately," said Laura Hellwig.
        Councilor Larry Naranjo asked who would bear the risk if the businesses failed to generate sufficient taxes to cover the cost of the infrastructure.
        "If the project doesn't generate enough revenue, the investment in the $11 million or so for infrastructure is out of our pocket," Feola said.
        In an interview after the meeting, Feola said the company has done extensive studies to determine the need for the development and expects to have much of the property pre leased before construction begins.
       

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