Building Businesses In Valencia County

RIO COMMUNITIES — “Rooftops bring retail.”

That has been Ralph Mims’ message for years, and it still holds true.

Mims, the owner of Palmetto, LLC, has been on contract with the city of Rio Communities as its economic developer for the past 2 1/2 years, and was with the village of Los Lunas for 12 years.

He said while it’s taken a little while — which is not uncommon — the word is out about Rio Communities and economic development is beginning to take shape.

“With the high cost of land in Albuquerque and in Los Lunas, people are looking south to Rio Communities,” Mims said. “We’re seeing a lot of interest from (housing) developers, which, in turn, will bring more business.”

Rio Communities City Manager Martin Moore said he’s excited to announce a ground-breaking ceremony will be held in the next couple of weeks for a new housing development — Jubilee II.

Nick Blea, owner of Jubilee Los Lunas, will be building about 27 homes south of the Tierra del Sol Golf Club, and may develop another 90 lots located east of the golf course.

“Finally,” Moore said of the housing and business growth of Rio Communities. “We’re seeing more and more builders coming in with applications. The golf course is a great asset to the city and a great attraction.”

Both Moore and Mims are also excited of two new businesses that are coming to Rio Communities, including a Maverik gas station and convenience store on the corner of N.M. 47 and Manzano Expressway, where an old car dealership used to be.

For years, the property has been abandoned and the structure has been vandalized, burned and been a place for vagrants. Moore said he hopes construction will begin before the end of this year, and will most likely take about nine months to complete.

“We’ve been in quiet discussions with them for a while,” Moore said of the gas station. “They’re looking at also adding three EV charging stations for the public. That will be a great amenity for our residents.”

Mims said once Maverik is built and operational, other retailers can develop on the other two to three acres to the south of the property.

“This is a blighted property, and to have it cleaned up and developed will attract other businesses,” Mims said.

Moore said Maverik has already completed a traffic analysis of the property with NMDOT.

Another new business owner is already cleaning up his newly-acquired property and getting it ready for a state-of-the-art RV park. Billy Baca, who owns the RV park east of the River Park in Los Lunas, is renovating and revamping the old Rainbow Carwash property on Manzano Expressway, just behind where Maverik will soon be built.

“He’s wanting to open soon — maybe during the Balloon Fiesta on a limited basis,” Mims said. “It’s going to be nice and safe, and he’s even planning on having a night watchman.”

Moore said having developers clean up these two properties is very exciting, and explained as more people invest in Rio Communities, the city will be able to provide more services with additional gross receipts taxes.

In the meantime, Moore said, he, Mayor Joshua Ramsell and city councilors are committed to infrastructure projects that will not only be beneficial to the residents of Rio Communities, but will attract economic development.

“Everything is visual nowadays,” Moore said. “So we need to get these blighted properties cleaned up, we need to make sure the city looks nice for our residents and business community.”

The city manager just announced the city received a $4.3 million road reconstruction grant for Don Diego from the New Mexico Department of Transportation. The city is also working on other streets, including Goodman, Horner, Hillindale, Damon and others.

Along with road projects, the city has been increasing the number of employees in its public safety departments, which Moore said is a byproduct of forming a healthy city.

Mims said while he can do all he can to try and attract new businesses and housing developments to the city, Moore explained that isn’t the main focus of the city.

“I’m very happy we’re making progress, and I think in five or so years, we’ll have more brick and mortar businesses coming to Rio Communities,” Moore said. “But in the meantime, we’ll keep doing what we need to do in providing services and improving our infrastructure.”

One infrastructure project Moore is planning on is a possible bypass road from the southern end of the city at Navajo Loop to N.M. 47 and N.M. 304. He said this would be a bypass for larger trucks that would help serve businesses in the industrial park, located south of the city.

While Mims can market and meet with potential business investors, he said its crucial that the city is active and participants of AREA, Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance and the state’s economic development department as well as the New Mexico Partnership.

Mims said these three organizations, as well as local chambers of commerce, are committed to economic development and working to bring businesses to the county, region and state.

“We are able to connect with a lot of businesses and developers through these organizations,” Mims said. “They are able to connect them with local property owners and municipalities.”

While Mims and Moore are excited for the future of Rio Communities, they are also grateful for those who have already invested in the community.

They praised business owners Eric Hoskinson, proprietor of Longbow Diner, and Benny Hodges, owner of Pee-Wee’s Pit Stop.

“They have this community-minded spirit, and we need to turn their spark into a blaze,” Moore said. “We hope to build on what they’ve done, and have a good, positive tone going forward. I’m very happy we’re making progress.”

Another local business owner, Sheri Devlin Ulibarri, just opened her new business, H&I Insurance. She will have a grand-opening celebration on Tuesday, Sept. 24, at her new location at 303 Rio Communities Blvd.

Ulibarri is an independent insurance broker, who specializes in Medicare. She meets with clients and will do a full assessment of their needs.

“Then, from there, I shop the market according to their unique needs and financial status,” Ulibarri said. “People think it costs money to work with a broker to help them navigate the monstrosities of Medicare but the great news is a Medicare Assessment does not cost anything.”

She also offers other services such as life insurance and retirement planning.

“The thing with economic development is everyone wants it right now, but it takes time,” Mims said. “We’re creating that momentum for the future of Rio Communities.”