By Kevin Hendricks
A new affordable housing development broke ground in Rio Rancho Feb. 5.
Representatives for Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office, the New Mexico Congressional Delegation and Sandoval County joined Housing New Mexico and housing developer Dominium reps in northeast Rio Rancho to celebrate the groundbreaking of Sandoval Flats, a $100 million project that will offer 216 new affordable apartment units once construction is completed in 2027.
Developed by Dominium Senior Vice President Ron Mehl, the project took nearly four years to materialize and involved extensive collaboration with city and county officials, architects and financial partners.
“Creating affordable housing is hard. I first learned about this site in mid-2021, so three and a half years ago, roughly. It’s taken that long to get to this point,” Mehl said. “It’s just a difficult thing, and it takes a team of persistent individuals and teams to make something like this a reality today.”
Sandoval Flats will be located at the northeast corner of Camino Encantadas and Oersted Road and serve households with incomes up to 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). For example, in Rio Rancho/Sandoval County:
- For a two-person household, 60% of the AMI is $41,520.
- For a three-person household, 60% of the AMI is $46,680.
- For a four-person household, 60% of the AMI is $51,840.
The development will offer one-bedroom, two-bedroom, three-bedroom and four-bedroom apartments and will feature a clubhouse and fitness center, pool and spa, cabanas, barbeque, dog park and other open space areas.
“Beyond these features, what truly makes this project special is its location within the Rio Rancho community,” Mehl said. “Future residents will have access to excellent schools, job opportunities, retail centers and nearby grocery stores, banks and restaurants a few minutes away. So today’s groundbreaking just marks the beginning of what will soon be a thriving, family-friendly community.”
Housing New Mexico is celebrating its 50th year of existence, during which time it has helped over 500,000 families in the state.
Dominium has also been serving the affordable housing industry for 50 years, and this will be its first development in New Mexico.
“The groundbreaking of Sandoval Flats marks a significant milestone for Dominium as we expand into New Mexico with our first new construction effort in the state,” said Dominium Development Analyst Abby Perez. “This development reflects our ongoing commitment to building enduring value, and we are proud to bring 216 high-quality, affordable homes to the Rio Rancho and Albuquerque metro communities. We are grateful for the support of our dedicated stakeholders and development partners, including Housing New Mexico (MFA), without whom this project would not be possible.”
Mehl said key contributors to the project include the City of Rio Rancho, Sandoval County and Housing New Mexico. The project highlights the importance of public-private partnerships in addressing affordable housing needs, with support from federal and state legislators emphasizing the critical role of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits.
“On behalf of the governor, I just want to congratulate everyone on the work that went together on this project,” Daniel Werwath, the governor’s housing policy adviser, said. “I think this is exactly the type of thing that the governor wants to see, which is a lot of new housing, and especially housing that’s targeting working with the applicants that currently can’t afford housing.”
Construction is expected to begin this month, and the anticipated completion date is Feb. 2027.
More Low income housing, well at least it will be a short walk to District Court.
Because I am a single Mom with four children you think I qualify as a criminal headed to District Court? Maybe you know their deadbeat father, a friend of yours?
Only $463k per unit LOL