John Rizzo is readying himself to bring plans for so-called "innovation" developments across New Mexico before the public. Rizzo, a Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur envisions creating an "Innovation Triangle" between Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Los Alamos, anchored with developments meant to encourage collaboration.
Plans for the such as project have been brewing for years. But in a few months, Rizzo said he intends to submit the first of the developments for an approval process in Santa Fe. The first project, called the Santa Fe Innovation Village, is planned for the Las Soleras development on the south side of the city.
The effort is focused partially on technology, which is in many ways, closely bound with the arts and media. The Innovation Triangle developments would have co-working spaces as well as dedicated office spaces for companies.
"Software, new media, streaming content, I'll call it this new form of experiential entertainment," Rizzo said about the project's focus. "We also think about the intersection of art and tech and Meow Wolf is a great example of that." Meow Wolf is a Santa Fe firm which gained international interest with its interactive art exhibits.
Rizzo is currently an advisor and the former CEO at Oakland, California, based software company Deem, which provides travel management platforms. He said he always wanted to move back to New Mexico after his father, a scientist at Sandia National Laboratories, was assigned to work in Livermore, California.
Bringing the "Innovation Triangle" concept to fruition will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, according to Rizzo, who added that he put up a "substantial amount" of his own money into the initiative. He is "in the process" of raising money from institutional and private investors, he said.
Rizzo's intent is ambitious. He told Business First he hopes to create 25,000 jobs through the "Innovation Triangle" in a decade. He said he enlisted San Francisco-based architect and design firm Gensler for the project.
According to reporting from the Santa Fe New Mexican, he has pitched the idea to dozens of people over Sunday brunch. He previously joined the race for the redevelopment of the city's Midtown area, but the city passed on the proposal, the New Mexican reported.
There have been efforts to develop urban areas that encourage innovation and entrepreneurship across the world. These types of districts connect established institutions, such as universities, and companies with startups and startup programs, according to the Brookings Institution. North Carolina has a "tech triangle" which includes the University of North Carolina, North Carolina State University and Duke University.
"That's the outcome we want to achieve," Rizzo said. "Building another economic pillar in New Mexico."
