Tessera's Timeline

1990s: Formerly referred to as College Hills, the land was owned, according to county records, by the Christian Brothers of Santa Fe, who also owned and operated The College of Santa Fe, among other things.
1998: The Christian Brothers got approval to divide lots on both sides of the bypass.
2001-2012:
- 2001: Michael Hurlocker bought the land and secured development permission to put 166 lots on 146 acres north of the 599 bypass.
- He named his company Northwest Villages LLC, and in Dec 2001 was granted the Master Plan Amendment (plats)
- Hurlocker envisioned the Tessera development as a “community of single-family contemporary homes”
- In 2007 Northwest Villages filled the CC&Rs for Tessera as the declarant.
- Hurlocker, with architect Bob Zachry, designed and constructed 3 homes on Via Nova and Via Altera
- 2012, August 1st: Michael Hurlocker decided to “give the land back to the bank”
February 2010: Los Alamos National Bank (LANB, which no longer exists, bought by Enterprise Bank & Trust) officials were “bringing in” a federal regulator — as though by invitation — “to work with the bank on its problem loans.”
- These were presumably in addition to those that had already gone bust and were listed in two pages of “discounted real estate” — another great euphemism — on the bank’s website.
- The repossessed property included condos, houses, and lots at the stalled-out Oshara, Aldea, and Tessera subdivisions and one of the Juanita Street condos.
- December 2009: LANB had a “troubled asset ratio” of 44.6 — three times worse than the national average. That was after the bank had received a $35.5 million infusion from the federal Troubled Asset Relief Program.
September 2012:
- Homewise (a Santa Fe nonprofit that builds affordable housing) closed a deal with LANB to buy 238 acres on both sides of N.M. 599: Tessera, 146 acres, North of 599 and 92 acres, South of 599.
- The "new" Tessera was built on the original plan of 166 lots, with the same lot sizes as before, averaging one third of an acre.
- The 132 remaining Tessera lots were built in 2 phases by Platinum Sky in Phase 1, and Platinum Sky and other general contractors in Phase 2, for Homewise.
- Of the project’s 146 acres, a total of 68 acres was left as open space and trails — for walking, biking, and horseback riding — connecting with the Aldea and La Tierra trails.
2013-2018: First Phase of development
- Single-family homes, already-platted subdivision, 74 lots that already had roads and complete infrastructure
- Nov 8-9, 2014: Grand opening of model homes
- The Homewise offerings included seven floor plans, with 2-, 3-, and 4-bedroom homes, from 1,070 to 2,096 square feet, starting at $293,500. (starting price: $274 per square foot).
2023 and beyond: Our own path
- In summer of 2024 WestGate was purchased by Sentry Inc. and the BOD was told the contract terms would be the same as would the service. Neither of those turned out to be true.
- WestGate illegally transferred the Management Service Agreement to Sentry without BOD approval. Vendors were not paid, financials were not provided, and in general communication broke down as they transitioned to Sentry. Many local jobs and services were transferred to Florida (Sentry's HQ) and it became much harder to obtain those services. This was the nail in the coffin for this relationship. The contract with Sentry was terminated effective Dec 2024 with cause.
- These Management Service Company's do not have the responsibility of acting as fiduciaries for the TOA. Thus, they have no legal duty to act in the best interest of the TOA, in the end the BOD is the only fiduciary in this arrangement.
- In 2025 the BOD acquired services for our bookkeeping with Might-Non Profits a true fiduciary; built a new communications platform the Tessera Information and Management System (TIMS) [this site] to collect dues, supply the community with information, and as a document repository using HOA Express; contracted with Specialty Answering Service (SAS) for urgent after hours hotline: (505) 230-6400; and partnered with an tax specialist for our taxes.