Pulte’s Mariposa plan
Builder acquires 32 acres in RR for 135-home neighborhood
PulteGroup’s New Mexico division has acquired nearly 32 acres in the Mariposa Master Planned Community in Rio Rancho where it plans to build 135 single-family homes.
A PulteGroup official said the company already has started construction on the Redondo at Mariposa development, which is near Mariposa Parkway and Redondo Sierra Vista. The neighborhood will feature single- and two-story homes, ranging between 1,700 and 3,000 square feet. Prices will range from the mid-$200,000s to the mid-$300,000s, said Dave Newell, director of land acquisition for PulteGroup in New Mexico.
Pulte will begin to pre-sell lots in late 2018, with new homes ready for occupancy by early 2019.
The land seller was Mariposa East, a real-estate investment and development firm. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
In a phone interview with the Journal, Tim Brislin, vice president for Mariposa East, an affiliate of Harvard Investments, said PulteGroup joins several other production homebuilders “actively building on a variety of lot sizes and product types” within the community. They include Twilight Homes, Abrazo Homes, RayLee Homes and DR Horton.
“Our plan is to be a lot supplier for PulteGroup for many years to come,” said Brislin. “I believe they want to do more than one community” in Mariposa.
In March, Albuquerque-based Price Land & Development Co. said it also planned to build 41 single-family homes in Mariposa. The 10-acre parcel will comprise the Jemez Vista Neighborhood, according to a Price Land & Development official.
Newell said the new community is in close proximity to the Mariposa community center, park, restaurant and pools.
“It’s a prized parcel,” said Newell. “It’s a very good location, for sure.”
Every home will be built with smart home technology and energy efficiencies, Newell said. The gated neighborhood will be completed in two phases.
“With its close proximity to amenities and employment corridors (in Albuquerque and Santa Fe) and Rio Rancho schools, we expect interest to be strong with growing
families as well as empty nesters looking for a lock-and-leave home,” said Newell.
Mariposa East, the core development area of the formerly extensive Mariposa community in Rio Rancho, appears to have emerged from a troubled past with its acquisition nearly four years ago by Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Harvard Investments.
When the housing bubble burst and lot sales dried up, Mariposa became a money loser for its former owner High Desert Investment, the for-profit arm of Albuquerque Academy, a nonprofit private school that used a strategy of real estate development to build its endowment. The most-active portion of the community was repossessed by lenders, and Harvard Investments took ownership of 1,400-plus acres for an undisclosed price in 2014.
“The rebound was a long time coming, but I think we’re on our way with (former and new) homebuilders getting sales going again, especially during the past three years,” Brislin said.
In total, Mariposa comprises 6,500 acres, including a large portion that will never be developed. Known as the Mariposa Preserve, it is owned by The Albuquerque Academy and consists of 2,200 acres of dedicated open space.