SEA discusses commercial real estate

SANTA ANA PUEBLO — The Sandoval Economic Alliance (SEA) held its monthly partner luncheon at Quezada’s Comedy Club Nov. 14 with a focus on commercial real estate.

First on deck was SEGRA + Unite Private Networks’ Market Vice President Sales Seth Sherwood. SEGRA + Unite Private Networks is one of the largest independent commercial fiber companies in the U.S.

“The largest customer of ours is the state of New Mexico,” Sherwood said.

Giving presentations on commercial real estate were Colliers’ Senior Vice President John Ransom, Colliers’ Senior Research Analyst Kamea Soberano,and NAI Sun Vista’s Land/Industrial Director Alexandra Pullium.

“The overall asking rate for an office building in the Albuquerque Metro area is about $19.90 per square foot,” Soberano said.

According to Ransom & Soberano’s presentation, the Rio Rancho office market overview is largely call centers and data centers — which have been converted to other uses — and the only significant office space available in Rio Rancho is the Hewlett Packard (HP) building.

“Labor is going to continue to be a big driver in terms of where users tend to locate and convergence — I am so glad that John [Ransom] and his team touched on this — convergence has also been a popular trend in industrial buying,” Pullium said.

During Pullium’s presentation, she mentioned that industrial market trends show that nearshoring/onshoring practice is increasing — with the CHIPS Act being a large driver in that — industrial outdoor storage is in high demand, data centers are increasing, distribution and manufacturing follow labor, and that industrial spaces are being redeveloped in underutilized locations for hospitality, multifamily, etc.

The SEA is a private, not-for-profit economic development corporation established to strengthen and diversify the economic base of Sandoval County, which includes Bernalillo, Corrales, Cuba, Jemez Springs and Rio Rancho, along with the nine Native American pueblos, three Navajo chapters, and part of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation.

“What we do in economic development — I shared this when I first started — we can tout all the wonderful attributes of our community. We are here; we love it, but if we don’t have something to market and sell, it’s tough to have businesses grow and create jobs. So, the industrial part of economic development is absolutely critical,” Shepherd said.

The next SEA monthly partner event will be held at the National UFO Historical Records Center (located at Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary) at 7:30 a.m. Dec. 17.

“Mark your calendars. We are going to be having a breakfast meeting that is going to be out of this world,” Shepherd excitedly said.

If you would like to learn more about becoming a partner and supporting economic development in Sandoval County, contact Deborah Breitfeld at deborah@sea-nm.com.