Sense of belonging; Family-oriented community is interlaced with parks and trails

Tania Soussan For the Journal

When the call came in from a couple who wanted to get married at Loma Colorado's overlook monument this spring, the team at Pulte Homes knew its Rio Rancho development was a success.

"We hit what we wanted to do," says Russell Grayson, director of land entitlement and development for the national production builder.

What Pulte wanted to do was create a true familyoriented community.

Having a resident choose the hilltop overlook with its dramatic landmark structure of red pillars and arching metal awning as a place to be married brought home the sense that Loma Colorado had become a real community, not just another collection of new houses.

That sense of community is one reason the 433-acre Loma Colorado project was named the signature community for the 18th annual Homes of Enchantment Parade.

The development showcases industry innovations and is unique in a couple of important ways, says Jim Folkman, executive vice president of the Home Builders Association of Central New Mexico, which puts on the Homes of Enchantment Parade.

It is the first masterplanned community to be acquired, developed, built, marketed and sold by one company. Loma Colorado also is "green" with three energy-efficiency and conservation certifications for each home - Build Green NM, Energy Star and the gold level Environments for Living.

Pulte is the first full-scale production builder to work under the association's Build Green NM program and recently certified its 100th home, Folkman says.

"It's a unique design with some very unique architectural features," he adds. "It's got a very European feeling" and a Tuscany, Old World-look.

The homes "look great on the outside but they perform really well on the inside," Folkman says.

Each house is designed to increase energy efficiency and reduce water use and carbon emissions with such building practices as tighter framing to reduce leaks and drafts, energy-efficient windows and insulation and pressure balancing for consistent climate control.

The collection of green features is what buyers until now generally would find only in a much more expensive custom house, Grayson says.

Loma Colorado offers 20 floor plans ranging from a 1,500-square-foot fourbedroom home for $179,990 to a 4,200-square-foot home with six bedrooms, a loft and two garages for $382,990.

The homes have tile roofs, arched entryways or stone pillars at the entries and a natural color palette of rich browns and tans, golds and rusts. Even the block walls are a custom-made reddish color rather than the standard gray.

Many of the streets are curved for visual appeal and to slow traffic, views of the Sandia and Manzano mountains were preserved as much as possible, and pocket parks and cul-de-sacs were added to the development, all to create a better feeling for the community, Grayson ays.

More than 20 percent of the area will be open space, trails and parks. In all, nearly three miles of bike paths, walking paths and other trails help connect the community to Rio Rancho High School, the Rio Rancho Sports Complex, the Loma Colorado Public Library, the indoor aquatic center and other amenities.

"Pedestrian connectivity was a huge part of what we're trying to do," Grayson says. "We really felt this is going to be a family-oriented community because you have the schools and all the amenities surrounding you. ... All the schools your kids are going to be going to are within a five-minute radius."

All that helped convince Andrew Batts and his wife that Loma Colorado was the place to raise their 3-year-old son and second baby due this fall.

"It's a great neighborhood," he says. "It's very quiet. I feel like it's very safe."

Batts says saving money on utility bills with a more efficient home also was a big factor in their decision to buy a 2,200-square-foot two-story home at Loma Colorado in June.

The house stays cooler longer than their old house did even without running the air conditioning for as long, and the insulation keeps it quieter inside.

"We're saving probably 25 percent on our bill," he says.

Attracting all ages

Loma Colorado has homes for families in all stages of life, Grayson says, from young first-time buyers to larger families, and move-up buyers to empty nesters who want to downsize but still entertain.

First-time buyers or young families might choose the Sedella model priced at $186,990 and considered a value home. The one-story house has a large master suite, two smaller bedrooms and a second bath as well as a great room and dining room in 1,600 square feet. Even though it is one of the lower-end homes, it has many special features, says sales associate Wade Messenger.

"What Pulte Homes loves to do is put a lot of upgrades in its standard features," he says, pointing out, for example, that the microwave has an exterior vent. The house has nine-foot ceilings and there is tile throughout the entry, kitchen and bathrooms. The kitchen has birch cabinets.

At the other end of the spectrum is the 3,365-square-foot Santa Cruz model, which has four bedrooms for $372,990 and is considered a luxury home.

It's somewhat unusual because there are "very few large one-story homes on the marketplace right now," Messenger says.

It has 10-foot ceilings, a huge open family room and kitchen with granite countertops and maple cabinets, a formal dining room, a den or office at the front of the house, on-demand hot water, a covered patio and a threecar garage. The bedrooms include the master suite, a pair of Jackand-Jill bedrooms connected by a bathroom and a fourth bedroom with its own full bath.

At 4,220 square feet and with a price tag of $382,990, the Alicante model is the largest and most expensive at Loma Colorado.

Downstairs, there is a den at the front of the house, a formal dining room and a large great room and kitchen with granite countertops and maple cabinets as well as a bedroom with its own bathroom.

A curved staircase with a wood spindle railing leads to a large loft that overlooks the living room. The second floor also houses the master suite with two walk-in closets and a garden tub, four other bedrooms and a laundry room.

On-demand hot water, nine-foot ceilings and separate 2½- and onecar garages round out the package.

Eventually, Loma Colorado will include about 1,000 homes as well as three parks and about 80 acres of retail and commercial. A recently opened Lowe's home improvement store at Loma Colorado Drive and Northern Boulevard is the first of that phase.

The community is between High Resort Boulevard and Loma Colorado Drive SE and about two miles from NM 528. Signature community

Loma Colorado

DIRECTIONS: Take I-25 north to Paseo del Norte. Turn left on Paseo del Norte. Turn right on Coors Boulevard and follow the road into Rio Rancho, past Intel. Turn left on High Resort Boulevard and continue straight for 1 mile. Turn right on Loma Vista Drive.

MAP: Page 18

RENDERING: Page 27