Las Cruces Development News

[desertpunk]

Spaceport America Welcome Center Runway Upgrades In The Works

Posted: 09/27/2012 09:10:10 AM MDT

LAS CRUCES -- The New Mexico Spaceport Authority board of directors awarded two more contracts this week, moving the spaceport closer to its scheduled grand opening in December 2013. The board awarded a runway modification contract to A.S. Horner, an Albuquerque company with an 80-year history of doing business.

The new contract will extend the existing 10,000-foot runway to 12,000 feet by July 2013. The $8.4 million expansion is expected to begin soon. Spaceport Authority directors also awarded a contact to Ashbaugh Construction of Truth or Consequences for its proposed Sierra County Welcome Center. The visitors center will be built next to one of the Truth or Consequences exits from Interstate 25.

The extended runway "will provide additional safety for landing Virgin Galactic flights as well as make the spaceport more attractive to other aerospace customers," said Christine Anderson, executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority.

Spaceport America, situated next to the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range in Southern New Mexico, is the first purpose-built commercial spaceport in the world. Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic is the spaceport's anchor tenant and customer. The complex, north of Las Cruces, has been providing commercial vertical launch services since 2006. "The Welcome Center will serve as the departure point for the 200,000 spaceport visitors expected each year," Anderson said. "It is a great location with exposure to passing motorists on the interstate."

The six-acre Welcome Center will be built at an estimated cost of $1,045,440. Construction is scheduled to start in January. New Mexico Spaceport Authority officials also said the large terminal hangar being built for Virgin Galactic spacecraft is almost complete

[desertpunk]

Santa teresa Becomes A Hub. Atracted By Rail, Companies Moving In

SANTA TERESA -- Mary Kay Papen remembers the opportunities the land near Santa Teresa used to provide. "When this was still all desert, I'd ride my horse around," the state senator said. "There was nothing here, nothing."

The land, about 40 miles south of Las Cruces via highway, still provides opportunities, but those have changed. The Santa Teresa area in southern Doña Ana County is now home to three industrial parks that cover about 800 acres and house about 35 to 40 businesses. Papen was on hand last week for the announcement that three more companies were coming to the area.

Lorenzo Fernandez is a native of Southern New Mexico. His company, Ferza Group -- a rail transfer and transportation company -- is headquartered in El Paso and has facilities across the border in Juárez. Now Ferza will build a 14,000-square-foot facility in Santa Teresa and employ 30 people at the location. "It's great to feel the push of new development," Fernandez said.

Jerry Pacheco, vice president of the Border Industrial Association, said the three industrial parks in Santa Teresa are: The Business Center, also known as the Airport Park because it is near the Doña Ana County Airport; the Santa Teresa Intermodal Park near the Business Center and close to rail lines where freight can be transferred from rail to truck; and the Border Industrial Park, about seven miles south of the other two. It is right next to the port of entry at the international border with Mexico. "You can be anywhere you want," Pacheco said of companies looking to locate in the area. "The ones in the intermodal tend to want to be near the rail lines. The ones at the border want to be right next to the border."

Las Cruces is home to the West Mesa Industrial Park. Davin Lopez, president and CEO of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance, said that the needs of a company determine whether it shows interest in Las Cruces or Santa Teresa. "We basically expose all the opportunities to them," Lopez said. "When someone has interaction with the maquila industry (border factories in Mexico), they usually need to be pretty close to the border."

As for the Las Cruces area, Lopez said there is often a different approach. "One thing we're seeing at our West Mesa Industrial Park is that it's fairly close to the border, but not close enough (for some companies)," he said. Lopez said MVEDA is working hard to attract more aerospace-type companies to Las Cruces' industrial park.

Pacheco said the Santa Teresa parks are in danger of potentially outgrowing some of their infrastructure. "After we recruit companies, we need to have infrastructure to keep up," he said

Simply put, the West Mesa Industrial Park needs direct rail to Santa Teresa to plug into the logistics. Runway extensions at Las Cruces and possibly a highway link to the port of entry at Santa Teresa would complete the picture.

[desertpunk]

Work Starts On $25 Million Luxury Apartment Complex

LAS CRUCES — Construction is expected to start right away on a $25 million luxury apartment complex development in the Sonoma Ranch Golf Course community.

CST Land Developers, LLC, announced that it closed the sale on 12.5 acres for the development. Construction will begin immediately, reports CST Land Developers managing partner Tom Delahaye.

