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The Rio Rancho Governing Body is set to consider special taxing districts for a proposed subdivision and a contract renewal with Santa Ana Star Center management contractor Global Spectrum at its meeting Wednesday.
The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. at City Hall, 3200 Civic Center Circle.
The agenda includes several items dealing with the proposed residential Stonegate subdivision, to be located about a mile south of City Center, between Montezuma Boulevard and Cardiff Avenue; residential Milagro Mesa subdivision and commercial and residential Tierra del Oro subdivision, according to city information. All three subdivisions are north of Northern, east of Unser and south of Paseo del Volcan.
The New Mexico developer, Coal Bank Holdings, is requesting a public improvement district (PID), a tax increment development district (TIDD) and impact fee credits for constructing infrastructure, according to the information. The governing body is to decide whether to accept the PID and TIDD applications and feasibility studies for further consideration.
The PID would involve only Stonegate and would finance the construction of roads, sewer collection facilities and lines, water lines, storm drains and parks. Unlike the troubled Mariposa East PID, the Stonegate PID would use a special levy structure, which is limited to an amount specified before bonds are issued and eliminates the risk of large increases in property taxes and other levies, according to the information.
The TIDD would include all three subdivisions, planned to have a total of 1,086 single-family homes, 95 townhomes, 238 multi-family units and almost 10 acres of commercial property. Under the proposal, the TIDD would provide gross receipts tax money to pay for a sewer interceptor line, a regional storm drain and construction of parts of Montezuma Boulevard and Cardiff Avenue…
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By Argen Duncan (Rio Rancho Observer)

Soon you will see the start of work on a new, $2.78 million downtown apartment complex.
The three-story, 38-apartments facility called The Lofts at Alameda is scheduled to be built at the corner of Alameda Boulevard and Court Avenue, right next to the new Sun-News building.
A ground-breaking ceremony for the facility is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday.
“It’s really the first of it’s kind complex to be offered in the Las Cruces downtown area,” said Charles Dow, a physician and a member of the ownership group. “The location is perfect for business clientele who work and want to live downtown. The downtown revitalization has only begun and this project will serve as a catalyst for further development in the near future.”
In addition to Dow, other members of the ownership group include doctors Tim McComas and Don Marketto as well as Robert Sandoval, owner of RHines Construction — also the general contractor on the project — as well as Royal Jones, owner of Mesilla Valley Transportation, and John Hummer, owner of Steinborn Real Estate.
The architect for the project is Dekker Perich Sabatini.
“I got interested in the project because I know it is a unique opportunity to help the downtown area grow,” McComas said. “The area will be well served by new housing choices for those who already work downtown. Now that the city has invested in downtown revival, there should be new exciting places to live available there to continue the interest ummer reports that The Lofts at Alameda will showcase loft-style features such as high ceilings, exposed coiled duct work and attractive interiors. Each unit will have modern, energy efficient appliances including a washer and dryer. Every loft apartment will have balconies facing Cort Avenue.
The top floors will feature upgraded units with views of the Organ Mountains and/or the Alameda Historic area, West Mesa and Picacho Peak.
There were initial plans for a possible coffee shop or similar commercial space, but Hummer said there will not be one.
“I think it’s location and the timing will be great,” Jones said. “It’s really a nice little part of town and close to beautiful Pioneer Park along with those really nice old homes in that area and walking distance to any jobs in the downtown area.”
Rent for 1-bedroom, 1-bath apartments is expected to start at $725 per month and for 2-bedroom, 2-bath units to start at $840 per month. Price will rise depending on location and view.
For more information, go online to the website loftsatalameda.com.
ByL Brook Stockberger (Las Cruces Sun-News)
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The 8,470-square-foot phase one of a new medical complex is nearing completion. Mark Edwards, the leasing agent of the project and president of Edwards Commercial Realty, said the project should be completed by the end of June.
“This serves an underserved area,” Edwards said. “Urology was underserved. A medical complex creates flexibility and versatility for Corrales, Rio Rancho, Albuquerque’s west side and even north Albuquerque. We want this to be a one-stop medical clinic development.”
