Now there are more than 300 homes and VIA President Bob Davey predicts more 450 by the end of 1997. And plans are in the works for a 550-acre addition north of the current phase. VIA's home base is in Rio Communities, an unincorporated growth area east of Belen. Rio began as a dream of Horizon Corporation, developers who bought thousands of acres of land in Valencia County in the 1960s and divided the land into quarter-acre and larger lots sold all around the world. Even today, thousands of people receive tax notices from Valencia County because of the many people who own a relatively small piece of the County.
Taxes also tell the story of growth.
Belen, the third municipality, rests comfortably at the southernmost tip of the county. The greater Belen area also houses several industries. The Rio Grande Industrial Park south of Rio Communities provides a home to Solo Cup, United Desiccants and Avonite, for years Belen's only manufacturing facility. Solo Cup and United Desiccants are easily recognizable. Solo paper items, such as cups and plates, are found around the world.