The new development, called Sonoma Palms Apartments and located at 4260 Northrise Drive near Sonoma Elementary School, will boast 192 apartments, including 44 one-bedrooms, 140 two-bedroom, and eight three-bedroom residences.

The new apartments will take about a year to build. "We anticipate an excellent demand for these high-quality apartments and have priced them to compete in this resort community. The rates will range from $915 to $1,260 per month," Delahaye said via a release.

Courtney Sullivan said on the Sun-News Facebook page that she was skeptical of the project. "Who can afford to pay that much for somewhere to live?" she asked. Martin Kretzmann countered that the new complex offers choices. "It's luxury apartments; of course, they're going to cost more than your typical apartment," he said. "If you don't agree with the price, you don't have to live there."

[desertpunk]

Dick's Sporting Goods, Fallas, Conn's to bring new life to empty buildings

LAS CRUCES — Once they stood like monoliths from a past age, empty and alone except for the occasional Halloween seasonal store. But after a variety of years with only the occasional ghost or goblin as a tenant, life has been injected back into three of Las Cruces' larger commercial buildings.

• The former Sportsman's Warehouse store that stood empty for several years at 200 N. Telshor Blvd. is now a Dick's Sporting Goods store and a grand opening celebration is planned for this weekend.

• The building at 2532 E. Lohman Ave. — next to Big Lots — has been empty since Toys R Us closed its store in 2006. Now, Fallas Discount Stores plans to open there. The company, the same one that operates Factory 2 U, has been issued a construction permit for a $175,000 commercial alteration.

• The former Beall's building at the Mesilla Valley Mall has been empty for years, but now appears to be on the path to gaining a Conn's electronics and appliances store. Conn's is now listed as the owner of the location by the county assessor's office.

"Our retail market research shows a 3.7 percent drop in vacancy rates to an all-time low vacancy of 4.5 percent," said Randy McMillan with NAI First Valley Commercial Real Estate. "On a year-over-year basis, retail trade is up a respectable 3.5 percent and is 5 percent above the recession-related trough of 2009."

New Mexico State University economist Jim Peach said the situation is a good sign for the local economy. "Since clients for large commercial properties are almost unique, it is hard to tell about momentum, but certainly seeing others lease or buy is much better than having a surplus of inventory," Peach said. "I think it is a sign that the private sector of the local economy is beginning to recover."

Rick Stoes with Stoes Real Estate Advisors said that the situation in Las Cruces has shifted from too many open properties to not enough of them. "There are no more big boxes (still empty)," said Rick Stoes with Stoes Real Estate Advisors. "Something needs to break loose."

Stoes said he believes some land owners need to be more flexible on price to help attract more companies. "It'll take somebody getting a little more aggressive on price on land," he said.

McMillan agrees that space is in short supply, which could lead to more construction.

Retail boxes are back!

[desertpunk]

Financing Stalls NMSU Arts Center Phases II and III

LAS CRUCES - As New Mexico State University prepares to unveil the first phase of the Center for the Arts in December, budgetary issues have temporarily stymied the second and third phase of the center's original plan. "Phase 2 is definitely not ruled out," said Christa Slaton, dean of the NMSU College of Arts and Sciences. Former NMSU President Barbara Couture requested a $500,000 planning grant from the New Mexico High Education Department for the 2013-2014 fiscal year.

The funds for the second phase would encompass an art gallery and an art department building. "The education department will look at whether or not the university can take the existing Williams Hall building (a former gymnasium) to facilitate the accommodations of the art department and a nice artist gallery," Slaton said. "The planning grant would take a look at the best location for this comprehensive art building if Williams Hall cannot be renovated."

The original planning for the three-phase project, envisioned in 1996, was to create an art hub that was visible to the community and handy for the students. Following the downturn of the economy, the university is now "taking things one step at a time" Slaton said. "If phase two happens, it will start in the next few years," Slaton said. "If the grant is given, NMSU will move as quickly as feasible."

The original intent of the third and final phase of the center includes a concert hall equipped to hold more people than Atkinson Hall, which NMSU currently uses for stage performances. "Phase one (at the corner of University Avenue and Espina Street) will be complete in December, so it will be a centennial building. It's going to be quite spectacular," Slaton said. "We are hoping to celebrate phase one; and that the community, students and faculty are enthusiastic."

