VR Blog 
Grocery Store A Roll Of The Dice For Now
A Master Planned Community with parks, trails, community center and a commercial center that includes a grocery store. That is what we all bought into. Our developer built the parks, trails and community center. But how do we get our planed grocery store?
The answer is getting more difficult as time goes by. The original location was in Ventana Square, next to Walgreen’s, and was deemed unfit by the industry. The VRNA worked with the Ventana Square representatives in its design revamp into a neighborhood scale service center. The prime location in VR for a grocery store is the northeast corner of Paseo Del Norte and Universe. Grocers want high visibility.
So what’s keeping us from getting a store now? Part of it has to do with the industry as a whole, which is not doing well. But the two major obstacles are the completion of Paseo Del Norte and the Volcano Heights plan. Paseo will give better access to Smith’s and The Wal-Mart Neighborhood Grocery. The Volcano Heights plan has several commercial centers, including one at the future Paseo and Unser intersection.
A recent third obstacle is City Councilor Debbie O’Malley’s proposed bill for a proposed moratorium on commercial permits over 100,000 square feet. The intent of the bill is to aid North Valley neighborhoods in their fight over the proposed Wal-Mart. The unintended consequence would be no future grocery stores for other neighborhoods. Albertson’s currently builds their stores in the range of 165,000 square feet. O’Malley’s bill would move buildings over 150,000 square feet to C-3. VR is zoned C-2. We would be bleep out of luck.
So, what are we doing about getting a grocery store? Well, we are fighting O’Malley’s bill as it stands now. I also spent last Monday lobbying at the NAIOP* luncheon on commercial development and letting folks know how supportive VR is for commercial development and that we desperately need a grocery store. If we are going to get a grocer’s commitment, it’s in our favor to get one now. I will be following up with leads this week. So let’s hope we get a good roll of the dice soon.
* National Association of Industrial and Office Properties
Thanks Laura for your persistence.
A grocery store would bring great convenience to our community & some good part time work for local youth. I think the Paseo del Norte & Universe idea sounds great, since it’s going to be the major corridor for folks coming home to VR/VRW, plus it is conveniently located near the high school.
Funny you should mention Albertson’s, because I’ve been thinking we don’t have one of those near us out here. It would be a great opportunity for them & a tremendous asset to our community.
I’m sure Ms.O’Malley means well, but she’s fighting a losing battle. Chances are Rio Rancho will build a grocery store just north of Paradise Hills to support the new communities off Unser.
What is going into the building that is partially constructed on the same side of the street as Walgreens? And what is being built on the other side of the street near Lotta Burger?
Hi Laura,
While I too would like to fight Wal-Mart from opening more stores in the Albuquerque Metro area we need something sooner rather than later. As you stated about the grocery industry being in the doldrums currently, there are other retailers we could be pursuing. Brands like Trader Joes carry everything we as a neighborhood would need, with their average store size being 20,000 - 40,000 sq ft. This would be a great temporary solution until the roads are constructed. Albuquerque has a tendency to have a CAN NOT attitude; I for one can’t stand it. I’ve driven to areas on the very outskirts of the Denver Metroplex and have seen plenty of commercial development without the roads being built yet (including luxury retailers, cinemas, and grocery). What’s more is I’ve seen the demographics of these neighborhoods in Denver and trust me if they can do it so can we. Unfortunately as I mentioned before our local real estate professionals within companies such as; Sedberry & Associates, Grubb & Ellis, and Maestas & Ward, are lacking that can do attitude as well. I guess in the meantime the thousands of residents of Ventana Ranch will have to forget we were promised these services and wait 5 or 10 more years for the other developers to finish their portion of infrastructure!!!!!!! Thanks City of Albuquerque and VRNA for leaving us high and dry once again!!!!!!!!
Sincerely,
Mario J. Avila
Has anyone heard anything about a Raleys grocery store opening in Ventana Ranch?
I heard that rumor early last year. Right now it looks as though we are getting no grocers! We need to target smaller stores like Trader Joes until the roads are adequate to handle the amount of traffic a larger chain would bring.
We should start a co-op grocery store. We could call it Ventana Foods.
Has anyone approached Sunflower market? I think that given the smaller size and specialty aspect of the store it might fit into the area that was the original plan. And it has relatively competitve prices. Just a thought. Cheers.
Wow, my previous post was startlingly prescient, though the store won’t be in Rio Rancho, per se.
Smith’s is building a new store over on McMahon near Lovelace’s WestSide Hospital, but that’s even farther away than Petroglyph Plaza. It may be along some Intel workers lines of commuting, but for most of us, it’s no help.
A Sunflower Market is really wishful thinking, but I do enjoy shopping there, too. I am still hoping for a Raley’s or an Albertsons out here.
Oh, and the Hart Construction site next to Walgreens is a KFC. *sigh*
I, too, have longed for a market in this area. It was my understanding that the master plan for this area would include a grocery store. Will this ever happen?
I like the idea of having a grocery store up in this area, the drive to golf course and paseo is far, however I would rather have that drive than bring a large grocer to the area. My concern is the activity that this store will generate. I would much rather have a smaller chain like whole foods, trader joes.. or wild oats