Los Ranchos de Albuquerque is a small village with agricultural roots near the city's north valley. The semi-rural community is also an expensive place to live. The median home listing was $1.2 million in September, according to Realtor.com. The affordability of housing amid an aging demographic has become a key debate in the four-way contest for mayor.
Several affordable housing developments are underway in the village, stirring considerable controversy among its residents. Maybe none more so than the Village Center Project on 4th and Osuna.
The site is under construction and will include a three-story building with 204 affordable housing units as well as retail and a hotel, according to the village website. Some residents protested at last year’s groundbreaking, arguing it doesn’t align with village values or their expectations for the project.
Candidate Joe Craig is the president of Friends of Los Ranchos, a nonprofit that bills itself as “preserving” the village and opposes the development, filing complaints in district court about the process by which it came about.
Craig said at a candidate forum hosted by the League of Women Voters that there’s not enough parking planned for the dense residence. He also argued local shops will suffer.
“We are a unique village. We have destination businesses,” he said. “If we do tons of housing, our traffic goes away. We do not have the infrastructure to support that. People will not come down here.”
Incumbent mayor Don Lopez said the project was already underway when he took office in an effort to welcome younger people and retirees looking to downsize. He said it’s “nearly impossible” for the average person to buy a home in the village.
“I’ll work with the Citizens Advisory Committee that I created last year and hopefully, with all of the talent we have in the village of Los Ranchos, we can come up with some kind of an answer to this problem,” he said.
Challenger Gilbert Benavides, a village trustee, said he’d also like to see more young people move to Los Ranchos, but “it’s always going to be a very expensive place to live.”
“There’s really not a whole lot to do about that,” he said. “But there might be some opportunities to build smaller-scale apartments.”
Meanwhile, candidate and fellow village trustee George Radnovich worked on the project in his capacity as a landscape architect. He wrote in an op-ed in the Albuquerque Journalthat it was already in progress when he joined the board and that he has “tried to make the best of an already problematic situation.”
“I don’t have a silver bullet for affordability in the village,” he said.
He said the village needs some accessible housing for younger people, but the amount should be “relative.” He agreed with Lopez that residents should be better engaged on how to move forward.
Radnovich told the League of Women Voters that the greatest need from the next mayor is to “heal the wounds brought about by development” in the community.
Election Day is next Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023. Early voting ends Saturday, Nov. 4. If you haven’t yet mailed your absentee ballot, it’s recommended you hand deliver it so it arrives on time, by 7 p.m. on Election Day.
This coverage is brought to you with support from the Thornburg Foundation.