The City of Las Cruces is taking a major move forward to attract new businesses to the city’s industrial park located on the West Mesa. At a City Council Work Session on February 22, Senior Real Estate Specialist Cilicia Villegas presented a new name for the industrial area, now called the Las Cruces Innovation & Industrial Park. The new name and a new logo will be used when recruiting businesses throughout the region and nation.
“This is a big step forward to tout what we have in Las Cruces,” said City Manager Ifo Pili who has been a vocal advocate of fostering economic development since he arrived in Las Cruces last year. “We have a gem with this industrial park that can immediately be competitive. We’ll be making improvements and creating incentives, but we have the infrastructure in place right now — power, utilities, land — to get companies to locate here.”
In 2020, Las Cruces received the results of an economic development study by Market Street Services, Inc. It outlined recommendations to bolster the park’s usage and attract additional tenants to both the park and the Las Cruces International Airport. Villegas told City Council that the study prioritized several actions necessary for the industrial park to reach its full potential, including a focus on three specific industries to recruit to Las Cruces: aerospace, aviation and defense; advanced manufacturing; and value-added agriculture.
“The overall goal for the park is to generate new investment,” Villegas said. “These types of companies would further diversify the regional economy and create high quality jobs.” There are approximately 20 companies currently at the 1,820-acre park located immediately south of the airport off Interstate-10.
Griselda Martinez, Director of Economic Development, said strengthening partnerships with entities such as the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance (MVEDA), the New Mexico Economic Development Department, New Mexico State University, and local brokers has already begun. Martinez said they are committed to eliminating administrative barriers that impede economic growth.
Among other improvements already on the city’s priority list for the industrial park are broadband access; beautifying the industrial park and entrances; providing vacant spec-warehouses or spaces that are immediately accessible to interested industries; installing for-sale/lease signage; and creating an interactive online map showing which parcels of city-owned land are available for sale. Villegas said the map is already on the city’s website at Las Cruces Innovation and Industrial Park | Las Cruces, NM (las-cruces.org).
Villegas said renaming the industrial park was based on input from residents and businesses and was ultimately selected earlier in February by the city’s Economic Development Policy Review Committee. While the west mesa area is familiar with Las Crucens, it could be confused with other locations by out-of-state companies. It was recommended to use “Las Cruces” in the name, making it clear where the park is located, she said.
“Right now, the goal is to make the world know what this park is and who we are,” Pili added.
“It’s exciting to experience some changes to our economic development goals here in our city,” said City Councilor Gabriel Vasquez. He stressed that creating a unique niche for specific types of industry “will help with recruitment of long-term businesses and tenants.”
The City will show off the logo as part of a public input meeting scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 4 via Zoom. (Residents can register online at: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUpceqrqDsjHN1V2ky_EAg5D32No5oEKoFe). City officials will review the proposed updates of the park’s master plan, now entitled the “Las Cruces Innovation & Industrial Park Master Plan” that is also focused on creating jobs for local residents. The entire draft plan, which followed the Market Street study, is also online for the public’s review at: https://las-cruces-industrial-park-development-plan-dps-abq.hub.arcgis.com/. It was compiled by consultants from the design firm of Dekker/Perich/Sabatini, officials said.
For more information on the park, contact Cilicia Villegas, Real Estate Services Specialist Senior SR/WA at cvillegas@las-cruces.org or (575) 528-3119.
MEDIA: Go to this URL for Logo: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MjZNqMJzx2tUR8RRSX0hMK3Z0V9xLMdV/view?usp=sharing