‘The star of New Mexico:’ Event celebrates growth of City of Vision

RIO RANCHO — It was a combination of a celebration of 2023 accomplishments and looking to what’s ahead in 2024 during Rio Rancho Day last week.

Hosted by the Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce, speakers touted the city’s population growth, its public safety record, business opportunities and more as attendees enjoyed drinks and hors d’oeuvres from various local businesses.

“This was a community effort,” said Mayor Gregg Hull. “We all pitched in. We all put our blood, sweat and tears into what we’re seeing today, from the chamber to (Rio Rancho Public Schools Superintendent) Sue Cleveland,– to all of our representatives, all of our senators, everybody that had a vision for what we could do and make it uniquely different from the rest of the state, and I think we’ve been very successful in doing that on a lot of different levels.”

“Today, we want to talk about Rio Rancho and the direction it’s going in,” said Jerry Schalow, RRRCC president and CEO. “We are the most dynamic city out there with the star of New Mexico.”

He noted the city’s rapid pace of growth, including that the average household income has grown $10,000 since the 2020 census and that it’s “the fastest-growing housing market in New Mexico.”

Schalow also speculated that Rio Rancho could now be the second-largest city in the state. “If you look at certain websites, they’ll tell you that we’ve passed Las Cruces; we’re putting out a lot more houses than they are,” he said.

State Sen. Craig Brandt concurred with that observation. “I’m pretty sure we’ve exceeded Las Cruces on population; they just don’t want to give up the title of being the second-largest city.” However, he said, “They can keep their crime and their problems down there as well. I go down there enough to know that we don’t want their problems here, and so we’ve got to keep the kind of leadership that we have in Rio Rancho going forward so that we will continue to grow so we all continue to thrive.”

State Rep. Joshua Hernandez spoke only briefly, noting that all of his capital outlay money went to public safety.

Public safety

Rio Rancho’s public safety record was a big talking point for the evening’s speakers.

“(This is) the safest city in the Southwest, period, exclamation point,” Schalow said. “So any city over 100,000 people that you pick in the Southwest, … you’re now in the safest city in the Southwest next to a city that is experiencing quite a challenge right now.”

“For a city of a population of over 100,000, we are the number-one safest city in the state, and that actually applies to even populations down to 50,000,” Hull said. “We continue to be ranked in the top two or three in the state for all cities, and so we’re going to continue to work hard to maintain that public safety standard.

“In most cases, we’re about 28% below the national average on crime,” he added.

Brandt doubled down on the public safety comparison between Rio Rancho and Albuquerque: “They keep talking about about a wall at the southern border. I think we have to build a wall between Rio Rancho and Albuquerque,” he quipped to a round of applause. “Keep the crime down the hill; leave us safe up here. … We don’t need Albuquerque up here, or at least not the criminals — stay down there.

“As Albuquerque just continues to get worse and worse — and I think that’s because of the leadership in Albuquerque — we have great leadership here in Rio Rancho.”

As he turned more serious, Brandt had praise for the Rio Rancho Police Department. “We honestly have just a really great police force here that keeps us protected and makes sure that our streets are actually patrolled,” he said. “You call the Rio Rancho police, it’s not three years before they show up. It’s more like three minutes — if they’re slow. I mean, if it takes them a while, it’s three minutes; it’s more like a minute. You don’t get that down the hill; you don’t get that in any other community in New Mexico.”

Quality of life

Hull pointed out projects that came online over the past year as well as highlighted some of the plans for the future.

“2023 was an amazing year for a lot of things going on in Rio Rancho,” Hull said.

One of the biggest projects for 2023 was the opening of The Hub @ Enchanted Hills, including the new library in the center and its pickleball courts.

“The new rave is the indoor pickleball that we’ve got going on in there as well,” he said. “I hope we’re going to get more indoor pickleball because that seems to be what everybody wants to be doing.”

