On Dec. 1, Tom Jenkins, chairman of Economic Development teams for the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, and Terri Cole, GACC president and CEO, published an op-ed in the Sunday Journal regarding the proposed Mesa Film Studios on Albuquerque’s West Side.
Jenkins and Cole wrote that the Chamber advocates for changes that will help diversify and grow the private sector.
The explained that for more than a decade, there’s been no bigger private-sector success story for New Mexico than the film industry, and in Albuquerque there’s no greater need for jobs and private-sector development than on the West Side. They went on to say:
“The city’s Environmental Planning Commission is looking at a proposal from Mesa Film Studios that offers the perfect marriage of these two — an expansive, state-of the-art location for productions that will provide a home base for the many behind-the-scenes professionals who make television and movie magic happen. And Mesa will be in the city’s northwest quadrant, near Double Eagle II Airport along Atrisco Vista Boulevard, providing much-needed jobs in an area ripe for economic development.”
“Our City Council and mayor have already approved a lease with Mesa Film Studios and specifically listed movie studio as an allowed use,” they wrote. “Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has been vocal with her support. The total investment is $85 million in just the first phase of the project. This impressive 60-acre permanent film-studio campus will feature:
- Six stages, each approximately 20,000 square feet
- Two flex buildings; one at 12,000 square feet and the other 24,000 square feet
- A mill building to build and store sets and props, 80,000 square feet
- A permanent three-wall blue/green screen on the back lot
- 50,000 square feet of office space
- This level of hardscape investment means jobs — 320 construction jobs, 25 full-time jobs with annual salaries and benefits of $1.4 million, and the hundreds of jobs that come with the projects that choose Albuquerque as their base of operations.”
“It’s also important to point out that locating Mesa Film Studios near Double Eagle II is an investment in the long-term economic well-being of our city. Beyond the film industry, the Mesa Film Studios campus is sure to encourage not only flights into the airport but also additional development. City Aviation is ramping up infrastructure for other tenants,” the pair wrote.
The city’s Environmental Planning Commission will consider Mesa Film Studio’s proposal on Dec. 19.
“We at the Greater Albuquerque Chamber urge commissioners and the public to support this private-public partnership,” Cole and Jenkins wrote. “Mesa Film Studios is the kind of smart, private-sector development that diversifies our economy and provides solid careers and good livings for our residents.”
To read the full op-ed piece, click here.
