In September of 2007 we spent a couple of days exploring the area, looking at the growth and even took a couple of hours to attend the New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque! Boy was that a hot day!

 

  

 This was the first time I have ever seen people walking around eating turkey drumsticks like cavemen! How fun! This is also where the Downs at Albuquerque is currently located. They are trying to get approval to move it east to Moriarty.

   

 

  The new Walmart being built in Edgewood, about six miles west of Moriarty along I40.

  

I go a kick out of the billboard at Edgewood Middle School - I wonder how much they make in tips - 25 cents?!?

  

The road work along the interstate to Albuquerque was completed with three lanes now but still lots of work in Edgewood!

    

Some of the locals out grazing and homes in the northern unit of the Estancia Ranchettes subdivision in Moriarty.  And another beautiful sunset over the Sandia Mountains!

 

 

Discover the Sunsets of the Sandia Mountains in Torrance County, New Mexico.

Spanish explorers named the mountains Sandia because they likened the color the mountainside turns at sunset to that of a watermelon (Sandia is Spanish for watermelon). On almost any given evening you can see what they meant!

    

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I have been watching the growth in this area since I first started exploring land in 2002. A mentor of mine told me to watch this side of the mountains and he was right! Below are updates as I keep an eye on this place!

UPDATE JUNE 2008: APPROVED MOVE OF ALBUQUERQUE DOWNS TO MORIARTY! By a unanimous 5-0 vote, the New Mexico Racing Commission at the end of May, 2008 gave the Downs of Albuquerque permission to relocate its horse racing track and casino to Moriarty. The plan is to build a new, $65 million racetrack and casino, expanding the number of slot machines to 715. Horse racing and slots could be operating in Moriarty by late next year. I am looking forward to watching it happen! Char the Explorer : )

03-14-08 Update on Downs at Albuquerque: State Sen. Pete Campos hand-delivered a letter to the Governor last week expressing his "strong support" for the move by the Albuquerque Downs to Moriarty. This is a proposed move to a 500 acre spot north of I40 and East of NM41 in Moriarty. The Downs is currently at the state fair grounds in Albuquerque.

03-14-08 Update on Edgewood Wal-Mart: The new Wal-Mart in Edgewood opened Friday March 7th 2008! The store, 30 miles east of Albuquerque and about ten miles northwest of Moriarty, is a 212,000 square foot store.  

July 2007:  I did more research on the proposal to move the Downs at Albuquerque to Moriarty and see that the Mayor of Moriarty updated the Moriarty City Council in June on the proposal.  The mayor will be working with the racing commission to set a date for a public hearing in Moriarty.  There was a lot of talk at the state Racing Commission meeting that was held in early June about establishing a process the Downs must go through to have its request considered by commissioners.  I will continue to research this topic and post updated information as I find it. Char the Explorer : ) July 16, 2007

May of 2007 the owner of the Downs at Albuquerque New Mexico asked the state racing commission to move the track to a new site in Moriarty NM at the NE4 of the junction of I40 and SR41. The proposal to build a new facility includes a hotel, racetrack, casino and entertainment venue. From the news articles I read it sounds like there was both support and opposition at the meeting. In the end it was decided the issue would be tabled for several weeks to study it further. The north entrance to the largely undeveloped Estancia Ranchettes subdivision sits about seven miles east along I40. With the new Wal-Mart going in down the road in Edgewood and this proposal before the state racing committee it is exciting to see what will  happen to the land prices in this area. Char the Explorer  : ) June 19, 2007

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The buzz word on the east side of Albuquerque is Edgewood so we set off in April of 2007 to see what all the hoopla is about!  We had read that Wal-Mart has plans to open a Supercenter there in mid 2007.  Supercenters of this size generally create about 300 to 400 jobs.  In February 2007 over 3300 acres were annexed into Edgewood.  Most of the property is currently vacant and there are plans to develop it in the next two to five years.  We drove east on I 40 out of Albuquerque to take a look at all of this and there was quite a bit of road construction along the way. I heard a few of the locals grumbling about the slowdown in traffic.  Edgewood is about 25 minutes east of Albuquerque, ten miles northwest of Moriarty and about 16 miles to the entrance of the Estancia Ranchettes. Click here for a map showing where the Estancia Ranchettes are from Edgewood. We saw the new Wal-Mart site and there was quite a bit of construction on the roads in that area. A few nice new homes are in the area and for the most part it remains undeveloped. In March 2007, the Moriarty City Council gave final plat approval for phase 1 of Lexco Estates, a master planned community located in western Moriarty. They also gave preliminary approval for the entire subdivision. Tentative plans are for 30 commercial properties, 15 multifamily lots and 280 single family lots on 146 acres. Sierra Blanca Brewing Company has moved to Moriarty and have plans to use a 50-foot solar collector dish to brew beer.

Road construction along I 40 east of Albuquerque.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

       

 

 

  These next set of pictures were taken on my first visits to Moriartry in 2002. The photo with the improvements along the road was given to me by an older gentleman at a tax sale along with some advice about the Estancia Ranchettes subdivision. Who would have thought a few years later this would become such a busy area!    Some of the locals out grazing in the Estancia Ranchettes a few miles east of Moriarty and a few pictures of the subdivision.               The quaint Sherwood Forest subdivision near Mountainair.        

With an elevation of over 6,000 feet it is considered ideal weather by many with only 11.5 inches of precipitation annually.  Sunny days abound with mild winter temperatures of 45 degrees to 87 degrees in the summertime.  The land is flat with beautiful views of the Sandia Mountains to the north and Manzano Mountains to the south.

This next set of pictures was taken in 2006 when we explored the subdivision. What a beautiful afternoon with the antelope out grazing near the bottom of the subdivision! There are quite a few cows out grazing and very pretty views of the town in the distance!