Mesa del Sol
Encyclopedia
Mesa del Sol is a proposed 12900 acres (52.2 km²) mixed use community in Albuquerque, New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

.

History

Mesa del Sol was approved as part of a public-private partnership
Public-private partnership
Public–private partnership describes a government service or private business venture which is funded and operated through a partnership of government and one or more private sector companies...

 strategy with the State of New Mexico, City of Albuquerque and University of New Mexico and has been planning stages since the 1980s. In 2002, the New Mexico State Land Office selected Forest City as the developer of Mesa del Sol in an open bid process and the project broke ground in 2005 with University Boulevard extended to the community. Forest City Enterprises
Forest City Enterprises
Forest City Enterprises is a $9-billion diversified real estate management and development company based in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Its portfolio includes interests in retail centers, apartment communities, office buildings and mixed-use projects in the U.S...

 and Covington Capital Partners were the initial developers.

On March 17, 2011, Forest City announced that on March 28 it would break ground on the first phase of its residential development. Forest City plans to build 250 homes and models in the first phase, including infrastructure, and has selected four home builders including Rachel Matthew Homes, RayLee Homes, Paul Allen Homes and Pulte Homes. Builders estimate by early 2012, homes will be available for residents. The homes will range from 1200 to 2700 sq ft (111.5 to 250.8 ) in size and will cost between $100,000 and $300,000.

Plan

Mesa del Sol would be built over 40 years and would cover 9,000 acres of the 12,900-acre site. The remaining 3,200 acres is proposed for parks and open space. Overall, the project is expected to house 100,000 people, with a downtown
Downtown
Downtown is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's core or central business district ....

 area, 37,500 homes, 18000000 square feet (1,672,254.7 m²) of office space, 4400 acres (17.8 km²) for residential and supporting retail, 800 acres (3.2 km²) for schools including university branches.

Aperture Center

Architect and New Mexico native Antoine Predock
Antoine Predock
Antoine Predock is an American architect based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Antoine Predock is the Principal of Antoine Predock Architect PC. The studio was established in 1967...

 designed the Aperture Center building which opened in late 2008 as the centerpiece of Mesa del Sol. It is a LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design consists of a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings, homes and neighborhoods....

-certified environmentally friendly building clad in a glass curtain wall inspired by the shape of bone cells. The $11 million town center building has retail shops and restaurants on the ground floor and offices above.

Public services

A police substation and fire station are planned. There is a K-6 grade charter school at Mesa del Sol, The International School, which opened in 2009. School officials plan to extend school to 8th grade by August 2013 as well move into permanent building. More schools are being planned with Albuquerque Public Schools
Albuquerque Public Schools
Albuquerque Public Schools is a school district based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.Founded in 1891, the Albuquerque Public School District is the largest of 89 public school districts in the State of New Mexico....

. Initially, students would attend schools outside of community at Bandelier Elementary School, Jefferson Middle school and Albuquerque High School
Albuquerque High School
Albuquerque High School is a public senior high school near Downtown Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is a part of the Albuquerque Public School district. Enrollment at AHS stands at 1,803.-History:...

.

Business park

1,400 acres have been set aside for Innovation Park a planned commercial center that has already created over 2,300 jobs and is home to Companies such as Fidelity Investments, SCHOTT Solar, Molina Healthcare MSR-FSR Engineering and Albuquerque Studios.
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