The Las Cruces Sun-News wrapped up its five-day series on growth and development today with an overview of what’s been happening in the last few years and a look at how rapid growth only spurs more rapid growth.
The retail growth was the most staggering point in the Sun-News’ main article in today’s package: Since 2000, Las Cruces has gone from having one Wal-Mart Supercenter to having two and a Sam’s Club, and it’s gone from having no Starbucks to having four (the Sun-New erroneously said three) with another two already under construction.
In addition, here’s what the Sun-News didn’t report: Wal-Mart is looking land for a third Las Cruces store on U.S. Highway 70, and Target is currently working a deal to build its second Las Cruces store on Highway 70. Kohl’s is already building on the city’s north side, and
The growth really is staggering.
In a second article, the newspaper took a look at the debate about whether the growth is good and the effort by local governments to develop a regional growth plan. The article was good, but I wish the newspaper had devoted more space to looking into the aspects of open space and comparing
Overall, the newspaper did a good job of providing some needed context to the current debate. Check out the newspaper’s editorial on the topic by clicking here. The series’ home page can be found here.