Courtesy of the Las Cruces Bulletin

Visible from almost anywhere in the City of Las Cruces, the 1,700-acre Las Cruces West Mesa Industrial Park is located on Interstate 10, eight miles west of Downtown.

The city has sold 630 acres in the park, of which more than 275 acres are currently developed. There are 17 businesses operating in the park, employing more than 750 people. Available for purchase are 23 city-owned and 14 privately owned parcels, five of which have buildings.

Recent arrivals include Sapphire Energy’s research facility and SunEdison Centennial Solar Farm, activated in May 2012 to produce electricity for El Paso Electric Co. While some companies locate in the park to be near agricultural products such as milk and pecans and others value the interstate highway access the site affords. SunEdison chose a remote 140­acre site on the mesa to help guard against damage to its 48,900 solar panels.

The park is served by fiber optic Internet, said Christine Logan, economic development director for the city. It is home to light industry, general manufacturing, aviation-related and technology-based industries serving Dona Aña County, El Paso and the U.S./Mexico border.

A portion of Foreign Trade Zone No. 197 is within the park.