Not long after the Mercado de la Mesilla was completed, Larry Sheffield remembers an out-of-town visitor pulling up with a question.
“Boy, how long have these buildings been here? They look so old,” Sheffield recalled. “To me, that was like the best compliment anybody could have ever paid because we had just finished the project.”
The Mercado was new construction, but its thick walls, reclaimed materials and Southwestern architecture were intended to make it feel at home in Mesilla. Now, 25 years later, the Mercado’s history will be recognized with a celebration Nov. 14.
The anniversary also brings Sheffield back to the project’s beginnings in the late 1990s with developer Ben Boldt, who has since died. Sheffield said the two once sat down for lunch at the Double Eagle and wrote some of their ideas for the property on a napkin.
Sheffield purchased the property from Boldt and developed the first two sets of buildings at the Mercado. The project took years of planning and meetings with the Town of Mesilla as Sheffield worked to make the new development complement its historic surroundings.
“The vision was to take the same essence of Mesilla and maybe expand it,” Sheffield said. “The town is so unique, and it has such a wonderful feel.”
That meant paying attention to details beyond the façades. Adobe blocks were made using soil from the site, Sheffield said, while old brick came from El Paso and mesquite doors were brought from Mexico. The buildings incorporated vigas and latillas, reclaimed architectural pieces and walls about 2 feet thick.
Even the layout was part of the plan. Rather than concentrating activity along the road like a conventional shopping center, Sheffield placed a roundabout and fountain farther inside the property, creating what he envisioned as the development’s center of gravity.
Turning those ideas into something builders could work from brought artist Kelley Hestir into the project. Sheffield described what he had in mind and supplied images, while Hestir created conceptual drawings of the buildings. Hestir, who returned to Las Cruces in 1995, said the aim was not to make every structure match.
What surprised her was how much of that artwork survived the trip from paper to construction.
“They built the buildings to look like the artwork, and that almost never happens,” Hestir said. “Somebody’s always going to throw their own idea in there or they’re going to cut corners because that costs too much, and they didn’t do that.”
The illustrations also gave prospective investors and tenants a way to see what the Mercado could become before the buildings existed. Sheffield said the first building was fully rented within six months of completion, while the second was leased before construction was finished.
“I think it’s pretty eye-catching if you’re not sure about what it is and you’re driving down the road and you see it,” Hestir said. “It’s a place that you might want to stop and see what’s going on because it’s very unusual looking.”
Art is again part of the Mercado’s story as it reaches the milestone. Local oil painter Michelle Augustyniak became involved after Sheffield spotted her note cards at The Bean in Mesilla. One depicting the Fountain Theatre caught his attention, and he later contacted Augustyniak about creating artwork for the anniversary.
The assignment appealed to her immediately. Her father was a homebuilder, Augustyniak said, and architecture has long been a subject she enjoys painting. At the Mercado, details including the old brick, adobe, thick walls and wooden windows became the focus of her work. Her paintings deliberately give much of the canvas to the structures rather than the surrounding landscape.
“I hope they appreciate the work that was involved in it,” Augustyniak said. “When you step into that historical scene, you just feel different. You feel like you’re stepping back in time.”
Sheffield has continued to visit the Mercado over the years, including after selling the property. He said much of what was originally built remains as he remembers it, while additional development has continued around the complex.
For him, reaching 25 years also offers a chance to remember Boldt and the others who had a hand in turning those early ideas into a lasting piece of Mesilla.
“I think he’d be really proud,” Sheffield said of Boldt. “I’m glad we took the challenge and did something that has been beneficial to the community.”
