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Albuquerque Business First
Former New Mexico congresswoman joins Lockheed Martin board
A former U.S. House of Representatives member for New Mexico and current president of the University of Texas at El Paso has joined the board of Lockheed Martin. <\p> The Maryland-based defense company announced May 22 that Heather Wilson, Ph.D., will join its board effective immediately. <\p>
$29M Westside housing project breaks ground
To address an aging population and improve housing access for seniors, the Supportive Housing Coalition of New Mexico and an out-of-state developer broke ground on a $29 million affordable housing project on Albuquerque's Westside May 20.<\p> La Serena Apartments, a 100-unit complex, is located at 457 Coors Blvd. NW. The 86,800-square-foot project is being developed by Thomas Development, an Idaho-based multifamily and commercial development company, in collaboration with HB Construction and Erstad Architects.<\p>
$95M award means hiring, more work for this major firm in ABQ
A new, nearly $100 million contract award could lead to hiring growth and expanded directed energy work in Albuquerque for a major aerospace and defense contractor a few months after the firm announced its largest acquisition deal to date. <\p> BlueHalo, based in Arlington, Virginia, said Tuesday it was awarded a $95.4 million contract from the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, or SMDC. The award is for advanced directed energy prototype development, with contract dollars being used for the designing and building of "cutting-edge laser weapon systems," the company's release notes.<\p>
Mayor of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque dies
Joe Craig, mayor of Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, passed away on May 21; he was in his early 70s. Albuquerque Business First was unable to confirm his exact age.<\p> Craig, who was elected mayor in November 2023, previously served on the Village's planning and zoning commission, where he acted as a protector of the community’s "open space," Mayor Pro-tem Franklin Reinow said.<\p>
How Rude Boy Cookies, ABQ Tours leverage social media
Operating a small business can be challenging. A big part of that challenge usually involves marketing — with tight margins, spending on expensive advertising buys or dedicated marketing staff can fall by the wayside. <\p> That's where social media comes in handy, said Mike Silva and Julia Butler-Brown, a pair of small business owners based in Albuquerque.<\p>
A Covid-era option for bankruptcy filings is about to expire
Small businesses will be left without a useful Covid-era bankruptcy tool when it expires in the coming weeks — a development occurring just as bankruptcies are on the rise.<\p> The program, called Subchapter V, was created to enable businesses with less than $2.75 million in debt to go through the Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization process in a streamlined way. In March 2020, as the pandemic took hold across the country and worldwide, Congress raised that benchmark to $7.5 million, allowing many more businesses to use the Subchapter V option. <\p>
How proactive site readiness can help bring companies to NM
Representatives for the Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance (AREA) on Wednesday urged local business leaders at an Economic Forum of Albuquerque event to take site selection and preparation more seriously, pitching the approach as a way for the Albuquerque metro to better compete for high-paying jobs against other markets across the country.<\p> Danielle Casey, president of AREA, said some of the most commonly talked about areas of economic development, especially financial incentives for private industry, are not at the top of the list of concerns for those eyeing an expansion into another state or the U.S. more broadly.<\p>
The 'lock-in' effect is hitting homebuyers. It may get worse.
Americans expect high mortgage rates to rise even more in the coming years, a perspective that could further dampen the housing market.<\p> The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s SCE Housing Survey found Americans expect mortgage rates to climb from just under the 7% they are now to 8.7% a year from now and 9.7% in three years — the highest recorded since the agency started asking Americans that question in 2014.<\p>
Apartment market cools with record amount of new supply wrapping up
The national rental-housing market has continued to cool, with differing outcomes based on geography and unit type.<\p> Several markets in the South posted significant year-over-year declines in apartment rental rates as of April, according to a new Realtor.com analysis. Those declines were led by Nashville, Tennessee, and Austin, Texas, the latter of which has seen an 8.3% annual drop in asking rents and an 11.5% drop since peaking September 2022. <\p>
City breaks ground on $17M multi-gen center
Northwest Albuquerque will soon have its own multigenerational center, with construction underway after years of planning and securing funds. <\p> The 15,000-square-foot building located near the intersection of Cibola Loop and Cuba Road aims to give seniors another access point for City services and programs. <\p>
This ABQ native has spent 17 years helping Array Technologies grow
When U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm joined Array Technologies in Albuquerque on April 26, the publicly traded company's chief executive wasn't the only employee to speak alongside the federal official and other elected representatives. <\p> Joining CEO Kevin Hostetler during the groundbreaking remarks was Roman Romero, production manager for Array Technologies who's spent nearly 17 years working with the solar manufacturing firm, starting with the company in mid-2007 directly out of high school. <\p>
ENMU names new athletic director. Here's what he'll make.
