LOS ALAMOS, N.M., March 8, 2021—Los Alamos National Laboratory is strengthening its presence in Santa Fe with the signing of a 10-year-lease of two adjacent office properties totaling 77,856 square feet of space at the corner of Pacheco Street and St. Michael’s Drive. The new location offers meeting rooms, permanent offices, and co-working space for roughly 500 employees in the Laboratory’s administrative services sectors, including human resources, procurement, finance, and information technology. No hazardous work will be carried out there.
“This is the largest job-relocation initiative in Santa Fe’s history. The Laboratory welcomes the opportunity to make a positive economic impact on Santa Fe and be a good employer,” said Thom Mason, director. “The salaries of the employees who will be working at our locations on Pacheco and Guadalupe streets total $67 million in direct payroll.”
Laboratory employees are those of nonprofit Triad National Security, the Laboratory’s management contractor. The relocation project makes the Laboratory one of the five largest, non-public-sector employers in Santa Fe.
“Having two major office buildings fully occupied promises to strengthen the Santa Fe economy and anchor the St. Michael’s commercial corridor,” said Bridget Dixson, president and CEO of the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce. “The Chamber is pleased to welcome the Laboratory to the business community.”
Employees who will be working at the Pacheco Street offices are existing employees, not new hires. However, the Laboratory expects to hire 1,200 new employees in FY 2021, as it did last year to meet increased mission workload. In FY 2020, 70 percent of its 1,000 new hires were New Mexico residents.
Today’s announcement comes on the heels of an earlier one about a downtown space at the corner of N. Guadalupe and W. Alameda, which will be a hub for educational partnerships, workforce development initiatives, media relations, government affairs, and technology transfer. The Guadalupe office will be occupied when COVID-19 regulations are lifted. The Pacheco Street complex is expected to be in use in fall 2021. Both of these leases help the Laboratory meet an immediate need, recognizing that additional is still needed.
“Two new offices in two different Santa Fe neighborhoods will diversify our city’s economy and is a natural fit,” said David Fresquez, president of the Santa Fe Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Even with the new buildings in Santa Fe, the vast majority of the Laboratory’s 12,000+ employees will still work in Los Alamos County.