Archives for January 2015

In a deal announced Tuesday by Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Harvard Investments, the new developer of Mariposa East, Axelfire will move about 25 jobs from its current office in Albuquerque, plus add another eight, to the only commercial building in the development formerly known as just Mariposa.
The sale price was not disclosed.
Axelfire will occupy about 10,000 square feet in the office building known as Mariposa East Commons, which once housed the offices of Mariposa’s original developer, High Desert Investment. The remainder of the building will be leased.
Designed by Dekker Perich Sabatini and built by Enterprise Builders, the High Desert-owned building opened in 2007 and, as the Mariposa development slid into insolvency during the housing bust, was foreclosed on about five years later by lender Admiral Bank of Boston.
The building was the first in Rio Rancho to receive green certification through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.
“This investment by Axelfire bolsters Harvard’s reasons for acquiring the Mariposa East master plan just a short time ago — thoughtful planning, high quality infrastructure, and a city on the leading edge of growth,” Harvard Investments Vice President Tim Brislin said in a prepared statement announcing the building sale.
By: Richard Metcalf (Albuquerque Journal)
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The relative strength of its technology sector provided a bright spot in the Albuquerque metro area’s otherwise precipitous drop in the Milken Institute’s annual index of the country’s best-performing cities.
Albuquerque placed 179 out of 200 in the large city category, falling 24 spots from its ranking of 155 in Milken’s 2013 index of best-performing cities. The report says the index is designed to measure how well cities are “promoting economic vitality based on job creation and retention, the quality of new jobs, and other criteria.”
For perspective, Albuquerque placed 20th among large cities in the Milken index in 2004.
While some measures like job growth and wages were dismal in 2014, Albuquerque’s index scores were strong for the relative size and productivity of its high-tech sector compared to its overall economy. Albuquerque’s tech scores are comparable to those of Baltimore, Trenton, N.J., and Washington, D.C.
The high-tech scores “gauge an area’s participation in the knowledge-based economy,” the report says. But the tech scores were not high enough to offset low scores in more heavily weighted index categories like job growth, wages and output.
At a ranking of 179, Albuquerque is grouped with places like Rockford, Ill.; Erie, Pa.; and Port St. Lucie, Fla. Rounding out the bottom of the rankings were Youngstown, Ohio, at 199 and Atlantic City, N.J., at 200.
The top five best-performing large cities were San Francisco; Austin, Texas; Provo, Utah; San Jose, Calif.; and Raleigh, N.C. California and Colorado each had four metros in the Top 25.
One of the most improved large cities in the Santa Monica, Calif.-based think tank’s rankings was Lubbock in West Texas, which jumped from 69 in 2013 to 20 in 2014. The top 100 large cities included El Paso at 53, Tulsa, Okla., at 69 and Colorado Springs at 90.
Among 179 small cities ranked in the index, Las Cruces placed 55. As with Albuquerque, Las Cruces’ strength was in its high-tech scores. Also ranked were Santa Fe at 153 and Farmington at 163.
By: ABQnews Staff (Albuquerque Journal)
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After two years of meeting, the bi-partisan New Mexico Jobs Council can agree that spending $74 million on jobs is a good idea.
But the issue that keeps popping up this year, right-to-work, isn’t something that the council can agree on.
At Monday’s NAIOP luncheon, outgoing Speaker of the House Ken Martinez and incoming Speaker of the House Don Tripp made it clear that they are on different pages when it comes to right-to-work.
At Monday’s NAIOP luncheon, outgoing Speaker of the House Ken Martinez and incoming Speaker of the House Don Tripp (pictured) made it clear that they are on different pages when it comes to right-to-work.
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“The first way to train wreck this council is to get into political issues. Right-to-work is one. But it’s not a factor of production, and it’s not stopping growth,” Martinez said. “What’s important is to focus on what we agree on and pick our fights carefully.”
“Most of my caucus is in favor of it,” Tripp said. “We would like to pass a right-to-work bill in the legislature.”
Right-to-work legislation prohibits employers from requiring employees to join unions or pay union dues as a condition of employment or promotion.
“We want to see more bills come to the floor. If a vote was called [in the Senate], I’m sure it was pass. We’re trying to put that thing to a vote,” Tripp said.
Though Senate Floor Leader Michael Sanchez has said he doesn’t support right-to-work, which raised questions about whether Sanchez would prevent right-to-work bills from going to a vote there, Tripp said there are other ways to get a bill to the floor.
Regardless, the two said, the jobs council has made significant progress on discovering ways to fund job-creation efforts. The council is not making any policy recommendations; instead, it’s focusing on a $74 million shopping list of appropriations to create 16,000 jobs annually for the next 10 years.
The funds include the $50 million Local Economic Development Act funds, as well as $500,000 for the New Mexico Partnership and much more.
Tripp said he would like to see the funds be recurring.
“We all share the vision that we’d like to do better for New Mexico, and that hinges on jobs,” Tripp said.
By: Dan Mayfield (Albuquerque Business First)
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Gov. Susana Martinez said publicly for the first time Thursday that she will support right-to-work legislation.
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Speaking at the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce luncheon, Governor Martinez said she has several legislative priorities that include beefing up the state’s Local Economic Development Act, making it easier for entrepreneurs to launch businesses, continuing her push for education reform and more.
Governor Martinez cautioned, however, that oil revenues which have boosted the state’s budget for several years will be lower in 2015.

“Yes oil and gas prices have fallen, and it put a squeeze on revenues, but over the last four years we’ve held the line on spending,” she said.
Oil prices have dropped. However, natural gas prices “per therm,” which have been at record lows for several years, have seen significant gains recently.
Though Governor Martinez touted several successes, there’s more work that needs to be done this legislative session, she said, and she listed several priorities. There were seven that stood out:
1. Right-to-Work
The law would eliminate rules that make union dues compulsory to get hired in a specific job. This issue will be the most contentious during the session, with most Republicans supporting it and most Democrats saying it’s a bad idea.
2. $50 million Closing Fund
Saying New Mexico needs to “turn up the volume,” she said the state needs to institute a $50 million closing fund to bring more companies here.
3. Increase Job Training Funds
The state’s Job Training Incentive Program has been successful, she said, and she wants to see more training money available.
4. Expand Existing Business Tax Credits
Though many are in place, Governor Martinez said she wants to see the state increase its commitment to Main Street Program tax credits.
5. Reduce PIT for Entrepreneurs
Governor Martinez proposed reducing the personal income tax rate for entrepreneurs who are starting up new companies.
6. Change Investment Regs
Governor Martinez said she wants to find ways to bring out more of the technlogies that have been developed at the state’s federal labs. She’s also looking at ways to reform the Higher Education Endowment Fund to provide investments.
7. Education Reform
From instituting higher starting salaries for teachers to addressing truancy, Governor Martinez rattled off a full slate of education reform packages. She did, however, reiterate that she wants to hold children back in grades if they can’t read at a certain grade level.
By: Dan Mayfield (Albuquerque Business First)
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