Planned villages need the buildings that make them feel finished: a small grocery or pharmacy, a medical office, a restaurant on the plaza, apartments within walking distance, and the school and civic spaces that fill in around them. We build those in Rancho Viejo for developers, builders, health care groups and public owners, and we plan the work to fit a community that grows in steps and has residents living next door to every construction site.
Rancho Viejo was planned as seven villages, each with a central plaza. It began with a 350-unit demonstration village after 1997 talks between a developer, a design firm and Santa Fe County planners, and it reserves 15% of homes as affordable housing. A plan like that tells a contractor what to expect: repeating elements, public spaces and a steady pipeline of work rather than a single large project.
A community built over decades
As of a June 8, 2023 report, about 1,400 houses had been built in Rancho Viejo, with a projected 8,000 to 10,000 homes over the next 50 years and half the land kept as parks, open space and trails. For builders of commercial and multifamily projects, that scale of planned growth means demand for services will follow the rooftops, and the infrastructure that serves them will arrive in phases.
We treat each project as part of that sequence. A pad building built now has to work with the roads, drainage and utilities of later phases, and a multifamily building has to meet the plaza and the trail network as designed. Our multifamily apartment construction work begins with the master plan and the village design standards, not just the lot lines.
The buildings we put up in the villages
Our scope in Rancho Viejo runs from site infrastructure to finished interiors. We build shell-and-core retail, office suites finished for medical or professional tenants, restaurant spaces with kitchens, residential buildings with elevators or walk-up stairs, and clubhouses and community rooms that serve the neighborhood. We take responsibility for the full set of trades, and we aim to hand over a building that its operator can open the same week.
For retail and commercial work, we coordinate the landlord's base building with each tenant's fit-out, so utility stubs, grease lines, signage and storefronts are in place before tenants arrive. This coordination is quiet work, but it is where most schedule problems are prevented.
What belongs in a village center
The village format supports neighborhood retail, restaurants, professional and medical offices, apartments, and community or school buildings. Multifamily and mixed-use buildings work best close to the plaza, while medical offices prefer easy parking and a quiet exterior. We understand the design pressures: modest massing, shared walls, shaded outdoor space and a plaza that feels like a plaza rather than a parking lot.
Affordable housing requirements affect the mix and the budget, and we show owners how unit sizes, finishes and mechanical choices can protect affordability without a visible loss of quality.
Construction beside residents
In Rancho Viejo, nearly every site has a house nearby. We schedule deliveries and noisy work for daytime, keep trucks off residential streets and clean mud from the roads, and we post a contact for questions. Trails and open space are protected, with fences and signs that keep crews and equipment where they belong.
Phasing matters when a project sits among occupied buildings. We stage multifamily projects so that finished units can be inspected, occupied and leased while later buildings are still under construction, and we coordinate with property managers to keep construction traffic away from residents.
Working to a master plan
Planned communities bring design guidelines, review committees and agreed standards. We read them before pricing, because the difference between a stock design and a compliant one can be thousands of dollars in facade, roof and landscape requirements. In 2016, Santa Fe County's Sustainable Land Development Code incorporated the Community College District plan that guided Rancho Viejo's development, so county rules and the original plan both affect what is allowed.
We coordinate submissions to the county and any community review in advance and keep a record of approvals for the owner. When a design needs a variance, we flag it early so that it does not delay the permit.
Where costs come from in a planned community
Design standards, utilities and phasing drive most costs. Facade and roof requirements raise material prices, shared infrastructure may require oversizing, and a staged build-out means temporary conditions that are later removed. We list these items so that an owner can compare a standard design with a compliant one, and so lenders and partners understand the number.
We also point out opportunities. Repeating building types and shared construction details across parcels reduce engineering and labor, and ordering materials for several buildings at once strengthens buying power. The village plan, with its repeating elements, makes that kind of savings realistic.
Services that support village building
Projects in a growing community seldom stand alone. Site development and utilities work often comes first, and design-build delivery allows an owner to move quickly when a parcel is ready. Our neighboring page on the Community College District describes the larger planning area, and the Eldorado at Santa Fe page covers a different community to the southeast.
Developers evaluating several parcels are often served by a single estimating process, which compares sites on cost, schedule and utility needs. Multifamily developers in particular benefit, as the same prototype can be priced on different lots.
Build a village center with us
Tell us the parcel, the use and the design guidelines you have been given. We will compare the options, estimate the cost and schedule construction around the neighbors.
Questions Owners Ask
How much of Rancho Viejo is planned for open space?
A June 2023 report states that half of the land is to be kept as parks, open space and trails, with about 1,400 houses built at that time and 8,000 to 10,000 projected over 50 years. For a builder, that means sites are smaller than in typical suburbs, and trails and parks sit close to construction.
How do affordability requirements affect a multifamily project?
Rancho Viejo reserves 15% of homes as affordable housing, so owners plan unit mixes and finishes accordingly. We help by pricing alternatives in preconstruction, such as simpler layouts, efficient mechanical systems and durable standard finishes, so affordability does not depend on poor quality.
Which rules apply in addition to the building code?
Santa Fe County's Sustainable Land Development Code, which incorporated the Community College District plan in 2016, applies alongside the 2021 New Mexico Commercial Building Code. Community design guidelines may add requirements for facades and landscape. We read them all before pricing.
Is a plaza-centered building harder to build than a strip?
It asks for more coordination. Frontages face a public space, service areas must be hidden, and the pace of construction affects neighbors who use the plaza daily. We plan deliveries from the back, protect pedestrian routes, and agree with the owner on the finishes that sit closest to the public.
Can you build while residents live next door?
Yes, and we assume they will. We manage dust, noise and truck traffic, post a contact number, and schedule work for daytime hours. A short weekly note to nearby residents reduces complaints.