The messy story of Sawmill development incentives

Recently, Albuquerque’s City Council approved a $227 million Industrial Revenue Bond (including some serious tax emptions) for a group of projects in the Sawmill area of Albuquerque. They are being undertaken by Jim Long of Heritage. Long is without a doubt one of the most successful businessmen in New Mexico.

There are numerous aspects to this effort and we’re going to unpack a few of them here because it is an interesting case study of why New Mexico and Albuquerque remain mired in mismanagement:

1. The Sawmill area is arguably the gem of the Albuquerque Metro area (thanks in part to Long and his development of Hotel Albuquerque, Hotel Chaco, and Sawmill Markets). The question needs to be asked: Does this area of town need a property tax exemption to be developed? Is it fair to give generous IRB’s to property owners (exempting 70% of property taxes) in one part of town while increasing property tax assessments in other parts of town?
2. Despite the law not being in effect yet, on a vote of 8-1 (with Councilor Dan Champine the lone opponent) Albuquerque City Council chose to follow HB 6 (passed and signed this session) which forces recipients of IRB’s to pay union-subsidizing “prevailing wages” on their projects. HB 6 was one of the worst bills passed in the 2025 session. In real terms it shifts the costs of property taxes to other property owners and hands much of the benefit to Democrat-donor trade unions.
3. All of these cross-subsidies and special-interest exemptions and benefits are a classic example of why New Mexico and Albuquerque haven’t developed like their neighbors. RGF is not a fan of economic favoritism in the form of IRB’s (especially in economically successful areas), but adding prevailing wages on top of them isn’t sensible either.