"Because we're going to be in a new facility, we have opportunities to do shows that we weren't able to do before," said Tom Smith, NMSU department head of theater arts. "It will dramatically increase the number of musicals and the audience will see more spectacle on stage than ever before."

Smith said the first phase of the Center for the Arts project cost $38.5 million, and was funded for by a combination of private donors and bonds that were passed with the help of New Mexico residents. The 49,000-square-foot building contains a 500-seat performing arts theater with full fly loft for teaching stage craft, multi-disciplinary classrooms, rehearsal spaces, offices, galleries, laboratories and support spaces.

Phase 1 is nearing completion:


krwg

[desertpunk]

Metro Verde Developers Seek New Special Tax Zone

Posted: 10/20/2012 02:34:38 PM MDT

LAS CRUCES — It's a completely new option to help developers pay for basic infrastructure in new subdivisions, and Las Cruces could be the first place where an Infrastructure Development Zone (IDZ) could be created.

Because it's never been done before anywhere in the state, the Las Cruces City Council will conduct a special work session 9 a.m. Monday where the proposed IDZ will be the only topic of discussion.

Las Crucens John Moscato, Dean Rigg, and Royal Jones, developers of the Metro Verde subdivision, will present a proposal to the council seeking creation of an IDZ, which would help pay for major roadways that would be built. They have drafted a service plan, which is required by state law as the initial action to establish an IDZ.

"It's difficult to get development loans for this," said Rigg, explaining why they are considering this new financing option, rather than more conventional methods, such as a special assessment district, a tax increment development district, a public improvement district, a gross receipts investment policy, industrial revenue bonds or a local economic development act.

Jones added, "This is very safe for us, the buyer (of bonds), and the city. An additional property tax cost would be associated with this property. The mil levy tax would still be capped."

Moscato said an additional $30 a month would be assessed through an IDZ for a $200,000 home in Metro Verde. "The only ones who would be affected are those that buy properties after the Infrastructure Development Zone is formed," Moscato said. "People will know up front."

The Metro Verde subdivision includes Red Hawk Golf Course, and major roads through there include Sonoma Ranch Boulevard, Engler Road, Peachtree Hills Road, and Arroyo Road. The proposed IDZ would cover approximately 1,800 acres of mixed use development, including single- and multi-family residential, office, commercial and industrial development in the Metro Verde and Metro Verde South development areas.

[...]

[desertpunk]

New medical group offices nearing completion...


http://www.riograndemedical.com/

[desertpunk]

Latest Pegasus "Test City" Plan Gets Aired

Luna County cooperation sought by commissioners
By Todd G. DicksonLas Cruces Bulletin

Because a proposed “technological ghost town” could affect road access leading into Doña Ana County, commissioners agreed to let Luna County officials coordinate their efforts with Doña Ana County officials.

Pegasus Global Holdings is currently proposing to locate its Center for Innovation, Testing & Evaluation (CITE) in Luna County after rejecting a proposalfor Doña Ana County and walking away from its preferred location near Hobbs.

CITE has been described by its planners as a $1 billion mock city to test new technology in realworld settings, especially wireless communications, remotely controlled transportation and new energy technology.

Pegasus is looking for a large area of land – 15 square miles in the Hobbs proposal – but not too close to major populations to build the city that would be uninhabited other than by technicians and workers needed to keep the mock city operational.

Pegasus recently entered into an agreement with Luna County and the state Economic Development Department to work on creating CITE there, again disappointing Doña Ana County officials who would like to acquire the jobs, as well as research support opportunities for White Sands Missile Range and New Mexico State University.

Because the new CITE location – west of the Las Cruces International Airport with a portion crossing Interstate 10 and the railroad tracks – would affect access to a Doña Ana County road, Luna County Manager Kelly Kuenstler said she felt it was important to work with officials in the neighboring county as she attended the commission meeting Tuesday, Jan. 8.

[...]

[desertpunk]

NMSU CEnter For The Arts Opens Soon


artsci.nmsu.edu

"Our Town" to be staged in February at the Medoff Theater.

[desertpunk]

Santa Teresa Rail Yard Update

Santa Teresa rail facility

Tons of dirt were moved, replaced, and leveled in 2011 and 2012 on the 2,200 acres in Santa Teresa, where Union Pacific is putting the largest intermodal rail yard along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Now, phase two of Union Pacific's $400 million rail facility is beginning.

