Posts Tagged ‘Vickie Galindo’

Release courtesy of NMSU News Center

July 26, 2010

NMSU photo by Harrison Brooks

WRITER: Justin Bannister, 575-646-5981, jbannist@nmsu.edu

CONTACT: Vickie Galindo, 575-646-5265, vigalind@nmsu.edu

The U.S. Economic Development Administration has awarded New Mexico State University’s Arrowhead Center a $1.5 million grant for infrastructure improvements to the Arrowhead Business and Research Park and to expand the newly created Arrowhead Drive.

The Arrowhead Business and Research Park covers 224 acres at the southern end of NMSU‘s Las Cruces campus between Interstates 10 and 25. Its goal is to link scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs in developing emerging technologies that contribute to the state’s economic development.

“This funding will help the park continue its expansion and aid us in attracting companies seeking to work with NMSU faculty members and students,” said Pam Wood, research park director.

The university completed a mile-long extension of Payne Street through the research park earlier this year. This new grant will allow the university to expand that section of road, now named Arrowhead Drive, from two lanes to four. The grant will also allow NMSU to finish the park’s wastewater system, to install street lighting and to conduct an engineering study to help better plan for the next stages of development.

The Arrowhead Center won a similar, $900,000 grant from the EDA to help pay for construction on the first part of Arrowhead Drive and its accompanying utilities. Other money for that project came from the state of New Mexico, local road funds, the New Mexico Department of Transportation and NMSU.

“These investments by the Economic Development Administration and other partners are not only making the park more accessible and attractive to new businesses, they’re also helping lay the groundwork for a lot of exciting developments yet to come,” said Vickie Galindo, Arrowhead’s director of business development.

The Arrowhead Business and Research Park’s most recently completed building, Spaceplex 2, is home to General Dynamics and opened last summer. The park’s next building will be more than 8,000 square feet and broken into smaller, 1,700-square-foot pads for businesses intending to establish themselves before jumping into larger spaces. That building is currently under construction and scheduled for completion in the coming weeks.

Other plans for the research park include working with the Las Cruces Public School District to construct an early college high school where high school students could take college-level courses for credit.

Release Courtesy of NMSU Communications & Marketing Services

Photo Courtesy of NMSU

Bulldozers are rolling through a chunk of desert owned by New Mexico State University. The heavy equipment is building a new road and laying utilities to better connect NMSU’s Arrowhead Business and Research Park with the rest of campus. The project is also expected to help attract new investments, new clients and eventually thousands of high-paying jobs to the park.

The road will extend south for approximately one mile from the intersection of Payne and Wells streets to Sam Steel Way, which runs parallel to Interstate 10. Construction is scheduled to be complete in March 2010.

The project represents nearly $2 million in investments, including a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Other money for the project came from the state of New Mexico, local road funds, the New Mexico Department of Transportation and NMSU.

“The road will really open up the whole park,” said Kevin Boberg, Arrowhead Center’s CEO. “We can’t do any other development without the utility backbone the road delivers.”

The business and research park is located on the south end of NMSU’s Las Cruces campus between Interstates 10 and 25. The first 11 acres of the 257-acre park are already in development. The most recently completed building, Spaceplex 2, is home to General Dynamics and opened last summer.  The next building scheduled for construction will be nearly 8,000 square feet and be broken into smaller, 1,700-square-foot pads for businesses intending to establish themselves before jumping into larger spaces.

Other plans for the research park include working with the Las Cruces Public School District to construct an early college high school where high school students could take college-level courses for credit.

“Without the infrastructure, we wouldn’t be in a position to take advantage of these opportunities,” said Vickie Galindo, Arrowhead Center’s director of workforce innovation and business development. “We would not have been able to make this happen without the EDA and help from New Mexico Secretary of Economic Development Fred Mondragon.”

The September meeting of the MVEDA Business on the Border Forum will be held on Tuesday, September 1, 2009 from 11:30 AM until 1:00 PM at the Day’s Inn Columbus Conference Center, 901 Avenida de Mesilla.  The meeting will begin with a hot entree buffet, followed by an update by MVEDA staff.

Lisa Colquitt-Muñoz, Regional Coordinator for the Paso del Norte Group, will present an update on an on-going review of the region’s Higher Education Institutions on behalf of the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD).  The purpose of the study is to understand and strengthen the role these institutions in the economic, cultural and social development of the region.  The Paso del Norte region is one of 12 regions from around the world selected to participate in this study.

Regional partners in the study include representatives from higher education, the private sector and non-governmental organizations from Cd. Juarez, El Paso and Las Cruces.  Las Cruces is represented by Garrey Carruthers, Margie Huerta, Vickie Galindo, Davin Lopez, and Patsy Duran.

For more information about the study, please refer to the OECD page on the Paso del Norte Group’s web site.

Luncheon cost is $15.00 per person, payable by cash, check or major credit card. The meeting is open to the public and reservations are not required.