NMSU Makes Plans for Its 257-Acre Tech Park Where the Interstates Meet

By Andrew Webb :: Journal Staff Writer

A business-friendly administration, the encouragement of a local economic development group and rumors of a new interstate exit ramp could conspire to breathe life into a 17-year-old industrial park owned by New Mexico State University.

The Arrowhead Research Park, a 257-acre patch of land at the junction of interstates 25 and 10 at the south end of the Las Cruces campus, was founded in 1989. But to date, it has only two buildings; one is a business incubator owned by the university and the other is the park's only corporate tenant, General Dynamics.

Kevin Boberg, CEO of the recently created Arrowhead Center Inc., a business unit of NMSU, says the university aims to change that, using recommendations from consultants brought in by the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance, or MVEDA, to assess area business friendliness.

"They said, 'You've got a tremendous asset that deserves to be marked by more than one or two buildings and a lot of sand,' '' said Boberg, who is also an associate dean and chair of economic development at NMSU's business school. "They told the president and the regents we needed to start paying attention to it."

Boberg said the university administration has never been friendlier toward developing the project.

Furthermore, he said, the state plans to build an interstate interchange right at the park's apex.

"Easier access will make it a lot easier to attract business here," he said.

Current business school dean and former N.M. governor Garrey Carruthers signed the state law in 1988 making nonprofit, university-owned, business parks possible. The idea was to encourage business activity near universities that could provide employment and internship experience for students.

But NMSU was slow to make use of it.

"It sat there for many years with not a lot of results to show, in comparison with some of the leading research parks around the country," said MVEDA president Steve Vierck, who is also on the board of the Arrowhead Center, which also oversees NMSU's efforts to commercialize university-developed technology. "When (Carruthers) became dean, he said we've got to make some use out of this land."

Vierck says businesses, including a few that aim to make use of the planned Southwest Regional Spaceport north of town, seeking to relocate or expand in Las Cruces have recently faced a dearth of space.

NMSU is planning to build a 40,000-square-foot building for its business incubator, the Genesis Center, which currently occupies a smaller building on the park. The center houses some 30 businesses, most based on NMSU technology.

The university will also likely build a flexible building to house offices and research and development for tenant companies. That was a key recommendation made to MVEDA, Boberg said.

"Whether it's commercial space industry or business and industry in general, our community needs some spec space," he said.

Rocket Racing League, which plans to operate NASCAR-style rocket-plane races at the spaceport, also plans to build a research and development facility at the park.

"In five years, we're expecting the park to look totally different from what you see now," Vierck said.