New neighborhood brewing south of Santa Fe
Apr. 6—Just beyond Interstate 25 to the south, developer Garret Price found the perfect 101-acre patch for his next Santa Fe-area housing project: Colibri — 232 homes across N.M. 14
from Santa Fe Brewing Co.
If anybody knows whether that part of town is viable for hundreds of homes, it would be Price.
As senior vice president at Pulte Homes, Price was in charge of development at Las Soleras. That project, on the other side of I-25 east of Cerrillos Road, has more than 300 homes built so far. Before that, at the turn of the century, Price was land development manager for Tierra Contenta.
Now he's on the other side of the freeway, moving dirt since late last year for the first 116 homes at Colibri.
"It's going to be a little more serene," said Price, president of Price Land & Development Group in Albuquerque. "It will complement Las Soleras. I was always keeping my fingers on the pulse for other things."
Price said he willingly accepted the county zoning requirement for 50 percent open space, and he will supply affordable housing to meet the 15 percent requirement, amounting to 35 homes deemed affordable by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
"We will price the lots so building affordable homes makes sense to the homebuilder," Price said.
He said he is working with a single homebuilder but is not identifying it yet. How big the homes will be or how they are configured has not been determined, but Price was willing to say home prices will likely be in the $300,000 and $400,000 range with a few over $500,000 with premium options.
The lot sizes are about 0.1 to 0.2 acres, 45 feet wide and 55 feet wide.
"Colibri is designed with move-up families and empty-nesters in mind," Price said. "We want a safe community where families feel safe that kids can go out and play."
Colibri will have trails tying into regional trails and a central park with two playgrounds for different age groups as well as a covered picnic area.
Across the street is Santa Fe Brewing Co. with its beer hall and beer garden that opened in late 2019, and there is The Bridge event center that hosts concerts.
"I want to be a good neighbor," Santa Fe Brewing owner Brian Lock said. "I hope they let the future homebuyers know that they are near a concert venue. They might hear a little extra music."
Santa Fe Brewing is New Mexico's first, oldest and largest craft brewery with its headquarters and brewery across from Colibri. Lock has been an owner of Santa Fe Brewing since 1996 and the sole owner since 2003, and he started brewing on N.M. 14 in 2005.
"The neighborhood is coming to us," Lock said. "I expected there to be development. I was thinking about it 15 years ago, but I didn't know how soon it would happen. Being within walking distance is always a good thing [for potential new customers]."
Price plans to develop a first phase with 116 homes. Earth moving should end in a few weeks with installation of utilities to follow and home construction starting in fall. The first homes could be completed in early 2022, with the remainder finished by early 2023.
He intends to start construction of the second phase right after that and have those homes ready to live in by early 2024.
Price wants to do more in Santa Fe.
"We're looking for additional opportunities," he said. "One hundred acres zoned for residential, there are not many of those."
