Sandia Science & Technology Park celebrates 25 years

In the last 25 years, the land surrounding Kirtland Air Force Base near Eubank has been injected with $420 million in public and private investment to turn the once undeveloped area in east Albuquerque into a bustling technology park.

Today, more than 1,700 people work for 40 companies and organizations in the 27 buildings sprawled across the Sandia Science & Technology Park on the 340-acre site east of Eubank near KAFB. On Tuesday, officials celebrated the park’s 25th anniversary at the National Nuclear Science and History Museum.

KAFB is home to Sandia National Laboratories and Air Force Research Laboratory directorates, which is why some tech companies seek out the technology park in order to be closer to the research and development that takes place on base, said Linda von Boetticher, the program leader for Sandia Science & Technology Park.

She said both the private companies at the technology park and the national laboratory and research labs on KAFB benefit from being in proximity to each other.

“What makes our park unique is the fact that it is a community, it is building synergy,” she said.

The park has created a massive economic footprint. In its 25-year history, companies within the park have paid out $7.2 billion in wages and salaries, and generated $4 billion worth of taxable consumer spending, according to the technology park.

In 2020 and 2021, the city of Albuquerque received $6 million in gross receipts tax revenue because of work done at the park, and the state of New Mexico received $16 million in tax revenue, according to the park’s most recent economic impact report.

At the same time, park activities led to about $700 million in wage and salary payments. Employees who work at the park have an average salary of close to $100,000 annually, nearly double the average salary for a full-time job in the Albuquerque metropolitan area.

The companies that occupy the park provide different types of technology and services for the labs, said Mary Monson, a senior manager for Technology Partnerships and Business Development at Sandia National Laboratories. The goal is that the environment creates opportunities for joint research and development, technology commercialization, and supply chain development.

BioFlyte Inc., BlueHalo and Rocket Lab are just a few of the companies with a presence at the park.

Sherman McCorkle, chairman and CEO of the Sandia Science & Technology Park Development Corp., said the unique businesses that work adjacent to New Mexico’s national laboratories should be embraced because the innovation creates a vibrant and successful business community.

“Innovation creates wealth. It’s different than creating jobs,” McCorkle said. “This park creates wealth for the state of New Mexico. It differentiates from all other kinds of jobs.”