Business Reference

Economic Development  |  The Business of Art  |  High-Tech in Santa Fe
Business and Economic Development Organizations  |  Starting a Business in Santa Fe
Commercial Real Estate  |  Economic Development Finance Programs  |  Movies and New Media
Employment  |  Research Institutions  | Transportation 
 

Economic Development

Forbes magazine named Santa Fe as one of the 10 Best Places for Businesses and Careers in its May 2003 issue.

Santa Fe is envisioned to become the leading arts, design and cultural industry center in the United States as a result of the Economic Development Plan developed by Angelou Economics in 2003-04 and adopted by the city as its strategic Economic Development Plan. Santa Fe has always been a unique and creative city and a world-renowned arts and cultural center, and development of those aspects is the highest priority in the plan.

Santa Fe Design Week is an initiative established in 2005 to make Santa Fe visible as a leading international design and creative industry center, and the event has been getting bigger and better every year. The central theme of Design Week 2007 was creative minds and the creative concepts they originate. Industry leaders from a multiplicity of design disciplines and many different locales gathered in Santa Fe to contribute to the conversation that “design matters.” As stated in the Santa Fean magazine by the event planners of Design Week 2007 Santa Fe, “Every choice along the way, from our lineup of guest speakers to the B(u)y Design business expo, addresses fundamental issues including sustainability and the pursuit of passion, along with aesthetic considerations that weave throughout the discourse of how we live and treat our planet.” This sentiment corresponds with Santa Fe’s goal of becoming the leading water conservation and clean energy capital of the United States. This is not a “pie in the sky” goal given the number of green builders, solar energy specialists, and environmentalists already working toward this goal for the city, and the plan to build an Advanced Technology Center at Santa Fe Community College.

The Santa Fe Folk Art Market, which held its inaugural event in 2004, is also making its presence felt in the Santa Fe economic development scene. Soon after the market was established, UNESCO designated Santa Fe a creative city, – the first American city to receive this recognition. The market had its fourth successful year in 2007 with a greatly expanded number of vendors from all over the world and gathered the largest crowd ever.

The long-awaited Santa Fe Convention Center is scheduled to open in October 2008, and the Convention and Visitors Bureau is accepting bookings for conferences. The Chamber considers this a great opportunity to create more jobs for Santa Fe, and to bolster the tourism economy, the city’s main private industry. The 72,500-square-foot facility will provide 40,000 square feet of exhibit space for conferences and local events, and the 512-vehicle underground parking garage is an added convenience for locals and visitors alike. The center is in the heart of downtown Santa Fe, within walking distance of hotels, restaurants, galleries, museums and shopping. More information about the center is available at www.santafe.org.

The Business of Art

In terms of dollar sales, Santa Fe is among the largest art markets in the U.S. according to the University of New Mexico’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER). In 2002 Santa Fe’s arts and cultural industries (ACIs) and cultural tourism generated over $1 billion in receipts, employed 12,567 workers (17.5 percent of the total employment in Santa Fe County), and paid $231.5 million in wages and salaries. The $814 million that arts and cultural tourism bring into the community may account for as much as 39 percent of the total inflow into the local economy. ACIs produce an estimated $22.6 million in taxes and other revenues to the City of Santa Fe – about five dollars for every dollar that the city spends on arts and culture. The Americans for the Arts study and The Rise of the Creative Class by Richard Florida rank Santa Fe first among cities of similar size in terms of contributions of the ACIs to the economy. The city boasts the largest proportion of artists, performers and writers as a share of local employment of any U.S. city. However, only 15 percent of art (by value) is produced by artists who live in the county.

BBER estimates that the total flow of funds into Santa Fe County by the export of goods and services and financial transactions by all sectors of the economy is approximately $2.098 billion per year. By this estimate, the arts and cultural industries as defined in this study are responsible for 39 percent of the total flow of funds into the local economy. Simply stated, this suggests that the cultural sector is responsible for three of every five dollars, and three of every five jobs added to the Santa Fe economy each year.

Artists, performers and writers are 4.7 times more common in Santa Fe than the national average; in no other city do artists comprise such a large share of the labor force. Museum curators and archivists are likewise six times more common in Santa Fe than in the nation as a whole; Santa Fe ranks second in its representation of this occupation. Photographers are 35 times better represented in Santa Fe employment numbers than in the U.S. as a whole. Architects, too, are well represented in Santa Fe, with a proportion two times greater than the national average; Santa Fe ranks sixth in this occupation and the five cities with greater representation are among the largest cities in the country. By all of these measures, arts and cultural activities form a disproportionately large share of overall economic activity. More information is available at www.unm.edu/~bber.

High-Tech in Santa Fe

“The second oldest city in the country is positioned to emerge as a tech-driven 21st-century hot spot. Santa Fe feels like Silicon Valley felt like ten years ago.” Wired magazine – June 2000

Santa Fe’s strong technical legacy inherited from the nearby Los Alamos National Laboratory makes it ideally positioned to benefit from growth in the high-tech sector. The informatics industry has a firm footing in Santa Fe. Companies such as the National Center for Genome Resources, Genzyme Genetics, and others are showing how new technology businesses can thrive in an environment where it is desirable to live.

In addition to informatics and biotech, Santa Fe is also home to a large number of software companies, web designers and smaller technology-related businesses. New Mexico Information Technology and Software Association, www.nmitsa.org, is strengthening corporate competitiveness and linkages, enhancing New Mexico’s high-tech workforce, and assisting in the development of core competencies among its members. New Mexico Tech Job Forum at www.nmtechjobs.org links skilled individuals with New Mexico technology companies, local high tech staffing agencies, and companies seeking qualified personnel to support New Mexico’s economic development.

