Heads Up

Huning Ranch, 2005

Once upon a time, the Albuquerque “suburbs” just meant the northeast heights, both near and far. But now, with the greater metro area population nearing one million, the city is establishing true “bedroom” communities, separated altogether from the heart of downtown. One of the newest, and potentially biggest, is Huning Ranch in Los Lunas where Heads Up is working with Curb South to build a planned development with a small town feeling and the conveniences of urban living.

Curb South LLC, a major land development firm, operates from a small office located in Albuquerque. Stan and Mary Stickman work with partners Chuck Haegelin and Bo and Susan Johnson, with associate Rick Squires. Over the next 10 years or so, a master-planned community of 6,800 homes on 2,190 acres will grow from the desert just west of I-25 at Los Lunas. An estimated 18,000 residents will live at Huning Ranch. Parks, trails, churches and schools will be incorporated within the community with walking paths leading to nearby restaurants and stores.

Sitting in the shadow of Los Lunas Mountain, Huning Ranch offers a spectacular desert setting. The first phase is well underway with 500 lots sold and more than 200 homes built or under construction. “We’ve faced some special
challenges here,” said Stan. “Huning Ranch sits at the foot of a mountain that can empty a fair amount of water into the desert after a rain. That could mean some big, ugly holding ponds right in the middle of new residential housing. But we had a vision of something different. We wanted to turn these ponds into open space amenities.”

That’s where Heads Up comes in. Project managers met with Chris Green of Consensus Planning, an Albuquerque landscape architect and urban design firm that had already created the master plan for Huning Ranch. Plans were developed for five two-acre graduated ponds to catch the runoff. Each pond depth level incorporates different plants, from cottonwoods at the lowest, to grasses and wildflowers near the surface. “After each rain, we get a Bobcat in there and clean out any loose gravel or mud,” Stan said. “Then we re-seed if necessary. But in the meantime, between rainfalls, the community has an attractive, landscaped area with trees and flowers and trails.” Heads Up is also landscaping various “pocket parks” throughout Huning Ranch, using traditional turf in open play areas while relying on natural xeriscaping on street medians and smaller common areas.

The acreage is part of the original San Clemente Land Grant of 1716. The Huning family operated the ranch for generations. Jack Huning lives in Los Lunas and sold the Huning Ranch acreage to Curb South under the conditions that it be developed in accordance with his vision. That vision included careful attention to the natural setting throughout each phase of development. “We had never worked with Heads Up before Huning Ranch,” noted Stan. “But with a project of this scale, we needed a company big enough to be able to step in and embrace our ideas—and make them work.” And the relationship is working. “Heads Up has been very responsive and they’ve done a good job for us,” he said, adding, “It’s a challenging project to landscape a brand new development.”

“Huning Ranch provides a real opportunity to people who want an alternative to city living,” said John Braly, landscape architect and salesperson with Heads Up. “This is a very well-planned community.” He and Bob Mielke, Operations Manager, and Blake Gammill, Project Manager, are the Heads Up “point men” for the project. Subsequent phases will include homes, a proposed community center, an active-adult retiree community, more paved trails and additional open space. “We’re very excited,” said Stan. “This community will be unique—a modern development in a rural setting within just 21 miles of Albuquerque.”