Big plans in store for Riverwalk development

GRANTS N.M. — The City of Grants and Councilman Erik Garcia have big plans for the Riverwalk and surrounding areas. Garcia and City of Grants crews already put these plans in motion a few months ago, making what Garcia calls “baby steps” towards growth in Grants.

It all started with the Desert Storm Memorial that resides beside the hot spring fountain on the corner of Santa Fe Avenue and Fifth Street. Garcia noticed that the memorial, which recognizes locals that served in Desert Storm in 1991, was covered with pinecones, tree twigs, and other foliage. Garcia decided he wanted to clean up the memorial and then he noticed the areas next to it – the hot spring fountain, the waterfall, and the Rio San Jose River. Garcia decided to pursue the project further, get his feet wet in it, “literally,” Garcia joked, and now himself and the city have a vision for the area’s development.

The idea behind the project is that many people come off Interstate 40 and drive through town on Santa Fe Avenue. Garcia believes that if the city cleans up some of the attractions already existing through that area, the visitors will notice it and want to stop. Garcia started thinking about all of the things that the area has to offer — steam from the hot spring, fishing, water in general — and he thought, “We can capitalize on some of this stuff…. We need to start using this as more of a tourist attraction because it is on Route 66 and water attracts people.” Garcia teamed up with Public Works Director Mark Teshima to see if these plans could become a reality. Teshima was on board, and crews soon went to work.

Crews cleaned up the memorial, moved to the hot spring fountain – which is about 68 degrees and connected to an artesian well – and then they worked their way towards the waterfall and river. Garcia and crews used both the city’s equipment and Garcia’s personal equipment to make a path to the river and clear out the surrounding foliage. They then cleared out the water and built-up mud and filled the riverbed with new river rocks. During this process, crews found a shopping cart from “Frank’s Market” – a store from the late seventies – indicating that section of the river had not been cleaned up for over 40 years.

The crews then filled the riverbed with clean water, which Garcia said is filtered frequently. As of right now, work on the project is at a standstill because it is easier to get the work done during the winter, whenever the water is frozen or can be cut off. Until then, Garcia and many others are very excited for the project to continue.

“As we want to attract people to our community… what better place to start than the Riverwalk? It’s an asset that we already have, and we need to capitalize on it and we just need to put some elbow grease in it,” said Garcia.

Some organizations and individuals which have expressed interest in the project include the Rio San Jose Flood Control District, State Representative Harry Garcia, and State Senator Joshua Sanchez. According to Councilor Garcia, the Rio San Jose Flood Control District, which is an organization working to clean the Rio San Jose River, gave the City of Grants $10,000 for this project. With that money, the City purchased river rocks, rented a Bob Cat Skid Steer, and purchased a mulcher to go with a mini excavator.

“Those are good people because they know and they’ve seen what the city is doing and they’re all on board to help us out,” said Garcia of the Rio San Jose Flood Control District.

The plans going forward are to hopefully clean up the rest of the Rio San Jose, from where crews have already started at Santa Fe Avenue all the way to the Riverwalk Amphitheater. The vision includes clearing out the foliage, putting some large rocks or concrete blocks to outline one side of the river, planting some grass, et cetera. Garcia hopes to establish a clean lazy river for families and their kids to float on, play in, and more. Aside from the river, Garcia also hopes to fix up the Riverwalk gazebo, clear out the Riverwalk ponds and make deeper, cleaner ponds with more fish.

The hope is that these developments and this growth will flourish outwards, from the Riverwalk, to the Legacy Trail going towards Surf Shack and then to Sakelares Boulevard. To Garcia, the Riverwalk is just one small piece to the bigger picture of where Grants can be in a few years. The keyword there is a few years. “I’m probably gonna have to run another term just to see it get complete,” said Garcia with a laugh.

According to Garcia, an entire Riverwalk project, from start to finish would cost about $10 million. “So basically, we already have a $10 million investment in our community, that all we need to do is just get it cleaned up,” explained Garcia.

Garcia also talked about extended potential benefits he believes the project could have, including partnerships with New Mexico State University-Grants through their Master Gardener program or even the Farm in a Box program.

All in all, Councilor Garcia is excited to see these plans unfold, acknowledging that it won’t happen overnight while also anticipating the possible benefits. Garcia hopes that the Riverwalk development will have a domino effect in which the Riverwalk attractions will bring people in, the Gross Receipts Tax will go up, the state will see the GRT going up, see that Grants is worth the money, be excited to fund Grants’ projects, and other businesses will start to see it too and want to come to Grants.

Garcia added, “If we don’t take care of ourselves by cleaning up the area and showing them that trend line of our gross receipts tax going up, Grants is never going to grow… Where I want be is to promote Grants as the safest, cleanest, most fun place in New Mexico — the hidden gem. And I think we can get there, this has potential, we just gotta put some elbow grease on it.”

The city has big plans to foster excitement, while they’re not officially confirmed, they include a free splash pad for kids, and installing LED lights under Riverwalk bridges. Big plans are coming for the Riverwalk here in Grants.