| Sunday, July 31, 2005 |
'World-class community'
Plan calls for distinctive neighborhoods,
features
Vic Kolenc
El Paso Times
El Paso-based Verde Realty
plans to start work next year on the beginnings of what is to eventually
become a city-size development in Santa Teresa.
It plans to initially develop a 1,000-acre housing subdivision with
about 3,700 housing units, including some apartments, during the next
eight to 10 years, according to the first details about the development
released by the company.
Home prices in the project's 364-home first phase are expected to range
from $75,000 to $150,000, and construction is scheduled to start early
in 2006, the company reported.
Verde controls 21,000 acres in Santa Teresa, most of the developable
land in the Southern New Mexico community. The company also has plans to
develop land on the other side of the border in San Jeronimo, Mexico.
Ron Blankenship, co-chairman of Verde Realty, said in a written
statement that Verde has "an extraordinary opportunity to create a
world-class community that will attract clean industry and jobs" to the
region.
The company recently submitted its 21,000-acre master plan -- which
includes housing, retail and industrial development -- and its
development plan for the 1,000-acre Village One housing subdivision to
Doņa Ana County and the city of Sunland Park. A detailed subdivision
plan was to follow, said Jaime Aguilera, director of community
development for Sunland Park. The county and Sunland Park will have to
give approval to the plans, he said.
The development will feature miles of hike-and-bike trails, parks,
retail outlets centered on landscaped plazas instead of strip shopping
centers, and varying housing types with garages at the rear of lots
instead of at the front, according to Verde officials.
The plan is to create "distinctive neighborhoods, not the typical
subdivision with streetscapes of garages," according to a Verde news
release.
Doņa Ana County Commission Chairman William "Bill" McCamley, said he
likes Verde's plans to make a "very social, walking-oriented situation.
If you need to go to the store, you can walk, or the kids can ride bikes
to school. We live in a society with gated communities. To see a
developer go against that current makes me very happy."
Sunland Park Mayor Jesus "Ruben" Segura said he likes Verde's plans to
integrate open space, schools, plazas and homes, which, he said, "took
into account the family and (this area's) cultural heritage." The
development will use Mexican and New Mexican architecture and include
affordable houses, he said.
"Anything that adds to the overall growth and development of this area
is viewed as a positive" for Sunland Park, he said.
Ray Adauto, executive vice president of the El Paso Association of
Builders, which represents new-home builders, said the Verde development
is "part of the future. The wave of the future in this area is more
master planning" for housing developments.
El Paso home builders will build in Santa Teresa, especially if land is
not available in El Paso, Adauto said.
"If less land is available here, it will speed development there,"
Adauto said. The Verde development "alleviates some pressure for land in
El Paso. The bad news for the city is it's outside city limits." Even
so, "it's still in our community," which makes Verde's plans exciting
for this area, he added.
Jack Winton, chairman of Winton and Associates, which builds upscale
homes in El Paso and Southern New Mexico, said, "When (Verde's) lots are
available, we'll have interest in buying them." The market's so hot now
that there's "not enough lots in El Paso to take care of" demand, he
said.
Winton has built homes in other Santa Teresa developments. New Mexico's
lower property taxes are attractive to many El Paso home buyers, he
said.
Verde is "spending a lot of time in master planning. ... I know Verde
will do it right and do it well. (William) Sanders does things right,"
Winton said.
Sanders, an El Paso High School graduate, founded Verde Realty in late
2003 with Blankenship and is co-chairman of Verde. Previously, he built
two large real-estate-related companies. The last one, Security Capital,
was sold to General Electric in 2002 for about $4 billion. Blankenship
also helped operate that company.
Besides Santa Teresa and San Jeronimo, Verde is developing real estate
projects near Laredo, McAllen and San Antonio, according to company
information. The company has invested over $250 million in three
business platforms: Verde Corporate Realty Services, Master Planned
Communities and Verde Commercial Development, the company reported.
Besides developing residential neighborhoods, Verde is developing
industrial parks in Santa Teresa. It has a 112,000-square-foot building
under construction in its Bi-National Industrial Park, a stone's throw
away from the Santa Teresa border crossing. It previously announced a
plan to add 3.3 million square feet of building space to its Logistics
Park, where a Union Pacific rail line runs. Verde owns two of Santa
Teresa's three industrial parks, which began development under a
different company.
Stanco Metal Products Inc., a metal fabricator based in Grand Haven,
Mich., in May committed to opening a plant in Verde's Bi-National park.
The company, which expects to employ 50 to 70 people at the plant by the
end of the year, selected Santa Teresa because it's close to Juárez.
Stanco will supply the new Electrolux refrigerator plant there, said
Jerry Slagel, Stanco vice president. But Verde's housing development
plans also made the area attractive, he said.
It's appealing to have an area where employees could live near the
plant, Slagel said. Stanco expects to open its plant by late September
or early October, he said.
Verde's development is expected to create 14,000 to 18,000 jobs for the
area by 2025, according to a study done for Verde. In addition, 1,300 to
1,700 construction jobs would be created annually, the company reported.
Vic Kolenc may be reached at
vkolenc@elpasotimes.com, 546-6421. The Las Cruces Sun-News
contributed to this story. |
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Rudy Gutierrez / El Paso Times
Workers laid down the foundation for a new corporate
facility Thursday at Verde Realty's Santa Teresa Bi-National Park
adjacent to the international border crossing. Last week the
company announced its plans for a 1,000-acre housing subdivision
with about 3,700 housing units. Construction is scheduled to start
in early 2006.
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Master plan
Verde Realty, a real estate development, operating and investment
company based in El Paso, has submitted its master plan for a
21,000-acre development in Santa Teresa to government agencies.
It's one of several projects Verde is developing along the
U.S.-Mexico border.
Verde will first develop a 1,000-acre housing subdivision in Santa
Teresa over eight to 10 years. Homes in the first phase of the
subdivision will range in price from $75,000 to $150,000.
The company has invested more than $250 million in its three
business platforms: corporate and industrial development, master-planned
communities, and retail and apartment development.
Sources: Verde Realty, Las Cruces Sun-News.
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