New Mexico County on the Road to Prosperity

City leaders point to sure signs of economic success: Gap opened a clothing store in the Animas Valley Mall last month; Applebee’s and Chili’s recently opened restaurants; office supply and home improvement chains plan stores here soon.

Highways--both virtual and real--are expected to keep things humming along.

A state project is turning U.S. 550, formerly N.M. 44, into four lanes between Farmington and Bernalillo, where the highway meets Interstate 25 into Albuquerque. In addition, a private company is bringing high-speed fiber-optic cable lines to the information highway in the Four Corners area.

Between July 1, 1998, and July 1, 1999, San Juan County accounted for more than half of New Mexico’s total growth. While its population jumped by 3.5%, the state grew only 0.4%.

The city opened a second high school last year, with the Piedra Vista Panthers joining the Farmington Scorpions. Enrollment at the two schools, which take in 10th through 12th grades, totaled 1,930 this year.

San Juan College, which became an independent institution in 1982 after starting life as a branch college, on Saturday graduated its largest class ever, 350 people.

“The college has just been on a rocket ride in enrollment,” says Gary Golden, vice president for student services. It had 3,200 students 10 years ago, 4,500 in spring 1996 and about 6,000 this spring.

About a third of its students are enrolled in specialized, two-year training programs such as industrial water treatment, Mesa Airlines pilot training and a semiconductor manufacturing technology program. Another third will spend their first two years here before transferring to a four-year college. The final third are returning to college for courses they never could fit in before, Golden says.

Today, San Juan County’s population is estimated at 109,899. Farmington--the largest city--comes in at 40,500. Twenty years ago, the census counted San Juan County at 81,433 and Farmington at 31,222.

Observers say the northwestern New Mexico region is growing because of a diversified economy that no longer depends so heavily on natural gas and oil; a retail trade area that takes in a population of 250,000, including the Jicarilla Apache Reservation, parts of the Navajo Nation and southern Colorado; increasing awareness of the area’s recreation and fishing; more education opportunities; and a mild climate.

County Commissioner Steve Neville believes Farmington’s transformation into a major retail trade area is key to the growth.

He also cites the quality of life. People can live here relatively inexpensively while enjoying river recreation, the archeological marvels of Chaco Canyon south of Farmington and Mesa Verde just over the Colorado line, and the mountains and night life of Durango, Colo., some 30 miles north, Neville says.

With high-speed communication allowing more people not to be tied to one location to work, “you choose a place like Farmington so you can enjoy the things you want to do with your life,” says Melissa Lane, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce.

“Farmington is being discovered because of the business opportunities and quality of life,” she says.

The Animas, San Juan and La Plata rivers flow through the city, giving it cottonwood and Russian olive bosque for hikes and picnics below the picturesque bluffs south of town. Fishermen come from all over for the premier trout waters of the San Juan River just below Navajo Dam east of Farmington.

Horse racing returned to San Juan County last year after a nearly seven-year hiatus. A private company opened SunRay Park, originally a county-built racetrack, and added slot machines and a casino.

One of Farmington’s largest streets, Broadway, is undergoing renovation; Main Street downtown was landscaped in recent years; and new homes, many upscale, are going in around Pinon Hills Golf Course and in the unincorporated Kirtland area north of town.

It’s a far cry from the early ‘80s, says Ron Gould, who works for S.J. Gabaldon Construction Co. here and has been in construction for more than two decades. Back then, he says, the oil and gas industry was stagnant, mortgage interest rates hit double digits and “every other home was for sale.”

“Now we have our ups and downs, but it’s not near what it used to be,” Gould says.

The housing market is thriving, and Gabaldon Construction is building five homes--three each worth $300,000 and up, Gould says.

Things work in Farmington because everyone is cooperating with one another, says Donnie Quintana, an assistant division director with the state Economic Development Department in Santa Fe.

“The business community, the economic development community, the elected officials, San Juan College are all pulling together for a common goal,” Quintana says. “It’s cooperation. Right now they’re an example for the rest of New Mexico.”

Commissioner Neville is excited about the future with a safer, four-lane highway and fiber optics that will allow the area to recruit telephone-dependent businesses.

Lots of mail-order companies and technical support firms can locate anywhere.

“All they have to have is good phone service, and with fiber optics we can provide that,” Neville says. “It’s a real exciting possibility we can bring in some of these.”