If that is true, then people like Alex Leonard should probably be neck deep in opportunity.

While the proper attire for a developer selling lots at more than $100,000 a pop should probably be a suit and tie, Leonard had on a pair of old blue jeans, stained by various industrial adhesives, and a pair of worn tennis shoes and his shirt pocket was stuffed note pads and pens as he climbed off of the roof of the clubhouse on Monday. Although he was without the overalls, he certainly looked like a person who had been working.

He is in the middle of selling property for phase two of his current project, Nature Pointe, a gated community of homes near Sedillo Hill that features a nearly 18,000 square foot clubhouse as a kind of central draw.

The clubhouse features a pool, sauna, commercial kitchen, pool tables, video games and many other amenities. It also serves as a kind of community center for residents. It is also part of the reason the center won the 2008 NAIOP Eagle award of Excellence for New Mexico residential amenity subdivisions.

Each person who buys a lot is a part owner of the clubhouse, paying about $100 in monthly dues for maintenance and upkeep. A network of hiking trails connecting each home to the structure, which is designed to be a place to bring people from the area together. And it's working, Leonard said.

Residents have held yoga and western dance classes and square dances and art sales have also been held in the center.

It's a concept that is not common for the East Mountains, and, at a cost of more than $5 million to build, it is by no means cheap.

The clubhouse was completed in May 2008 and is free and clear, deeded to the homeowners association. He added that he is excited to have financing together for phase two but, at this point, they've taken $100,000 off the lot prices and are selling them at what amount to wholesale prices.

Leonard also acknowledged some unfortunate timing. His answer was that he plans to put his shoulder to the grindstone and continue to work.

"In the long-term, I think it'll be OK," he said. "The future looks bright."

He retrieved some tools from his 1980's model Volkswagen van. Leonard said he'd started in another business, Foreign Aide Parts & Service for Volkswagen, which began because he bought a VW, a brand of car that is known for being both easy to fix and for requiring a lot of repairs. As such it serves as kind of a incubator for budding mechanics.

That business is mostly run by his wife these days, Leonard said, and he spends his time doing work around Nature Pointe.

He actually paved the way to developing Nature Pointe, where he hopes to build a house for himself some day, through his involvement other developments in the East Mountains, such as Sandia Mountain Ranch. It has taken 17 years to get to this point, he said.

Taking a cell phone call midway through installing the solar panels — and what seemed to be several other projects to boot — he stopped for a moment in the clubhouse's largest room, the Anasazi Room, which features a basketball net that extends into the room on a remote-controlled boom, anchors for a volleyball net and a racquetball court adjacent.

The room's gigantic vigas and latillas were hand-hewn on site after being reclaimed from a forest fire in southern New Mexico's Gila forest, as were those throughout the structure.

He talked briefly about why he had was interested in making the clubhouse "green."

"It needs to be done," he said.

It's a statement that may also explain why he spends his days on the roof of the building working with power tools.

The clubhouse is also occasionally available for rent for special events, Leonard said. For more information go to www.naturepointe.com.