Building a City in New Mexico

On a flat stretch land in Albuquerque, NM, economic developers plan to create 60,000 jobs, 38,000 homes, and a town center--within 30 years.

The 25-square-mile Mesa del Sol, as it has been named by developers Forest City Enterprises and the development partnership, Forest City Covington New Mexico, will be a high-tech economic development center. Already, an 87,000-square-foot building was completed for Advent Solar, a manufacturer of solar cells, which is expected to create up to 1,000 jobs. Albuquerque Studios, one of the largest media production companies in the U.S., has invested $74 million in building six sound stages. Sony Pictures Imageworks is planning a 100,000-square-foot center for the near future.

Planners are calling the mixed-use development generational--an ever-growing new city within a city within New Mexico.

Sources: The New York Times, Mesa del Sol