Saturday, December 11, 2004

RR Construction Sets Record Pace

By Joshua Akers
Journal Staff Writer
    Rio Rancho's building boom continues.
    The city issued more than 1,600 residential building permits through November and expects the year's total to top 1,750, City Administrator Jim Palenick said at a legislative breakfast Thursday.
    "That number smashes all previous records for the city," Palenick said. "We expect to pass Santa Fe soon as the state's third-largest city and we don't plan to look back."
    The city administration estimates Rio Rancho currently has a population of 63,000. Santa Fe had a population of 66,746 in 2003, according to the Census Bureau.
    If Rio Rancho's growth rates continue, the city expects to have nearly 180,000 people in 12 years. That total is based on projections from developers on future construction and a number of large projects under way that will add thousands of homes in Rio Rancho.
    "We expect 3,000 homes to be built next year and don't anticipate that number will go down," Palenick said.
    Projects coming on line in 2005 include Cabezon Communities in Unit 16 between Unser Boulevard and Golf Course Road; Mariposa Ranch, Mariposa East and the Hawk site in the northwest corner of the city near N.M. 550; Enchanted Hills South, which will continue the city's growth along the northern section of N.M. 528; and Loma Barbone, which is a state land office project.
    Those six developments represent about 15,000 homes when completely built out.
    Jim Neblett, the city's development services director, said that there are more than 30 smaller developments under way as well, which would build anywhere from 10 homes to 500 homes.
    Those numbers do not include Quail Ranch, which the city annexed 18 months ago. That development, located on the West Side in Bernalillo County, is expected to be home to over 50,000 people when it is fully developed.
    Neblett said his office is expecting the master plan and plats for the Quail Ranch development within the next few weeks, which means construction could begin by the end of 2005.
    Palenick and Neblett sat down with developers and builders about four months ago to discuss what the private companies had planned for Rio Rancho.
    "The builders said, 'You'll get 1,700 homes this year, 2,500 next and 3,000 in 2006,' '' Neblett said. "Those are homes in the pipeline. They've ordered sheet rock, ranges and refrigerators, there on the balance sheets. Even if the market changes, those are going to happen."
    That growth is pushing Rio Rancho resources to the limit; the city recently hired more inspectors to keep up with the builders. The city also raised its permit fee to cover the new inspectors. Homebuilders and developers worked with the city on the increases, with one association telling the City Council that the increase was in the best interests of both sides.
    Palenick said Thursday that Rio Rancho can expect all of the building projections to be low, given the recent decision to increase West Side impact fees by the Albuquerque City Council.
    "It is highly likely now that in 2006, this city will begin permitting more single-family homes than Albuquerque," Palenick said. "Their recent decision on impact fees is very advantageous for us."