Eastern New Mexico University announced May 16 it has hired Kevin Fite as its new director of athletics.<\p> Fite holds nearly 35 years of athletic administrative experience at Oklahoma State University, the University of Houston and the NCAA national office. He replaces Paul Weir, who coached basketball at both the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State.<\p>
UMB/HTLF merger will look like this in New Mexico
UMB Financial Corp.'s acquisition of Heartland Financial USA Inc. is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025, creating a financial institution in the top 1% of the U.S. by asset size. <\p> The combined entity is expected to have $64.5 billion in assets, $52.2 billion in deposits and $35 billion in loans. It’s expected to have a $6.2 billion market capitalization and a footprint of 197 branches across 13 states. <\p>
Workers with learning disabilities face stigmas in the workplace
There remains a big stigma facing workers seeking workplace accommodations for certain disabilities — and those employees worry asking for help will hurt their careers. <\p> A new survey by The Harris Poll on behalf of nonprofit Understood.org, which works with people who have learning and thinking differences such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia, found while 69% of workers know their employers must provide reasonable accommodations for disabilities, about 60% said there is still a stigma around asking their employer for support.<\p>
New $14M early learning center coming to Old Town ABQ
Central New Mexico Community College and Explora announced Tuesday the two are partnering on a new $14 million educational facility to be built in Old Town Albuquerque, with work expected to start later this year. <\p> Called the Brilliante Early Learning Center, the 14,000-square-foot building will stand just behind the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science and adjacent to the Explora Science Center and Children's Museum. Albuquerque-based RMKM Architecture PC designed the facility alongside Weil Construction, based in Albuquerque. <\p>
New Mexico woman's lawsuit against Wells Fargo changes venues
After a lengthy dispute, a New Mexican woman’s lawsuit against Wells Fargo has been moved to a new venue, with the judge in the case citing the lack of plaintiffs who live in its current district.<\p> The case was originally filed in the United States District Court’s Northern District of California, which encompasses the counties along the northern half of the state’s coast. Attorneys for plaintiff Sabrina Perez claimed the venue was appropriate due to Wells Fargo headquarters being located in San Francisco.<\p>
After half century, Northeast Albuquerque cigar shop to close
Monte’s Cigars and Pipe Tobacco, a Northeast Albuquerque tobacco store and lounge of nearly 50 years, will soon close its doors. <\p> Matthew Monte, the third-generation owner of the shop his grandfather opened in 1976, told Albuquerque Business First the culmination of the difficulties placed on the tobacco industry in recent years, such as increased regulation, have made it difficult to maintain business.<\p>
Intel report shows hiring growth, New Mexico investment figures
A statewide economic impact report published by Intel Corp. Monday highlights hiring growth and hundreds of millions of dollars in spending by the semiconductor giant within New Mexico over the past year.<\p> The company's (NASDAQ: INTL) New Mexico Community Investment Report shows Intel hired 581 people in New Mexico in 2023, 396 of which were New Mexico residents. That total number is the highest reported by the company in over two decades and represents a year-over-year growth of nearly 30% between 2022 and 2023. <\p>
New Mexico startup inks deal with massive Saudi oil group
Nearly two months after announcing where its first carbon capture facility will be built, Los Alamos-based direct air capture startup Spiritus Technologies said it inked a deal with one of the world's largest oil and gas groups to advance the startup's laboratory spinout technology. <\p> Spiritus said May 17 it signed a memorandum of understanding with Saudi Arabian Oil Co., or Saudi Aramco, a global oil and gas group majority owned by the Government of Saudi Arabia. That MOU is intended to "explore further collaboration" between the New Mexico startup and the Saudi company, which could include joint pilot and commercial-scale projects within the large Middle Eastern country. <\p>
What's filming in New Mexico? Here's a roundup.
Since the conclusion of the Screen Actor's Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Actors (SAG-AFTRA) strike in November 2023, New Mexico's film and television industry has exploded, with several projects currently filming and planning to film in the Land of Enchantment.<\p> While there are likely more high-profile films and series' in production throughout the state, the secrecy around them makes it difficult to confirm the exact number. However, the following projects have been confirmed by the New Mexico Film Office to be currently filming.<\p>
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