Named Pinnacle Point, the medical office center is located at 4410 Irving Blvd, near Eagle Ranch NW. Other neighboring centers are the Presbyterian Rust Medical Center and Lovelace Westside Hospital. It’s designed to total approximately 16,000 square feet on 1.7 acres with a calculated cost of $1.3 million. Phase two consists of a development of about 7,300 square feet.
The anchor tenant, Albuquerque Urology Associates, will occupy 5,290 square feet. The remaining 3,167 square feet are divided into two offices and will be available for lease for other medical practices. Leasing discussions with medical labs, dentists, ophthalmologists and dermatologists have been initiated, reported Edwards. “We are focused on leasing units or structuring leases with purchase options that could be exercised as early as mid-2016,” he said.
The office space can be leased in an unfinished, heated shell form starting at $16 per square foot. For special improvements the rental rate can jump up to $21 per square foot, but tenants also have the option to hire contractors to build out the interior. The option to lease the space through loans is also available. Suits range from 1,368 to 7,228 square feet.
The architect is Tijeras-based AKT Architects and the general contractor is local Richardson & Richardson.
By: Anca Gagiuc (Commercial Property Executive)
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While Q1 GDP growth was 2.5%, it will probably be the best performing quarter of the year. Add to that continued contractionary fiscal policy in the form of both the sequester and the Fiscal Cliff deal, continued weak employment growth, declining exports and a lackluster manufacturing sector and suddenly recessionary fears are palpable. After all, a recession will inevitably come and it has been almost six years since the start of the last one. Aren’t we kind of due? Turns out, the answer is no, no and no! If history is any guide – and it’s a very good one in this case – there is no recession in sight.
Since 1970 there have been seven recessions, and interestingly enough, each one has been preceded by an inversion in the yield curve, a situation where short term interest rates are higher than long term interest rates. Rarely is there an indicator that is seven for seven over a period of 44 very dissimilar years. The last time the yield curve inverted and a recession did not follow was in 1966-67, and though there wasn’t a recession, the economy slowed substantially with GDP growth of less than 1% for 21 straight months.
Normally, interest rates are higher the longer the period of time money is lent. For example, today a one-year Treasury bill yields 0.15%/year, a 10-year Treasury note pays 2%/year and a 30-year Treasury bond pays 3.125%/year. After all, the longer you lend someone money, in this case the government, the more interest rate risk, inflation risk and credit risk you incur, and investors must be compensated for these risks.
However, from time to time this normal relationship breaks down. One explanation for this phenomenon is that by raising short-term rates (to slowdown an overheating economy with rising inflation), the Federal Reserve discourages bank lending, as banks generally borrow short and lend long. And when the yield curve is inverted, banks have much-reduced profit margins, and this reduction in lending causes a recession. A second explanation for an inverted yield curve is that investors expect future short-term interest rates to decline because they expect a recession. As a result, investors expect the central bank to lower interest rates to counteract the expected recession. And when this happens, investors plow into low-yielding long-bonds to lock in yields they expect will be still lower in the future.
Regardless of the reason, from time-to-time the yield curve inverts. Today, the difference between ten-year Treasury notes and one-year Treasury bills is 1.85%. Assuming the Federal Reserve felt compelled to start raising short-term interest rates soon (and let’s be clear, it does not), it would take, based on history, about two years before yields on one-year Treasury bills were higher than yields on 10-year Treasury notes. And again using history as our guide, it generally takes another 12 months after the yield curve inverts before a recession begins. This suggests that we have at minimum three years before the next recession. Of course, given the expansionary state of monetary policy and the laser-like focus of the Fed in preventing a recession, my bet is we have quite some time before the recession of 2018!
Elliot Eisenberg, Ph.D. is President of GraphsandLaughs, LLC and can be reached at Elliot@graphsandlaughs.net. His daily 70 word economics and policy blog can be seen at www.econ70.com.