Growing out of a rich landscape of technology, the New Mexico Biotechnology & Biomedical Association represents a diversity of more than 100 medical device, diagnostics, bio-informatics, and pharmaceutical companies with more than 400 participants and 180 members from throughout the state of New Mexico. Visit them at www.nmbio.org.

Business and Economic Development Organizations

PO Box 1928, Santa Fe 87504 | www.santafechamber.cominfo@santafechamber.com
The Chamber is the Voice of Business in Santa Fe and represents over 1,100 businesses offering networking, advocacy, tourist and relocation information, health insurance, and other member benefits.

3900 Paseo del Sol, Santa Fe 87507 | www.sfbi.net

A nonprofit organization that helps grow and develop emerging businesses, SFBI offers offices and light manufacturing space for rent in a professional business environment and convenient location. The comprehensive Business Incubator program accelerates success through business training, access to financial networks, on-site technical assistance, and a host of special services. Graduate companies move out and provide job opportunities in our community. SFBI houses all types of firms from service to high-tech research and development. Minority- and women-owned businesses are encouraged to apply.

PO Box 23864, Santa Fe 87502 | www.santafealliance.com

The Santa Fe Alliance is a member organization promoting independent, locally owned businesses through community outreach programs and public awareness campaigns that focus on why local businesses are important to the local economy, neighborhoods and nonprofits. Programs include an annual directory of over 600 local business members, monthly networking meetings for members, a Buy Local Campaign, the Local Farm to Restaurant Project, and a website that includes a member directory and gift catalog.

The Santa Fe SBDC offers free, one-on-one confidential counseling for existing and prospective small business owners. The mission of the New Mexico Small Business Development Center Network is to strengthen the economy of New Mexico by providing direct assistance, entrepreneurial education, and resource linkages to promote the retention and expansion of existing small businesses and the creation of new businesses.

428 Sandoval Street, Suite 201, Santa Fe 87501 | www.rdcnm.org

The RDC is federally designated by the Department of Energy as north central New Mexico’s Community Reuse Organization. The RDC is a private, nonprofit economic development corporation with a work plan leading to the development of an economically diverse regional economy where thoughtful and cooperative planning results in an environment that nurtures business and entrepreneurial development. For this purpose, the RDC assists communities and industry in managing their economic development projects and initiatives.

www.santafescore.org

Santa Fe and northern New Mexico SCORE® provides free business counseling and free business skills workshops for the local community. SCORE® is a resource partner with the Small Business Administration.

510 North Guadalupe Street, Suite E, Santa Fe 87501 | www.sfar.com

SFAR is a membership organization comprised of approximately 900 members representing a wide range of real estate professionals in Santa Fe.

New Mexico Lodging Association (NMLA)	(505) 983-4554

811 St. Michael’s Drive, Suite 107, Santa Fe 87505
www.nmhotels.com

Founded in 1934, NMLA is New Mexico’s trade association representing the lodging industry. NMLA represents some 300 individual hotels, motels, resorts, and bed and breakfast inns, comprising over 29,000 transient rooms or approximately 64 percent of the total room inventory in New Mexico. Its leadership typifies the hotelier of the 21st century, experienced in all aspects of managing a hotel and dedicated to serving the needs of both the leisure and business traveler.

1409 Luisa Street, Suite A, Santa Fe 87505 | www.sfahba.com

SFAHBA is a nonprofit trade association representing over 650 members in the Santa Fe, Taos and Los Alamos areas. They represent a wide array of professionals, builders, developers, architects, landscapers, interior designers, remodelers, finance companies, and construction materials suppliers.

PO Box 9245, Santa Fe 87504-9245

Santa Fe is one of the most important art centers in the United States, and 95 galleries that make up the Santa Fe Gallery Association feature artists of national and international renown.

PO Box 20003, Santa Fe 87504-2003 | www.edd.state.nm.us

NMP was created in 2003 by Governor Richardson’s administration to focus solely on recruiting new businesses to New Mexico. NMP is a professional team of experienced economic developers working to facilitate your site selection process. Whether moving your business or expanding to new markets, NMP is working for your success.

New Mexico is a pro-business state offering competitive advantages such as low operating costs, tax incentives, a trainable work force, and an eager labor pool. Its strategic location is well suited for access to regional markets. NMP services include –

• Site selection assistance;
• Labor market analysis;
• Job training assistance;
• Custom research;
• Building information;
• Access to regulatory authorities;
  Employee recruitment assistance; and
• Coordination of state and local economic development professionals

New Mexico Department of Labor	(505) 827-7434
PO Box 1908, Santa Fe 87501 | www.dol.state.nm.us
NMBizSites.com	(505) 820-1226

NMBizSites.com generates economic, business, planning, geographic, and demographic information in real time via the web. Their website application allows users to view, create, and print maps; perform site selection searches; and customize and analyze demographic and business data.

Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER)
	(505) 277-2216

c/o The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque 87131www.unm.edu/~bber
BBER has extensive demographic and economic data available to assist companies with their relocation decision.

PO Box 909, Santa Fe 87502 | www.santafenm.gov/planning-land-use

www.newmexicomep.org

New Mexico MEP is a nonprofit service available to manufacturers in the state to help them compete more effectively in the global marketplace. Improved efficiency, elimination of waste, international certifications, integration into global supply chains, and networking New Mexico businesses with the resources they need to become more profitable and increase sales are among the benefits of working with the New Mexico MEP.

Media Industries Strategy Project (MISP)
www.altmedianm.org

MISP was formed to guide New Mexico’s media industries’ development over the short, intermediate and long term. The project enjoys state, philanthropic, and private sector participation. The project ranges from film and television to visualization, simulation, and modeling, to video games, interactive and mobile applications, virtual reality, tele-medicine, distance learning, computer generated imagery, animation, and “info-media.”