Bernalillo County economic development office reports nearly $400M private investment, new site‑readiness work

Marcos Gonzalez, director of the Bernalillo County Economic Development Department, presented the office’s 2025 annual review to the commission on Feb. 11, describing project outcomes, the active pipeline, and state collaboration on site-readiness.

Gonzalez said the county completed six projects in 2025 — three IRBs and three housing projects — accounting for nearly $400 million in private investment, about 137 new W‑2 permanent jobs and more than 612 affordable housing units. He said the active portfolio includes more than 100 projects spanning IRBs, housing, tax increment financing and other programs.

Gonzalez highlighted a recent $1.5 million brownfields grant application to fund Phase I and II environmental testing to reduce predevelopment costs and spur redevelopment. He also reported the housing division hired its first staff member and noted the county secured approximately $63 million in state funding with roughly $48 million already spent.

Chad Matheson, interim director of the Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance, described a state site-characterization and predevelopment program funded with an initial legislative appropriation; the program has characterized 17 sites in the state (22 with new round) to help communities understand infrastructure gaps and to apply for predevelopment grants. Matheson and commissioners emphasized that characterization does not mean sites are immediately “site ready” — it identifies gaps that later funding must close.

Commissioners focused questions on job quality, asking for median wage data and ranges rather than averages; Gonzalez supplied an average wage on slide materials of about $76,000 for the jobs referenced and offered to provide more granular wage data offline. Commissioners praised use of state grant tools and the department’s work to leverage public and private partners.