Santa Teresa
The community of Santa Teresa lies in a lush river valley filled with farms, horse properties, and single-family homes offering striking views from roughly 4,000 feet above sea level. Located in Doña Ana County, Santa Teresa is nestled along the Rio Grande River with beautiful views of the Franklin Mountains of El Paso. Desert and mesa country rise above the valley. Here, properties are available with stunning vistas over the valley to the mountains. El Paso lies in the distance. There are countless outdoor and recreational activities nearby.
Santa Teresa offers year-round sunshine, a suburban lifestyle, and a low cost of living. This small community is adjacent to the Santa Teresa Port of Entry (featured in the “Better Call Saul” TV series). It is one of the newest and least congested ports of entry between the U.S. and Mexico. Santa Teresa is closer to El Paso than it is to Las Cruces, but it is part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan Area and is served by the Gadsden Independent School District. Many young professionals live here, and most residents own their homes. The full-service Doña Ana County International Jetport is located just four miles to the northwest of this El Paso suburb.
Jobs also are growing in the area, in part due to expanding businesses and industries in the Santa Teresa Border Industrial Parks, located with quick access to the International Jetport and the new Union Pacific intermodal facility. Industries are rapidly expanding in nearby Juarez and San Jeronimo, Mexico. Santa Teresa is poised for explosive growth and opportunity, championed by the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance (MVEDA).
Sunland Park
Just southeast of the community of Santa Teresa, the rapidly growing city of Sunland Park sits at the foot of Mount Cristo Rey along the Rio Grande River. Sunland Park is approximately 15 minutes from El Paso. It borders Texas and the state of Chihuahua, Mexico. The entire area was once known as “Anapra,” meaning “this side of the river” and Ciudad Juarez is just a 40-minute drive to the south. Although Sunland Park was not incorporated until 1983, its history dates back to the 1880s.
Popular with both retirees and young families, buyers are drawn to this area since it is conveniently situated for commuting to and from the larger cities of El Paso or Las Cruces. The city of Sunland Park is planning a new regional walk, hike, and bike trail system that will connect with the nearly 70 miles of the Paso del Norte trail system for hiking, biking, and walking. This will join with a proposed river walk past the Sunland Park shops and restaurants along the river, creating both a commercial venture and an entertainment corridor along the trail.
Sunland Park is becoming quite a desirable place to live. Land is plentiful in the northern part of Sunland Park, but the number of available homes is running low. Lots are often sold even before development begins. The city has been thoughtfully and carefully planning for the effective balance of commercial spaces, city infrastructure, and all essential and desired amenities so that its residents can enjoy health, wealth and high quality of life in Sunland Park.
Things To Do
- Sierra de Cristo Rey (On Mt. Cristo Rey stands the 29-foot-tall limestone statue of Christ the King by artist Urbici Soler)
- War Eagles Air Museum
- Sunland Park Racetrack and Casino (opened in 1960 as a thoroughbred racing track and was long the only legalized gambling venue in the region)
- Western Playland Amusement Park
- Ardivino’s Desert Crossing Restaurant (fine dining and innovative cuisine in the foothills of Mt. Cristo Rey)
- Ardivino’s Desert Crossing Farmers’ Market (fresh produce, small-batch foodstuffs, arts and crafts every Saturday morning summer through fall with an ever-increasing selection of organic and pesticide-free produce, beef, pork, lamb and goat, fresh-baked breads and salsas)
- Keystone Heritage Park and the El Paso Desert Botanical Garden
- Casa de Adobe Museum is located in nearby Ciudad Juarez. It commemorates the spot where Madero and Pancho Villa met to determine the future of Mexico during the 1911 revolution.
- Zin Valle Vineyards
- La Vina Winery’s Harvest Wine and Spring Wine Festivals (New Mexico’s oldest continuously running winery)
- Sunland Park Mall