Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Sun-News

LAS CRUCES – A residential and commercial development project expected to cost more than $350 million is scheduled to break ground next month in Sunland Park. Hanson Asset Management, LP has scheduled the ground breaking for July 8 on its new Santa Teresa/Sunland Park Real Estate Development Project. The construction is eventually expected to include 1,400 homes, 1,200 apartments as well as commercial and industrial projects.

“We will deliver competitively priced, entry-level buildable lots,” said Russell Hanson, principle manager with the company. “The low New Mexico real estate taxes will be an attraction to our target market in the region.”

Hanson Asset Management and El Paso-based Desert View Homes purchased 458 acres from Verde Realty, which includes the four corners of McNutt Road and Pete Domenici Highway in what was previously referred to as Project Checkpoint.

Phase one of the project, referred to as Villa Valencia Unit 1, is a 117-single-family lot subdivision developed by HAM in conjunction with Winton and Desert View Homes. The development of another 100 lots will begin in eight months, when the second phase of the project is undertaken. When completed, the 330-acre residential portion of the project will consist of more than 1,400 homes averaging in price $150,000 and above.

The remaining 120 acres of the project were purchased by Santa Teresa Properties, LLC also managed by HAM, to develop commercial and industrial projects, and more than 1,200 apartments. The company already has sold a portion of these properties to investors that are developing a medical clinic. A regional nursing school also has contracted to build a 30,000-square-foot instructional facility in the near future.

“Projects such as the Union Pacific Santa Teresa facility, the expansion of the Santa Teresa Port of Entry, and the development of the Sunland Park International Border Crossing are making this region one of the most dynamic on the entire U.S.-Mexico border,” said Jon Barela, New Mexico Economic Development Secretary designee. “The development of affordable, entry-level housing and retail services is critical for the hundreds of jobs that will be created due to these projects.”

The July 8 groundbreaking will take place at 9 a.m. on Comerciantes Blvd. in Sunland Park. The event is open to the public, but participants must RSVP their attendance to adriana@nmiba.com.