Fridays are flight days, so in honor of this Friday, Albuquerque Business First recently caught up with the city's aviation development manager Lisa Leyva.
Leyva, who oversees lease agreements for the Albuquerque International Sunport and the Double Eagle II Airport, provided updates on Wednesday about Universal Hydrogen during a meeting held by the Albuquerque Regional Economic Alliance. A California-based company, Universal Hydrogen ain March announced plans to lease 50 acres at the Aviation Center of Excellence.
The Aviation Center of Excellence, which is about 7.5 miles away from Sandia National Laboratories and is next to Kirtland Air Force Base, has 75 "shovel-ready" acres and is "actively seeking developers and tenants," whereas Double Eagle's Aerospace Technology Park is up for land lease, according to site listings on abqsites.com.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Albuquerque Business First: Why is technology the focus of the [ACE and the Double Eagle] sites?
Lisa Leyva: "So I don't know that technology has necessarily been the focus, per se. But we're such a high-tech area and we have so many people that are just naturally drawn to high tech, it's just been a lot of synergy in that industry. And then I think with the proximity to Sandia National Labs and [the Air Force Research Laboratory], that location just kind of makes sense for those industries to gravitate towards."
Why was Universal Hydrogen a good match for ACE?
"They were really excited about New Mexico, and they needed land. And they needed some aeronautical components to their land. And so it worked out really well, the connection was made to the Sunport, and the land and the timing was just really right."
What types of companies have shown interest in the Double Eagle site? Can you give me any names?
"We've had anything from some light industrial, we've also had some private developers that have been looking and have been interested in hangar development. And then we've also just been fielding a lot of the responses that the New Mexico Partnership and AREA have gotten."
Are there any examples of other airports around the country that have accomplished this sort of development that you look to or are trying to emulate?
"A lot of the airports across the country have looked at their land, and looked at the opportunity for development, to create non-aeronautical revenue. And so I think what they look at, and what we've looked at additionally, is just really what the highest and best use of the land is and what's going to create economic development for the airport ... And then additionally what is going to create those economic-base jobs that also create the organic growth for air service."
