Developer: Plans to revitalize failed RR golf club still a go
First up, clean the site, then prepare and submit plan next month for the entire 260 acres
RIO RANCHO — The owner of the now-defunct Club Rio Rancho still plans to revitalize the golf course property despite a devastating fire that has destroyed the clubhouse.
Developer Josh Skarsgard, owner of Land Development LLC, which owns the property, told the Observer he’s not giving up on it.
It was nearly 8 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, said Rio Rancho Fire Rescue spokeswoman Lt. Jessica Duron-Martinez, when calls started coming in about flames near Country Club Road. She said as soon as crews located the fire and began setting up hoses, the clubhouse collapsed.
“We had to go defensive and deploy ladder trucks to fight the fire from the exterior, and were not able to go inside the structure for firefighter safety,” Duron-Martinez said from the scene early Saturday morning.
In light of this situation, Skarsgard sent the Observer an email with the following statement: “We are hopeful and prayerful that nobody was injured in the blaze. We are very appreciative of the bravery and skill demonstrated by the Rio Rancho fire department in putting out the blaze. While we don’t know how this fire started, we remain committed to rehabilitating this property in the future.”
Skarsgard later said his company only had liability insurance on the structure.
“There will be no insurance proceeds provided to Land Development 2 LLC as a result of the fire this weekend at the clubhouse,” he said.
In April 2018, after months of Skarsgard trying to tie up loose ends, the Rio Rancho Governing Body approved a zone change to allow Land Development 2 to revitalize the course.
Skarsgard’s plan at the time was to put single-family housing on the West Nine holes, build multi-family housing in a couple of other small areas, revitalize the clubhouse and restore the North Nine and East Nine as a golf course or open space. However, the West Nine homeowners sued over the decision.
Skarsgard worked out an agreement with those homeowners, but was hit with push-back from homeowners on the North Nine. Since then, no visible action has been taken to revitalize any part of the golf course.
Skarsgard said in an email to the Observer that despite the recent fire, plans are still very much under way to revitalize the property.
“The plan moving forward is to demolish and remove the debris from the clubhouse area,” he said. “In the next few weeks, we ask that neighbors help us to keep the property cleared of any visitors or trespassers, as the clubhouse is structurally unsafe.”
Land Development 2, he said, will engage security and install a new fence to keep the property clear of people.
Skarsgard said his next step is to submit the master plan application in November for the entire 260 acres.
The plan will include 62 acres of residential zoning and 198 acres of golf course or open space zoning, he said.
Step three, he continued, is to engage local homebuilders in an effort to sell the 62 acres of residential zoning for the construction of a master-planned community with homes.
RRFR and state fire officials are investigating the cause of the fire.