Developers set sights on expanding Albuquerque’s Westside

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — As more big name companies make the move to the Duke City, land developers are trying to keep up with housing demand by expanding Albuquerque’s Westside.

“We do think the Westside is the future for the city of Albuquerque and growth and jobs and opportunities,” said Matthew Look, with Garrett Development.

For more than a decade, Garrett Development, the asset manager for Western Albuquerque Land Holdings, has been investing in 53,000 acres on the Westside.

“We put the infrastructure in place, and we’re going to deliver on the promises of delivering open space, jobs for the community that people can be proud of, and a place people can live, work and play. And I think that the 2,000 to 3,000 jobs we’ve attracted in the past year really kind of shows our commitment,” said Jeff Garrett, with Garrett Development.

Around 15,000 construction jobs have been created as a result.

About three ago, they also installed $30 million worth of water and sewer lines, which helped them secure a deal with Amazon.

“Last year, we did a deal with Amazon. That building was five stories high, 2.65 million square feet, it’s gonna have well over 1,000 jobs in the facility. And then this year we just did another deal with Amazon, and that’s a 280,000 square foot facility.” Garrett said.

So what makes this area so attractive to these businesses?

“The people we’re chasing after you know, need 50 acres to 100 to 200 acres at one time. And it’s really hard to find the size of the land tracks in the surrounding states,” Garrett said.

It’s even more difficult to find land that size near such a busy interstate.

“In many cases, that’s one of the questions that they ask is where are my workers going to come from? And it’s easy to show that three quarters of all new residences in Albuquerque are on the Westside,” Look said.

They also credit the Department of Transportation for investing in infrastructure, and politicians for playing a role in supporting this type of economic development.

“We are getting a tremendous amount of interest not only for manufacturers, data centers—but we’re also getting a lot of interest on renewable energy as well,” Looks said. “Big demand for a lot of these facilities that want to be carbon-neutral and be more responsible with the environment.”

“There’s a lot of good things there. The state’s great, the weather’s great, the people are great, the food’s great,” Garrett added.