Construction was completed on the Tractor Supply store north of Roswell, south of Husky Road on North Main Street, and the store is now open for business.
Construction is nearing completion on a hotel and a new medical office building, according to a final report from City Planner Zach Montgomery. Construction of a new building for one private school and remodeling of existing buildings for another continues, Montgomery’s May report says. Work also continues on a new headquarters building for a local bank.
This is Montgomery’s final report. Montgomery resigned his position with the city to get married and move with his new wife to Georgia.
Two new hotels under construction were expected to open this summer, Candlewood Suites by I.H.G. in the 100 block of Military Heights Drive, west of Applebee’s Restaurant, and Comfort Suites in the 3600 block of North Main Street. However, the Comfort Suites building caught fire early May 6 and burned to the ground.
The interior finish work and exterior site development is under way for the 87-suite Candlewood Suites, scheduled to open early this summer. Interior rough-in and framing was nearing on the 68-suite Comfort Suites when it was destroyed by fire.
The medical office building, a twin of an existing office building at 350 W. Country Club Road and a mirror image of it, is being built just west of it. Construction is essentially completed on the new building and tenants are expected to be moving in from now through late June, Montgomery reports.
Underground utilities are installed, the slab has been poured and the steel has been erected for kindergarten-through-eighth-grade classrooms at All Saints Catholic School, 2700 N. Kentucky Ave.
Remodeling work is expected to begin this spring to convert the old Masonic Lodge for fifth-grade-through-high school classrooms for Valley Christian Academy and to covert the church building into classrooms for kindergarten trough fourth-grade classrooms, Montgomery says. Both buildings are expected to be ready for the start of the 2009-10 school year.
Montgomery also reports the building shell is complete and rough-in work and interior framing is under way at the new Pioneer Bank headquarters in the 3000 block of North Main. The 40,000-square-foot building, with a drive-up ATM and five drive-up banking lanes, is scheduled to be open late this year.
Plans are being made for three other new hotels in Roswell.
Montgomery’s office received construction plans for a building permit for a Marriott Towneplace Suites to be built on East 19th Street between Walgreen’s Drug Store and La Quinta Inn & Suites. A plan review was held Feb. 2 and construction is scheduled to begin this month. This will be an extended-stay hotel with 71 suits.
Two other planed hotels may not be built. Developers of the Holiday Inn Conference facility planned on North Main Street south of All About Spas are now doing a feasibility study to determine whether or not to build the100-room hotel designed to accommodate 250 conference-goers. Montgomery’s office also received construction plans for a building permit for a Country Inn & Suites on Military Heights west of Holiday Inn Express and behind Home Depot and is waiting to hear from the owner on when to schedule a plan review. If it advances to development, it will have 69 new suites.
Montgomery’s report includes these other projects:
• Owners of the Roswell Mall have outparcels available for sale as well as spaces inside the mall at “surprisingly attractive ” rental rates. Many spaces still are available.
• The developer of Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart is in the planning stages of development for a strip plaza with numerous tenants in the outparcels south of Sam’s. More to come!
• The owners of Roswell Community Federal Credit Union purchased the lot directly south of the facility they are putting up, on the west side of Main Street just south of Sherrill Lane, to allow more room for development. They resubmitted plans for the new layout, received a building permit and are back under construction.
• The owner of Primm Drug Store, 711 N. Union Ave., has submitted preliminary plans to build a new pharmacy to replace the current building, across Union and a half block south of the present store. Montgomery’s office is waiting on construction plans for a building permit. The owner would like to begin construction this spring.
• Plans are being made to build an Ashley Home Store north of Sonic Drive-In at Berrendo Road and Main when construction of a store in Hobbs is complete.
• Circle K Stores is talking to a property owner now for land for a new store and wants to add an additional two stores in Roswell by 2012. They are still seeking liquor licenses and properties around the city for the additional two stores.
• Demolition was completed by March 15 on the building on the southwest corner of 13th and Main streets for Main Street Plaza. Owners are accepting new tenants and inquiries of any kind at 317-3353 or 631-585-1179.
• In residential developments, 13 new home building permits were issued in April with 42 homes under construction in Roswell. So far in 2009, 34 building permits have been issued in Roswell.
The 20-unit Stonegate Apartments complex is being constructed north of the Town & Country Food Store at College Boulevard and Missouri Avenue. Units should be available to rent by June or July. If interested, call Phillip Shackleford at 626-0874.
Three of 14 proposed Sherrill Lane Apartments on the south side of Sherrill between Main and Kentucky Avenue are being completed, with more to be built after two are completed.
In the Enchantment West subdivision, west of Mullis Avenue between Eighth Street and College Boulevard, 54 homes have been built and six are now under construction. Lots are still available.
The owner of Delta West subdivision, west of Washington Avenue between Berrendo and Mescalero roads, has 36 lots available, seven sold, three under construction and one in the planning stage of development.
There are now 10 new homes that either have been built or are competing construction in Tijmor subdivision on the northwest corner of Atkinson Avenue and Country Club, with many lots still available.
In Eden Acres, between 19th and Country Club and Montana/Union and Sycamore avenues, Phase I Sorrento subdivision has one home built. Phase II Townhouses has 16 homes built out of the 41 lots available. The utilities and streets have been installed in Phase III Eagle Creek Villas and four new homes are under construction. The entryway to this subdivision has been enhanced with a stonework wall and sign; landscaping and grass should follow soon. More homes are planned to begin construction in all three phases by late spring or early summer.
The Meadows subdivision, north of Poe Street between Sunset and Union avenues, is an older subdivision enjoying new life, with 28 new homes having been built over the pat six years and two new homes currently under construction. There are still lots available in this southside subdivision.
There are 10 new units — five duplexes — and three single-family houses built in the Tuscany subdivision with two new units — one duplex — currently under construction. There are 11 lots still available for sale in this northside subdivision.
The site utilities and alleyways have been installed in the Desert Acres subdivision, north of Gayle Street and west of the new fire station. The owner is catering to younger families in these new starter homes. This southside subdivision offers 18 lots for sale with a home at around $119,500 for these three-bedroom, two-bath homes.
There are six homes under construction in the La Placita subdivision, on Montana/Union between 19th and Country Club, with several lots still available in this subdivision next to the New Mexico Military Institute Golf Course. La Sierra Townhouses received City Council approval to install gates and vacate and privatize Jack McClellan Drive.
• Other developments: U.S. News & World Report listed Roswell as the eighth best and most affordable place to retire in America in its March 31 issue. This article will do wonders for development in Roswell! Residential development and sales have increased and continue to show signs of growth since the fourth quarter of 2008.
Many commercial developments are in the planning stages of development for Roswell through 2010. With more than 80 million baby-boomers making plans to retire and the city on the verge of attaining a population of 50,000 people, making Roswell a Metropolitan Statistical Area, we have a lot of good news to look forward to for many years to come!
Montgomery concludes his report: “This is my last report since I am getting married and moving to be with my new wife Carol in Georgia. I will miss this great little city!”