Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Subdivisions approved

Argen Duncan El Defensor Chieftain Reporter

ADUNCAN Socorro is getting two new subdivisions.

Hacienda Reales Subdivision received final approval from the City Council on March 17, and Vecino Village got preliminary approval the same night.

Hacienda Reales partner Becky Willis, who owns the subdivision with her brother David Moore, said the development was done in three phases, the last of which was approved Monday. The last unit is designed for residential use.

Loma Encantada borders the area on the south, with Coulson Street on the south. The eastern and western boundaries are El Camino Real and Lopezville Road, respectively.

"All the utilities are in," Willis said.

Services include Comcast cable and phone lines. The subdivision has paved roads and street signs.

"All those things have to be in place before the city will approve it," Willis said.

Although the first two units of the subdivision have no covenants, David Moore and Willis established some for the third phase before they began development.

"So Unit 3 is covered by substantial covenants," Willis said.

The rules are fairly standard, she said, including such things as house sizes and height, and the number of cars garages should hold. No mobile homes are allowed in Unit 3, but the other two units accept modular homes on foundations and covered with stucco.

In the third unit, 42 lots of varying sizes and prices are for sale. Unit 2 still has 14 lots of different sizes available.

Willis said she has no plans to do more developing at this time.

Hacienda Reales began in 1978 as the project of long-time developer Ernest Moore, Willis' father. Willis said Jon Mortenson of Socorro Engineering worked on the subdivision from the beginning, and the city council was always helpful.

"And it just really made our father's vision a success," she said.

Ernest Moore sold the lots himself until his death in 2005. The next year, his children contracted with Coldwell Banker Legacy for the work.

As for Vecino Village, developers received preliminary approval around 18 months ago, but didn't build before the year deadline, when the approval became void due to lack of work, said City of Socorro Code Enforcement Officer Mike Czosnek.

"The project basically dropped off the face of the earth as far as we were concerned," he said.

However, in recent months, a group of mostly different developers has gotten the project going again.

Vecino Village is located on the east side of Lopezville Road about 1/2 mile from Tech, said Christopher Whittaker of New Mexico Group of Developers LLC during an interview earlier this year, before receiving preliminary approval again. Last week, he said nothing had changed except the financing structure.

Whittaker and his partners originally intended to make pre-sales on lots before putting in infrastructure, a common desire for developers. However, they re-structured their financing after learning pre-sales were illegal.

The subdivision is to have 43 lots for adjoining townhouses of four different floor plans, Whittaker said. It is located in the county, but developers are working under city ordinances.

Available pre-planned units range in size from 1,109 square feet to 1,531 square feet, and have two to four bedrooms and two bathrooms, according to designs. All have Southwestern-style exteriors and enclosed courtyards.

According to information from Whittaker, the gated neighborhood is to have a homeowners association with a $20 fee of cover streets, sidewalks, gates and maintenance. A community clubhouse, a 6.19-acre walking track and a park and community area are included in plans for amenities.

Whittaker said he and his partner Farhad Waveri plan to each put $15,000 toward a pool for the homeowners association.

The development will be a $10 million project for Socorro, Whittaker said. Raymond Dennis of Dennis Engineering doing the engineering for the utilities, roads and lot layouts.

aduncan@dchieftain.com

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