By Kevin Hendricks, The Paper.
Part 3 of 4 in “Rio Rancho’s Economic Playbook,” a series on the city’s economic development strategy.
The Sandoval Economic Alliance has assisted 20 economic development projects since 2020, helped generate nearly 1,500 jobs and produced what it calculates as a nearly 400% return on the city’s investment. And its biggest assist this year isn’t even in the numbers.
SEA President and CEO Fred Shepherd presented the organization’s cumulative impact figures to the Governing Body at a June 16 work session. The tally from 2020 through 2025: $2.02 billion in total economic output, $267.5 million in local household spending and $2.1 million in direct city tax revenue from property taxes and gross receipts. Those figures exclude “Project Ranger,” a 2026 project SEA assisted that has yet to open.
Shepherd said for every dollar the city has invested in SEA, almost $5 has come back — a return he attributed to conservative accounting that typically credits only 30% of a project’s jobs to Rio Rancho residents and 50% to the broader county.
Sites and leads
On site readiness, Shepherd told the board that SEA coordinated analysis on eight sites across Sandoval County, four of which earned state strategic designations. Two others were listed as featured sites on the state’s website. The work took significant time and effort, Shepherd said, but is already paying off: a company visited City Center just weeks before the work session specifically because of the state certification.
SEA’s lead generation funnel for the current fiscal year showed 86 initial opportunities narrowing to 74 leads, 25 prospects and 2 active assists as of May 31, with the New Mexico Partnership driving a growing share of in-person site visits.
Knocking on doors
The SEA’s business retention and expansion work logged outreach to 47 companies in FY25 and 45 so far in FY26, with full visits or engagements at more than 20 companies each year. One company added nine jobs with SEA assistance this fiscal year; two more expansions are in process. A third company remains pending after more than 100 hours of staff time invested this year — a reminder, Shepherd said, that outcomes aren’t always within the organization’s control.
SEA also hosted two networking events connecting Rio Rancho manufacturers with RioTECH and CNM welding programs, aiming to align what employers need with what local training programs produce.
BY THE NUMBERS (2020–2025, not including Project Ranger 2026)
- 20 — total projects assisted
- 1,482 — direct jobs created (actual and projected)
- $2.02 billion — total economic output
- $267.5 million — local household spending
- $2.1 million — direct city tax revenue
- ~400% — city’s return on investment in SEA
- 86 → 74 → 25 → 2 — FY26 lead funnel as of May 31
- 4 — sites earning state strategic designation out of 8 analyzed
Learn more about the Sandoval Economic Alliance:
- Website: sea-nm.com
- Fred Shepherd: fred@sea-nm.com | 505-347-1833
- Governing Body work session agendas and recordings: rrnm.gov/agendacenter
Next in the series — Part 4: The Chamber’s pitch: 47,000 commuters, 1,600 missing businesses and a $20,000 ask.