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New Mexico鈥檚 new site-readiness program is going 鈥渆xtremely well,鈥� Economic Development Secretary Rob Black says, an initiative state leaders hope will spur investment.

Legislation passed and signed by the governor earlier this year appropriated $24 million from the state鈥檚 general fund to find and prepare sites for business development with the hopes of making it easier for companies to come to New Mexico.

Black, appointed by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to the Cabinet-level position last year, said his department has so far evaluated 47 sites across the state as a result of the program鈥檚 funding. 

The effort targets a long-standing hurdle to economic development in New Mexico: the years it can take to prepare land for construction. State officials say the delays have often cost New Mexico potential investment as companies choose sites elsewhere, typically in faster-moving states like Texas and Arizona.

鈥淗istorically, it would take three to five years for a company to say, 鈥業 want to be in New Mexico,鈥欌�� Black said. 鈥淏ut because we don鈥檛 have sites that are ready, it takes too long to get a building vertical and for a business to start, so they go somewhere else.鈥�

Officials consider factors including a site鈥檚 electricity, environmental, traffic, zoning and ownership when evaluating a location, Black said. A property can be under county, city, tribal or private ownership to be considered.

After an initial evaluation of a potential site, state officials will determine what investments are needed to make it viable, he added.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a very early stage in the program,鈥� Black said. 鈥淭he fact that we鈥檝e been able to characterize as many sites as we have, I think, is pretty amazing.鈥�

The initiative has attracted one business 鈥� Amazon 鈥� to a location in Roswell chosen for development.

Amazon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the new Roswell site.

鈥淚t鈥檚 been a really good response from around the state,鈥� Black said.

When a company looks to select a location for development, it typically considers a variety of spots in multiple states, said Chad Matheson, president of the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Regional Economic Alliance.

Roughly three dozen states have some form of a site-readiness program in place, AREA has said. 

Since the program鈥檚 launch in New Mexico, more than a dozen sites have been evaluated in the greater sa国际传媒官网网页入口 area alone 鈥� a move that could pay off in the near future. 

鈥淲e want to make sure that the region and the state have the ability to move quickly when it comes to really securing an investment,鈥� Matheson said.

After an evaluation, landowners can see what work needs to be done on their property, then can apply for funding 鈥渢hat could help close some of those gaps on the site,鈥� Matheson said.

Black said he anticipates 鈥渁 lot of demand鈥� for support to get sites ready for development as the program progresses. Sites have already shown a high need for improvements thus far, he said.

鈥淚n just two or three sites, you鈥檒l see $500,000 of electrical upgrades; it needs a million dollars for a road; it needs broadband access or, you know, whatever it might be,鈥� Black said.

The initial round of funding is for three years, but Matheson said he hopes to see legislators add more money to the program down the line.

鈥淚 would love to see that grow in magnitude over the next several years,鈥� he said.

Black hopes that with enough attractive jobs in-state, the 60% of New Mexico鈥檚 college students who leave the state after graduation may be encouraged to stay.

鈥淥ur No. 1 export is our kids,鈥� Black said. 鈥淲hat we want to do is be able to create a situation where鈥ur kids have places where they can go work and have cool jobs, whether that鈥檚 in technology, advanced energy, manufacturing, computers.鈥�

Natalie Robbins covers the economy and health care for the Journal. You can reach her at nrobbins@abqjournal.com.