Featured Locations

Choose a location... Syracuse, NY Nebraska Public Power District, NE Defiance, OH Strongsville, OH Newport News, VA Hoffman Estates, IL San Antonio, TX North Carolina's Electric Cooperatives Tennessee Valley Authority Wayne County, OH

Jump to Location

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Mass. Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hamp. New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington Wash., D.C. West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming ************** International Puerto Rico Canada U.K. Mexico Germany Hong Kong Ireland Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Singapore Spain

Home > Articles By Month > December 2007

Albuquerque, NM - Metro Spotlight

By Michelle Janowitz

The Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) ... consists of four counties in central New Mexico, with the two largest cities being

Albuquerque and Rio Rancho. Rio Rancho has grown rapidly since its incorporation in 1981, and is now home to more than 60,000 residents. Albuquerque, the largest city in New Mexico with a population of over 500,000, has a central downtown area, a historical district, an international airport, and the vast majority of the industrial, commercial, and residential development in the MSA.

 

 

---

A Growing Workforce

With a population of over 800,000 and a seasonally adjusted working population of more than 405,000, the Albuquerque MSA’s employment accounts for

over 40% of the state of New Mexico’s total employment. Through September, Albuquerque’s non-agricultural employment grew 1.2%. During the same period, the national economy experienced a 1.2% non-agricultural employment growth as well.

 

 

---

A City Within a City

Mesa del Sol is a 12,900-acre, 20-square mile, mixed-use community located in the southeast corner of the city of Albuquerque. The community is bordered by the Bernalillo County Recreational Complex and the Kirtland Air Force Base (the area’s largest employer). It is also conveniently located near two major highways, I-25 and I-40, and just a five-minute drive from the Albuquerque International Airport.

At full build out over the next 35 to 50 years, Mesa del Sol will include 37,500 residential units and 18 million square feet of commercial space (industrial, office, and retail). Fourteen hundred acres have been designated for a commercial center—Innovation Park.

Mesa del Sol’s in-house economic development department—in partnership with state and local government, the business sector, and New Mexico’s universities—is working to attract high-value employers and has targeted several sectors including renewable energy, film and digital media, government services, and the financial industry.

Currently, Advent Solar, a photovoltaic solar panel manufacturer, and Albuquerque Studios are located at Innovation Park. Sony Pictures Imageworks and multiple U.S. General Services Administration projects have announced plans to have offices there as well.

 

---

 

---

Welcome to Hollywood Albuquerque

Pacifica Ventures, owners of Culver Studios in Culver City, CA, began work last year on Albuquerque Studios—a full-service site for film, TV, music videos, commercials, and digital media processing—at Mesa del Sol in Albuquerque. The $74 million first phase of the project involves nearly 500,000 square feet of buildings—including eight large soundstages, production office space, postproduction suites, and set storage—spread over 28 acres. The company plans to create 75 permanent jobs with this first phase, and up to 2,000 jobs at full production.

“Mesa del Sol is ideal not only from a studio standpoint, but also from a real estate standpoint—the residential and commercial development,” says Nick Smerigan, executive director of Albuquerque Studios.

Plans for future phases and expansion are already in the works. The second phase, which will include retail, began in the spring of 2007.

Construction has also begun on the new 100,000-square-foot Sony Pictures Imageworks digital production facility at Albuquerque Studios. Once operational, an estimated 100 people will be employed at the facility.

 

Looking for information on locations? click here

 

Notice: You may link to any page on BusinessFacilities.com. However, you are not permitted to copy any article in its entirety and republish it—either in print or online. It is acceptable to use the first paragraph of the piece or create your own summary and link back to the full article posted at Businessfacilities.com.