“A lovely day in the neighborhood” was the topic for this month’s NAIOP Rio Rancho Roundtable, a virtual session held Thursday morning.

“Every year, we like to do a residential update,” said developer Jeanie Springer Knight, who moderated the session.

That update revealed the new home market is booming, soon not only in the burgeoning Unser Gateway area’s Unit 10, where the Los Diamantes project is underway.

Mayor Gregg Hull said the city saw 107 single-family residence construction permits issued in August, matching a high last seen in 2008, with 571 permits issued since the first of the year, closing in on 2008’s high of 700. Several developments are making good progress on both sides of Broadmoor Boulevard, between Idalia Road and Paseo del Volcan, as well as growth in Mariposa.

The growth, Hull said, can be attributed to homes here priced at a “great value” with interest rates less than 3 percent, to go along with the city’s renowned schools, public safety, quality of life, parks and some newly repaved roads.

Unser Gateway, Hull said, “is poised for explosive growth,” highlighted by Los Diamantes and expansion at Presbyterian Rust Medical Center. He said demand “is going where you see investment.”

Also, he noted in a sidebar of sorts, the entrance and exit at the new Dutch Bros Coffee shop has been reconfigured to ease traffic at Unser and Westside. He anticipation the city‘s sign ordinance will also be reconfigured, in a manner of speaking, “a plus for builders,” Hull said.

He also said, responding to a question, the landfill isn’t a deterrent to home builders, has “less than 10 years left on it” and will eventually be turned into “essentially open-space areas.”

Mike Feitz of Westway Homes — who did a Mr. Rogers impersonation to open the meeting — said, “In order to get development done, Rio Rancho has to work with those willing to invest capital, find win-win solutions.”

The Rio Rancho Roundtable sessions, typically held the first Thursday of each month, rounding out 2020 will be on Intel, the Unser Gateway and economic development news.