Proposed Development Could Bring 3,000 Jobs to Unit 10

Planning is moving forward for what could be Rio Rancho’s next major development — a 150-acre site in Unit 10 proposed to have 450 home sites and a large business park that could bring 3,000 jobs to the city.
The development, known as Los Diamantes, or “The Diamonds,” is nearly in the middle of Unit 10, which is bounded by Unser, Southern and Rainbow boulevards in Rio Rancho, and on the south, the city of Albuquerque boundary.
The property would be bisected by an extension of Westside Boulevard, with the 60-acre business park on the north side of the road.
“Our goal is to develop out the business park, then sell off the residential,” said Mike Skolnick, qualifying broker and a principal in Excalibur Realty who assembled the property for AB Southwest LLC of California, a real estate investor.
He said 100 acres were acquired from Cabezon developer Curb Inc. and the balance assembled from 63 landowners.
The project has just entered a 10- to 12-month “entitlement process,” which entails completing studies required by various federal and state regulatory agencies and the city, and getting zoning and a development agreement with the city, according to Skolnick, who has been involved in assembling about 600 other acres around Rio Rancho for development projects.
Skolnick said Los Diamantes originally was planned to be all residential. But being a member of the board of the newly formed Sandia Economic Alliance, whose goal is to attract economic-base jobs to the county, he said he had an “epiphany” and called his principal, who agreed with the idea of turning the north section into a business center.
The city desperately needs shovel-ready business centers so companies considering relocating here have somewhere to go if they want to open in a large finished building in six to nine months, he said.
“We hope to bring 3,000 new jobs, just in the business park alone,” he said.
Amendments are proposed to the city’s land use map for Unit 10, which were subject of a public input meeting Thursday.
“For final approval, if the comprehensive plan already shows what the proposed use for that land is, obviously it will be a lot easier process,” Skolnick said of the potential impact of the comprehensive plan amendment process on Los Diamantes.
He said there already has been public input on the plan, noting a committee involved in Unit 10 planning meetings organized up by City Councilor Chuck Wilkins consisted of members of the public, landowners and homeowners.
“This is not something he (Wilkins) sat down with the staff and drew up,” Skolnick said. “This was all done with input from the community already.”
He added, “Understand, where we’re doing our development, everything out there is coyotes, rabbits and rattlesnakes. That’s it.”
The project could break ground in 2016.
“That would be the ultimate goal,” he said.
By: Mike Hartranft (Rio Rancho Observer)
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