Southwest City Scoop June 2022: Las Cruces
City Grill
Matt Thompson
Senior Vice President
Bohannan Huston
“In Las Cruces, like most other communities, we are having to rapidly adapt to and absorb so many changes in our infrastructure financial planning analysis that it can feel overwhelming,” Thompson says. However, “high costs are not all from materials. Local labor costs have also risen from a wage perspective and the tight labor market.”
Fewer contractors are bidding for projects because of a combination of being unable to find enough qualified staff and restrictive bonding limits, Thompson adds. “All of those aspects also contribute to higher costs, and we believe these will be our new reality going forward,” he says.
While Las Cruces is poised for sustained growth, it will have to be “manageable and healthy growth,” Thompson says.
“The city’s Vision 2040 Plan is in full swing right now. This regional plan is addressing all aspects of Las Cruces’ development going forward from a capital infrastructure perspective,” he says.
A major barrier to growth in the Southwest is access to quality water, Thompson says, noting that the city will continue to develop conservation methods for how to be even smarter about the water it does have.
