The 4th Street Revitalization of the Village of Los Ranchos transformed the corridor into an economic and civic hub for this small municipality in Bernalillo County’s North Valley. The project includes both master planning and design of this Route 66 remnant. The former two-lane street without pedestrian facilities is now a right-of-way composed of roadways, utility poles, primarily asphalt with undefined parking and no pedestrian or biking improvements. Local residents, merchants and visitors will benefit as this thoroughfare transforms into the neighborhood spine—a complete street with restaurants, commerce, sidewalks, landscaping, and civic spaces.

This revitalization strategy and master plan focused on the commercial corridor along 4th Street through the Village of Los Ranchos.  The project focused on strategies that could promote the commercial revitalization of the businesses in the corridor while encouraging a mixed land use pattern.  Recognizing the nature of the Village, the length of the corridor, and varying market opportunities by segment of the corridor, Sites Southwest identified areas with the highest commercial potential through a market study which included surveys of businesses and residents and created a land use plan and catalytic project zones to encourage development in those nodes.  Outside the commercial nodes, the revitalization strategy recommends mixed uses.  Design guidelines in the master plan for the corridor were intended to retain the character of Los Ranchos with higher density patterns as the corridor develops.  The plan provided information regarding community demographics and retail expenditure potential as well as background information on local businesses.  Following the conclusion of master planning efforts, the project team moved on to the total redesign of the corridor. A sense of the community’s unique history and culture was integrated into the redesign through the use of materials, design motifs and a complete street approach to design.

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