RIO RANCHO — The City of Vision is continuing to expand with the groundbreaking of a new mixed-use development next to the Presbyterian Rust Medical Center Wednesday morning.
Named The Village in Rio Rancho, the 65-acre development will eventually house retail, hospitality and entertainment tenants, according to developer Robert Geringer, CEO and president of Geringer Capital.
The Village is located on the southeast corner of Unser and Westside in Rio Rancho.
Among the first of the tenants to call The Village home is a new location of the upscale grocery store, Market Street. The first New Mexico location of the grocery chain opened in Santa Fe several years ago.
The 80,000-square-foot grocery store, which is owned by Albertsons, is scheduled to open in the fall of 2023 and will specialize in natural, organic, specialty and pre-made foods and feature a Chopsticks Noodle and Sushi Bar.
“We waited a long time for the right tenant. … We think they are the perfect support of what we want to do here and that’s (to) provide a destination for the community to come and spend time, ” Geringer said.
Sidney Hopper, president of The United Family, which operates Albertsons Market stores in New Mexico, said the location of the upcoming grocery store is ideal for the company.
“For a guy in the grocery business, you drive up the street, you see homes in a 360 angle and where you see a hospital behind it — that’s a place to put a grocery store,” he said.
The nearest grocery stores to the site of the future Market Street are about two miles away.
Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull told the crowd at the ground breaking event that the development “marks a very important day in Rio Rancho history” and has been in the works for many years through a variety of public and private sectors working together.
“We need these types of developments in Rio Rancho to attract business from the Albuquerque area into the Rio Rancho area,” Hull said.
He said that for many years, Rio Rancho residents have traveled to Albuquerque to spend money, resulting in a loss of potential tax revenue for his city. Hull said he hopes this development helps reverse this trend.
“This is, make no mistake, a very important development right here and this location is very important to the city of Rio Rancho,” Hull said.
Geringer Capital owns the property and Bob Feinberg and Tom Jones of Colliers International of Albuquerque are the leasing agents. Franklin’s Earthmoving Inc. is installing the curbs and gutters.
