Rancho Mirage condos on Vista Del Norte (zoned, work)

[strongman]

Does anyone have an opinion on this development? Is it in a good part of town?

What are the pluses and minuses?

Thanks.

[EnjoyEP]

It is a good part of town, strongman.

I believe that is in the 87113 zip code? Very nice zip. You'd be close to the Balloon Fiesta park, not all too far from I-25, a fairly centralized area between east and west (which would be nice). A fairly safe, middle to midde-upper class area.

I can't really think of many "cons" to the area. I have always thought that this was one of the nicer, more underrated fairly affordable areas in ABQ to live. I guess a very mild negative are that nights/early AMs are slightly colder due to its valley proximity and summer day times are slightly hotter, but I wouldn't even bat an eyelash at that the difference is so limited.

[Chaparral]

With all due respect to my esteemed colleague EnjoyEP, I've never been real crazy about the whole Vista Del Norte (VDN) subdivision. This probably goes back to some predispositions I developed when working in the area from '89-'96.

The first thing is that virtually all the property in this area from Edith to I-25 is/was zoned Commercial/Industrial. And with the exception of VDN and Sandia Prep, that's pretty much what you get in the area. I remember thinking to myself when I heard about the conversion of VDN to residential, "They're going to build houses OVER THERE???".

The second half of my reservations arise from the fact that part of the area used to be home to some sort of waste water/sewage treatment facility. I'm sure that the city/county took all the necessary precautions to make sure the land around the facility was not negatively impacted. But because of this, I think VDN will always carry a negative stigma for me personally. I guess sometimes you're better off not knowing certain things.

Anyway, buying a home in this area may not be a big deal for many people. But for better or worse, I doubt I'll ever look into buying a home in this area for my family.

Chap