Rio Rancho City Council approves site plan for new hotel

RIO RANCHO — A Gallup city councilman plans to extend his development ventures in the Albuquerque area by building a new hotel in the northwestern portion of Rio Rancho near New Mexico Highway 528.

Yogash Kumar, who represents District 3 in Gallup, went before the Rio Rancho Governing Body on April 10 and received site plan approval for the hotel, to be located at 360 Ridgeway Drive SE.

“I think a new product in Rio Rancho will do some wonders,” Kumar told councilors before the council voted 5-1 in favor of the project, with Councilman Bob Tyler as the only “no” vote.

The hotel, under the chain stayAPT Suites, is envisioned to be three stories and 88 rooms, according to documents found on the city’s website. The structure would be located near a Quality Inn, a Days Inn and Rio Rancho Market Place.

Kumar told the council that the hotel would operate at a lower cost and not be full-service. It would be considered an extended-stay hotel, ideal for traveling nurses or first responders who need a form of short-term housing.

“Something that is fully furnished and more comfortable than a hotel,” Kumar said.

He said 24/7 staff would be one of the ways his property would control tenants when asked about it by Councilman Jeremy Lenentine.

“I would say it’s cut down on crime where we had locations in midtown,” Kumar said. “Even at the airport, where we’ve had theft of vehicles.”

He noted the hotel in Rio Rancho would add to three other hotels near Albuquerque Sunport, Hobbs and his home in Gallup.

Councilwoman Karissa Culbreath thanked Kumar for offering a new hotel, adding, “We look forward to seeing more.”

But Tyler said he did not think the hotel was “the right product for the right location” in the city. He conceded, however, that a hotel would be “good” for Rio Rancho.