A triangular, 43-acre lot near King and Unser boulevards, nicknamed “the pizza slice” for its unusual shape, is one of five properties across New Mexico to receive the state’s first “strategic economic development site” designations under the Site Readiness Program, announced by Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration.
The program, run through the New Mexico Economic Development Department, identifies and certifies properties as investment-ready, giving companies a clearer path to breaking ground quickly.
For Rio Rancho, the designation could be the push needed to finally animate a city center that has sat largely dormant since it was built in the early 2000s.
A Center Without a Center
The Rio Rancho City Center sits geographically in the middle of the city’s limits, anchored by City Hall, the Rio Rancho Events Center, a CNM campus and UNM Sandoval Regional Medical Center. But as residents flooded into Rio Rancho over the past two decades, growth pulled south toward Albuquerque, leaving the city center as a quiet island in the desert.
City officials say the Site Readiness designation changes the calculus for potential investors by removing uncertainty from the equation.
“Not all dirt is created equal,” City Manager Matt Geisel told The 528. “The developability of unimproved dirt varies significantly. EDD has done a good job in crafting a site-readiness program.”
Jobs West of the River
City leaders say their top priority for the site is job creation. A significant portion of Rio Rancho’s workforce crosses the Rio Grande daily to reach employers in Albuquerque and beyond — a commute pattern city officials are eager to reverse.
“The benefit to the City, and the City Center, is that it provides a 3rd party assessment of the site’s current condition and path to development,” Geisel said. “For any economic development or construction project, predictability and certainty is important. The site-readiness designation is advantageous to the City as we pursue and assess job creation opportunities.”
The city is exploring two broad visions for the property. One would attract a major employer in aerospace and defense, biotechnology or technology sectors tied to Sandia National Laboratories and Los Alamos National Laboratory. The other would layer in higher-density housing with ground-floor retail — a more urban, mixed-use approach.
As the property owner, the city says it is open to either selling or leasing the land depending on the right opportunity.
A Program Built in Under a Year
The Site Readiness Program stems from legislation sponsored by Sen. Michael Padilla and Rep. Meredith Dixon that passed during the 2025 legislative session. In less than a year, the Economic Development Department evaluated 47 sites statewide, launched a public site-readiness map and stood up an advisory board to guide designations and pre-development funding.
EDD Cabinet Secretary Rob Black framed the pace as a competitive necessity.
“If we don’t have shovel-ready locations for companies to build, we lose those opportunities and the jobs that come with them,” Black said in a statement. “These sites are the first of many, sending a clear message that New Mexico is ready to move at the speed of business.”
The five designated sites also include the Las Cruces Innovation & Industrial Park, the Gallup Energy Logistics Park, the Santa Teresa Gateway Rail Park Phase 2 and a site on Pueblo of Santa Ana land in Sandoval County.