Article courtesy of the Las Cruces Sun-News
By Brook Stockberger/Business Editor
How difficult is economic development in southern New Mexico? For one thing, liqueur licenses are too expensive, some with purchase prices as high as $700,000, said Mike Espiritu, executive director of the Otero County Economic Development Council.
“I cannot get a grocery store in Alamogordo because of the price of a liqueur license,” Espiritu said. “A liqueur license is an economic development issue, (but) the legislation hasn’t been changed since the early 1980s.”
Davin Lopez, CEO and president of the Mesilla Valley Economic Development Alliance said that competition is intensifying in the Southwest.
“Arizona has put its flag in the sand and said, ‘We’re back in business,'” Lopez said. “And, on the other side, we have Texas (working hard.)”
So what should the state with the lowest population in the Southwest do to build momentum in job creation? Here in southern New Mexico, a spirit of cooperation has taken hold among competitors. And while it’s not exactly Macy and Gimble shaking hands in “Miracle on 34th Street,” Lopez, Espiritu and John Mulcahy, executive director of the Sierra County Economic Development Organization, have made the effort to work together for the good of the region.
The three men spoke about economic development during MVEDA’s monthly luncheon on Tuesday at Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces.
“We devote time to regional development,” Lopez said. “While I’d rather not lose a deal, I’d want to lose it to these guys rather than Arizona or Texas.”
Lopez said that MVEDA has recently finished one of its best fiscal years ever for capital investment and in other areas. Still, there is a lot of work to be accomplished, including efforts for Spaceport America.
“Virgin Galactic has been using our office for a series of companies they’ve been meeting with,” Lopez said.
“Davin and I have been working on spaceport needs,” Mulcahy said. “We met with contractors last week.”
Brook Stockberger can be reached at (575) 541-5457
