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Rio Rancho officials highlight 43-acre City Center site, apply for $1.5 million in site-readiness funding
Summary
City Manager Matt Geisel and Economic Development Manager Alberto Solis told the governing body the state designated a 43-acre portion of Rio Rancho City Center as a strategic site and the city applied for $1.5 million from the New Mexico Site Readiness Fund to build College Boulevard phase 2 and improve access to make the land shovel-ready.
City Manager Matt Geisel and Economic Development and Business Relations Manager Alberto Solis told the Rio Rancho governing body at a June work session that the city is focusing on making a portion of the Rio Rancho City Center shovel-ready for future employers.
Geisel traced the city's economic-development evolution from an in-house marketing function to the Rio Rancho Economic Development Corporation and, later, the regional Sandoval Economic Alliance. He said the city shifted away from broad operating grants toward contract scopes focused on business retention and expansion, site readiness and targeted industry support.
Alberto Solis said a 43-acre area he described as the "pizza slice" at City Center was designated by the State of New Mexico's Site Readiness Advisory Board as a strategic economic development site. "We applied for $1,500,000," Solis said of the New Mexico Site Readiness Fund request, adding that the money would support College Boulevard phase 2 to Broadmoor to improve access to that parcel and increase its attractiveness to healthcare, bioscience and aerospace-related employers.
Solis framed his role as a bridge between internal city processes and external partners such as the Sandoval Economic Alliance and the Rio Rancho Regional Chamber of Commerce, saying the city focuses on project navigation, stewardship of incentives and asset marketing. He said the city's City Center inventory includes "70-plus acres" of land the city is promoting, with a priority on the 43-acre strategic site.
Councilors pressed for measurable results and asked how many sites are currently "site-ready" and how much prospect interest exists. Solis acknowledged that, while partners and contractors have reported prospects and some projects, not all job totals are tracked directly by the city and some figures in reports combine actual and projected hires. "We're playing the long game," Geisel said, noting economic-development returns can take years to materialize.
The council did not take formal action at the work session; members asked staff to continue reporting on site-readiness progress, grant outcomes and partner coordination.