Sundt Construction has a $172 million contract to construct 26 buildings, install underground water, sewer and electric utilities, do concrete paving, build a fuel facility, and connect it to a new fuel line, the Phoenix area company reported in a recent news letter. "It's like constructing a small city," Eric Weston, Sundt project manager, said in the newsletter. When completed in 2015, the Santa Teresa rail facility will be three-quarters the size of one of the world's largest rail centers -- Union Pacific's Bailey Yard in North Platte, Neb. -- Sundt reported.

Zoe Richmond, Union Pacific's public relations director for New Mexico, said about 200 people are working at the site now. That number is likely to grow as Sundt beefs up for the second phase and Ragnar Benson Construction of Chicago winds down its first phase of dirt-moving work, she said. Union Pacific will use its own crews to lay track and do signal work, she said.

Some of Union Pacific's 400 El Paso employees will be moved to Santa Teresa, which is near El Paso's West Side, when the facility opens. The facility is expected to employ about 600 people by 2025. Union Pacific will continue to operate its Downtown El Paso rail yard, Richmond said. But it will close its small intermodal facility in East-Central El Paso, she said. "We needed (to build) Santa Teresa because we are landlocked in El Paso, and we couldn't expand. We needed area to grow to serve customers," Richmond said

[...]

[desertpunk]

Brookfield Asset Management Buys Verde Realty For $886 Million

Verde Realty which owns 20,000 acres in Santa Teresa has been sold to Brookfield Asset Management for $886 million. Brookfield, based in Toronto, has $150 billion in managed assets. Verde Realty's multi-billion dollar plans to develop Santa Teresa as a city of over 100,000 fell apart after a failed bid for a special taxing district (TIDD) in 2007 as well as the global financial crisis. Brookfield brings Wall St. muscle and their extensive experience with major real estate development projects to Santa Teresa. Their first project is the completion of a 112,000 sq ft. corporate center. Future develpments will hinge on both the new Union Pacific intermodal rail facility and the upgraded border crossing connecting Santa Teresa with nearby San Jeronimo Mexico, home to a massive Foxconn semiconductor plant. With this purchase, Wall Street has finally entered the fray in developing the Borderland. Where Brookfield goes, others follow.

[desertpunk]

Las Cruces Bulletin

Urban living, Las Cruces style

Moderate-priced rentals planned

By Alta LeCompte Las Cruces Bulletin

Shovels stand ready to break ground for a new apartment complex in the heart of the city, designed to meet the rental housing needs of working families.

Harlo Dynek of Summit Building & Development said as soon as the city gives fi*nal approval for Phase I of a planned five-phase complex, construction will start at a 9-acre site on Three Crosses Avenue between North Alameda Boulevard and North Main Street. The location is zoned for multi-family resi*dential development, Dynek said.

He said Phase 1 of the community, Wyndchase, will consist of two 20-unit, three*story buildings consisting of two- and three*bedroom units. “The third-floor apartments are for the younger people,” he said, noting that a third story is somewhat unusual in Las Cruces. “I grew up on the third floor in Chicago, we didn’t think anything of it,” he said. “But this is Las Cruces.”

Designed for efficiency

The three-bedroom units are designed to rent for about $800 per month, he said. The goal is “Las Cruces affordability.”

Most apartments being built in the city are more expensive units in the Telshor Boulevard-Roadrunner Parkway area, he said. “There is a shortage of apartments in our target price range,” he said. “We are trying to fill a niche.”

If he’s right in judging the local market, Wyndchase will be built out in phases with a total of 200 units valued at a little more than $14 million.

[...]

This was a very large parcel that has sat empty for decades. My first inclination was for a large retail development but the city has identified these infill areas for denser housing. Another large parcel exists near Main St. and Madrid. That one seemed better suited for apartments. IMHO

[desertpunk]

NMSU Arts Center Phase I Opens This Friday

image hosted on flickr

01-28 by jediuno, on Flickr

[desertpunk]

Old Hospital May Become Community Health Care Center

2-18-2013

LAS CRUCES — It hasn't been utilized for its primary intended use for about 42 years, but the former Memorial General Hospital, 575 S. Alameda Boulevard, could once again become a community health care center.

The Las Cruces City Council will consider approval of a resolution at Tuesday's 3 p.m. meeting, at City Hall, 700 N. Main St., that could allow the building to return to public use. Representatives of La Clinica de Familia will be at the meeting to make a full presentation to the council about the proposal.

