May 21, 2025 – Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance (AREA) has released a short documentary film written by AREA and produced by Comcast, titled ‘The Evolution and Future Path of Greater Albuquerque’s Economy.’
The film was revealed at a private screening at Revel Entertainment, with AREA investors and partners in attendance to get a sneak peek at the production and hear from a panel of participants who were featured in the documentary.
“The impetus to create the video was to remind us of the roots of the New Mexico economy, the key moments and breakthroughs that have led us to today,” said Danielle Casey, AREA President & CEO. “We have had many innovations and achievements in the past century. Our goal is to create a sense of urgency and a can-do perspective on our shared vision and goals for our economic future to springboard us into the next 100 years.”
Greater Albuquerque is a region with a rich economic history, evolving from agrarian roots to being a center for top-secret research and design of the atomic bomb and now a top U.S. filmmaking location and magnet for renewable energy investment.
“What excites me most about the growing industries is that they appeal to young people. We see local universities investing in these fields, and I think it’s important to have job opportunities for students when they graduate. We need to create opportunity for young people and for growth throughout the city,” commented Danielle Chavez, Manager of Revel Entertainment.
Even with these strong recent successes, overall economic and job growth rates have still not kept up with Greater Albuquerque’s past trajectory or with that of some of its top competitors due to many factors, including stagnant population growth, lack of a trained workforce, and the overall unfriendly business climate.
But AREA’s regional strategic plan, AREA 1.0, and the New Mexico economic development department’s updated statewide strategic plan – Empower and Collaborate: New Mexico’s Economic Path Forward – have mapped a path to modernize New Mexico’s industry recruitment, infrastructure, and regulations to diversify the economy. AREA’s efforts have seen strong success through new partnerships with government and other nonprofit partners around the region and the state.
Added Dale Dekker of Dekker, “Having the national labs and Kirtland Air Force base has really helped smooth the highs and the lows of the swings that occur in the economy. The issue is we have not yet been able to take full advantage of that and diversify our economy. As we evolve into the next generation of technology, quantum computing, and aerospace, the assets and the resources that exist at Kirtland Air Force Base, the Air Force Research Lab, Sandia National Labs and Los Alamos National Laboratory are going to be huge drivers.”
Recent successes in legislation such as Senate Bill 169 – Strategic Economic Development Site Readiness, which creates a dedicated funding mechanism and a structured process for identifying and preparing strategic economic development sites across New Mexico and Senate Bill 170 – NMFA Definitions, Funds & Rates which enables the New Mexico Finance Authority to offer low-interest loans to rural electric cooperatives for infrastructure deployment and streamlines regulatory processes for utilities to pre-deploy infrastructure to certified sites – will enable businesses to locate and expand in the region rapidly.
Another major initiative of AREA is supporting the efforts of private property owners in downtown who are interested in establishing a new Downtown Business Improvement District. “I think we need to continue investing in things like downtown revitalization, like development projects that encouraged people not to only work here, but to live and to raise their families here,” added Kyle Biederwolf of Comcast.
To help spread the word on the strategic business advantages of the greater Albuquerque region and recommendations for improving our economic outlook, visit https://www.abq.org/strategicplan/action/.
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About AREA
The Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to lead and execute strategies designed to grow and diversify the economic base of the greater Albuquerque region, creating a prosperous, diverse and inclusive economy and elevating the standard of living for all. It’s supporters include private businesses as well as local county and city government partners across the four-county greater Albuqueruqe region. AREA provides confidential assistance to businesses considering the area for expansion and new investment, and retention and expansion support to existing industry. Since its creation in 1960, AREA has recruited more than 250 companies and more than 35,000 jobs to the Albuquerque metro area. In 2024, AREA received the Bronze Award in the Economic Development Organization (EDO) of the Year and became Accredited Economic Development Organization as recognized by the International Economic Development Council. For more information, visit www.ABQ.org.