He also touched on the development of the Broadmoor Senior Center and Campus Park in recent years.

But he also looked ahead to what’s on the horizon for the City of Vision.

“We’ve got a lot of great things about to happen in Rio Rancho,” Hull said. “We’re going to be expanding Campus Park … We’re going to be expanding the park this year to fill out the entire 10 acres of that entire area there between City Hall, HP and the (Rio Rancho) Events Center.

“We’re going to be expanding the Broadmoor Senior Center,” he continued. “A year and ahalf ago when we opened the Broadmoor Senior Center, there had not been an expansion of senior services in Rio Rancho for almost 30, for over 30 years, so the Broadmoor Senior Center was in high demand, and we’ve got that done and we’re going to be expanding that because we’ve basically outgrown it.”

Hull also noted the advanced planning of the City Center renovation the city has done with the Urban Land Institute, which includes renderings depicting a business district, multifamily dwellings, flex labs, recreational opportunities and more.

“It really just kind of turns this into a really cool, main thoroughfare that runs down into City Center,” he said. “We’re trying to use these drawings to attract investors into that area so that we can start growing City Center.”

Business

As Rio Rancho Day was a chamber event, there was no getting away from talk about business.

Hull mentioned the recent $3.5 billion investment in the Rio Rancho Intel facility that brought in 700 jobs as well as the recent opening of the FAB 9 facility. “It’s great that Intel is committed to New Mexico; they are committed to Rio Rancho, and so we’re excited that they’re continuing to their investment here,” Hull said.

He also talked about business growth at the Enchanted Hills plaza near Rust Medical Center. He noted that when he took office 10 years ago that the shopping center area was a vacant field.

“Over the last 10 years, there’s been over $100 million invested in that site with the Plaza @ Enchanted Hills: PetSmart, Ross, Turtle Mountain,” he said. A Sprouts is also set to open in the plaza in the near future.

“The dirt for Market Street (by Rust), the dirt’s moving over at The Village, so that should be opening up late this year or early next year,” he said.

“This shows you that the city of Rio Rancho is open for investments,” Hull said.

The mayor also touched on Comcast entering the Rio Rancho market. It has been installing fiber in the city, and, he said, “Once this gets in, the citizens of Rio Rancho will have more internet options than any other city in the state.”

Schalow also jumped in on the business development in Rio Rancho: “This chamber, Rio Rancho Regional Chamber, does more ribbon cuttings than any other in the state,” he said, noting that Hull and a county commissioner are at every one. “All these businesses have seen their support.”

Education

Many of the speakers took time to note that Rio Rancho Public Schools is a top-rated district in the state.

Additionally, Schalow noted the CTE facility that’s coming on board in the near future for RRPS, while Hull touched on moving the UNM campus here to a human health sciences campus.

“Our kids can get degrees in the medical field right here in Rio Rancho, which is very important,” he said.

Brandt said that some of his capitaly outlay funding went to purchase a new pilot math program for the district in an effort to help boost the slipping scores in that area.

They also noted Cleveland’s role as being the sole superintendent for the district since its opening 30 years ago.

“One of the biggest things that worries me about our school district is the day that she retires because she has been a steadfast leader in that district and demands quality,” Hull said. “It’s turned out some of the most educated kids you will ever find.”

Legislative notes

• Brandt additionally spoke on funding a Sandoval County animal shelter, crime bills, and the importance of the legislature finding middle ground and balance. He spoke on changing RICO laws in the state to tackle organized crime as well as reinstalling qualified immunity for law enforcement.

• State Rep. Kathleen Cates spoke for a few minutes to speak on her work in the legislature, including requiring notifications to homeowners on mechanic’s liens and investments in water and housing. She also mentioned work with Hernandez on creating “investments in housing where the state can pay for infrastructure so that when developers are attracted to build houses, they don’t have to invest in the infrastructure before they build the house so we can offer it to the public for a more affordable price,” she said.