NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – New life will soon be coming to the Village of Los Ranchos, including a new apartment complex and entertainment center. But, not everyone is on board.
“We chose to live out here because it’s just so peaceful,” said M.G. Mccullough. She and her husband moved to Los Ranchos in December, from South Carolina.
“Out here it feels like you’re far in the country,” said Mccullough. “You’re not, it’s only 15 minutes from a Whole Foods,” she said.
That’s why a lot of others choose to live in the Village. “There’s a lot of nature,” Mccullough said. “You can hear the birds chirping,” she explained.
Now, she along with many of her neighbors say something is threatening that peace. A new development that will be built on a 12-acre lot on the southeast corner of Osuna and 4th street, right as you enter the Village.
The Village website says this is a project twenty years in the making. Renderings of the project, posted on the Village website show the project, named The Village Center, will include a 204-unit apartment complex, a grocery store, a restaurant, and retail space.
“I think it will no longer be a village,” said Mccullough. “It’ll just be an extension of Albuquerque,” she explained.
Mccullough is not only concerned about losing that serenity, she worries about an increase in traffic too. “It’s already a congested intersection,” she said. “If we add high-density housing, those cars have to go somewhere,” she told KRQE.
Demolition of the existing buildings on that lot started in June, there’s no word on when construction will begin. Village residents are planning to go to the Board of Trustees meeting on August 10tyh, to voice their concerns. KRQE News 13 reached out to the Village Mayor Pro Tem but did not hear back.