But several lifelong and longtime Las Cruces residents said they would welcome the building's return to use as a medical care facility.

"That's pretty good," said Grace Pacheco, 81, a lifelong Las Crucen. "My three children were all born there, it was a very important place for Las Cruces in those days. There were a few small private hospitals in those days, but nothing like Memorial General. It was pretty much all we had."

---

As many as 10 doctors could use the 50,000 square-foot building. Services that might be provided at the old hospital could include medical examination rooms, facilities for dental surgeries, counseling offices and conference rooms for group medical visits, and rooms for patient education and group counseling.

----

Several years ago, the council endorsed a proposal to raze the building and convert it into an affordable housing complex. However, there was widespread public criticism about the proposal and developers of the proposed project weren't able to secure state funding to pay for the project.

City officials also received a proposal to use a portion of the building as a charter school. But that only got a lukewarm response from the city and it never got beyond the discussion stage.


[...]

[plebius]

Originally Posted by desertpunk

Las Cruces Bulletin



This was a very large parcel that has sat empty for decades. My first inclination was for a large retail development but the city has identified these infill areas for denser housing. Another large parcel exists near Main St. and Madrid. That one seemed better suited for apartments. IMHO

In the past I've seen what looked like pollution cleanup on that parcel. It may not be decontaminated yet. Here's a listing for it http://www.loopnet.com/Attachments/B...9444945D52.pdf

There are plans for a mixed-use commercial development at Main & Solano where the Las Cruces Country Club used to be.

[desertpunk]

Originally Posted by plebius

In the past I've seen what looked like pollution cleanup on that parcel. It may not be decontaminated yet. Here's a listing for it http://www.loopnet.com/Attachments/B...9444945D52.pdf

There are plans for a mixed-use commercial development at Main & Solano where the Las Cruces Country Club used to be.

Welcome to the forum!

I can't recall there being a dump but maybe there was a leaky fuel tank buried nearby at one time. The Las Cruces C.C. property can support a TON of mixed use development but the neighbors will howl if there isn't some kind of buffer in those plans. Hard to believe Mayor Miyagishima offered only $1 million for it. What a schmuck!

[plebius]

Yes, a leaky tank of some sort is what I meant.

And it sure would have been nice to have a giant park at the country club.

[desertpunk]

Originally Posted by plebius

Yes, a leaky tank of some sort is what I meant.

And it sure would have been nice to have a giant park at the country club.

A tough mayor could squeeze a developer for an addition to Apodaca Park out of that giant mixed-use space. Maybe Mayor Ken was plotting to do so all along (he certainly wasn't serious about acquiring the whole tract).


http://1stvalley.com/author/admin/

[desertpunk]

New Mexico now has two million-plus CSAs, according to the Census Bureau:

EI Paso-Las Cruces, TX-NM Combined Statistical Area: 1,045,180
EI Paso, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area
Las Cruces, NM Metropolitan Statistical Area


Albuquerque-Santa Fe-Las Vegas, NM Combined Statistical Area: 1,161,777
Albuquerque, NM Metropolitan Statistical Area
Espanola, NM Micropolitan Statistical Area
Grants, NM Micropolitan Statistical Area
Las Vegas, NM Micropolitan Statistical Area
Los Alamos, NM Micropolitan Statistical Area
Santa Fe, NM Metropolitan Statistical Area


http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/defa...013/b13-01.pdf

[desertpunk]

Rangeland plans crude oil terminal in New Mexico

Rangeland Energy announced Monday it has agreed to purchase up to 770 acres in Southeast New Mexico for a large terminal facility to handle crude oil, sand, pipe and other products.

Rangeland Energy is based in Sugar Land and has focused on midstream infrastructure since it formed in 2009.

The New Mexico terminal will be near Loving and will serve producers and buyers in the Delaware Basin, according to the company.

Rangeland developed a similar system in North Dakota’s Bakken Shale, which it sold to Inergy Midstream for $425 million in December.

Soon after, Rangeland CEO Christopher Keene announced that the company had secured a $200 million financing commitment from EnCap Flatrock Midstream, a San Antonio-based private equity firm, and would focus on similar projects in emerging shale plays elsewhere in the country.

In a release announcing the land purchase, the company said it expects to invest more than $150 million in the New Mexico terminal and supporting infrastructure.