Business View Civil and Municipal | Volume 2, Issue 12

139 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 2, ISSUE 11 LAS CRUCES , NEW MEX I CO a new overlay zone. The park is adjacent to Interstate-10 and the Las Cruces International Airport within an Opportunity Zone, with some parcels available for potential foreign trade development. Three major industries have been identified that would play a crucial role for the development of the park. First, Las Cruces is strategically located to be a center piece in the connection of the supply chain for the aerospace industry, and the Las Cruces Innovation and Industrial Park update reflects that. Its close access to Interstate-10 and proximity to Mexico, which is just 40 miles south, is ideal for supply chain elements destined to go 80 miles north to Spaceport America. Pallares explains, “North of Interstate-10, which is just south of the airport, are multiple large lots of land. The city owns about 300 acres in the industrial park that is readily available with utilities onsite; the access to the Interstate-10 is quite nice. Those parcels of land have been identified for development in the aerospace industry. Spaceport America is just about 80 miles north of Las Cruces and we’re the closest big city to it. There have been several recent developments coming from Spaceport America, besides the launching of Virgin Galactic with Richard Branson. California-based SpinLaunch – a spaceflight technology development company working on mass accelerator technology to move payloads to space – has also built a facility at Spaceport.” Value-added agriculture is the focus for the portion of the park that is south of Interstate-10. According to Pallares, “Las Cruces has a wealth of agriculture industry know-how. We have a long tradition for pecan farming and green chile farming, and we have the knowledge and capacity to produce those products. A lot of new production in the agriculture industry can go into the Las Cruces Innovation and Industrial Park. In fact, there is already some production in the value-added industry there, as well as several inquiries for potential development in