Building in Los Alamos County
Rio Rancho-based RayLee Homes plans 161 homes in White Rock; multifamily projects in works on Hill
Construction will soon begin on Mirador, the first housing development to be built in White Rock in decades. Rio Rancho-based RayLee Homes plans to build 161 homes over the next three or
four years at the roughly 42-acre site of between the White Rock Visitor Center and Pajarito Road.
Floor plans in the first phase will range from 1,653 to 2,829 square feet on lots with a street frontage of 50, 60 or 70 feet. Due to high demand, the first 25 homes are being offered via a lottery, which had a July 7 deadline.
RayLee co-owner Tammy Grady Thornton said RayLee, the family-owned company that typically builds in the Albuquerque-Rio Rancho area, came to White Rock because of its limited housing. Part of the dynamic in the community six miles southeast of Los Alamos is the fact that a high percentage of retirees — many from Los Alamos National Laboratory — choose to remain in White Rock.
“We recognized a housing shortage in White Rock a few years ago and wanted to bring new
construction to this area,” she said. “The national labs have hired numerous employees over the past couple of years. Our experience in both development and homebuilding over the past 40 years gave us great confidence that we were perfect for this opportunity. RayLee Homes is not only excited to bring new homes to White Rock but also act as a local business partner to the community.”
The Mirador houses, priced at approximately $379,990 to $469,990, will boast 2-by-6 wood-frame construction. Green/sustainability features include energy-efficient HVAC units with programmable thermostats, hybrid electric water heaters, LED lighting, and plumbing fixtures that help save water.
Thornton’s husband, Adam Thornton, said the land development for Mirador turned out to be “one of the most demanding projects we have encountered.”
As Paul F. Andrus, director of the Los Alamos County Community Development Department, put it: “They’ve been pulling out chunks of basalt the size of Volkswagens.”
“We had a tremendous response to the release of our Signature Collection homes on the 50-foot lots,” said Tammy Grady Thornton in a recent interview, “and we are currently working through a randomly selected list of interested buyers, setting sales appointments that will take place over the next three weeks.
“Those who entered the lottery but have not received a call should stay engaged until all 25 homes are under contract and closed.”
As a result of the additional cost of getting the site ready for utilities, roads and homebuilding, the project will have a Public Improvement District annual special levy of about $1,800 on the 50-foot lots. Homebuyers will see that billed by Los Alamos County at the same time as general ad valorem property taxes.
The homes at Mirador will be served by Los Alamos County water (from a dozen wells tapping into the aquifer under the Pajarito Plateau) and sanitary sewers.
The Thorntons expect the first block of homes to be complete by the end of this year. The master plan for Mirador also includes approximately 12,000 square feet of commercial space and 60 multifamily units.
Mirador is the only housing project planned in White Rock, but there are about a half-dozen proposals going up or planned for Los Alamos.
Most of the open land in Los Alamos County is owned by the U.S. Department of Energy and is not available for development. However, two years ago, the county rezoned more than 55 acres of county and private land to a new mixed-use zoning district. That opened the possibility of a few projects.
One is The Hill — 149 marketrate apartments to be developed by Gerald Peters of Santa Fe on the site that formerly held the Los Alamos Site Office east of Los Alamos Medical Center. The project was approved July 10 by the municipality’s planning and
zoning department.
Los Alamos Townhouses, 36 market-rate units, will be developed at the former Black Hole site at 3901 Arkansas Ave. Andrus said the site plan was approved and the county is waiting for a subdivision plan and building permit application.
Fourteen market-rate units known as 557 Flats are now under construction atop a former office building at Trinity and Oppenheimer drives.
Two additional housing projects received state allocations of low-income housing tax credits. Construction of the Canyon Walk Apartments will begin later this summer on DP Road. The other is The Bluffs, 64 affordable rental units for senior citizens that will be built on DP Road in 2020.
“This is an unprecedented show of financial support from the state of New Mexico to Los Alamos, because we have such an acute affordable housing need, and we’re very excited about getting those two allocations,” Andrus said.
Los Alamos County, in partnership with Los Alamos Public Schools, also is investigating the development of workforce housing on a 30-acre parcel on North Mesa Road.