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Santa Fe committee moves to designate Midtown as metropolitan redevelopment area to unlock funding and tools
Summary
The Santa Fe Quality of Life Committee voted on April 2 to approve a designation report to pursue designation of most of the Midtown Local Innovation Corridor as a Metropolitan Redevelopment Area under the New Mexico statute.
The Santa Fe Quality of Life Committee voted on April 2 to approve a designation report and forward a finding of necessity to the full governing body to designate most of the Midtown Local Innovation Corridor as a metropolitan redevelopment area (MRA).
Carly Vendetti, asset-development manager with the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency, and Daniel Hernandez, MRA director, presented the designation report and said the proposed MRA boundary closely tracks the commercial area of the existing Midtown Local Innovation Corridor with a small exception around a multifamily property at a Saint Michael—s/St. Francis intersection.
Why it matters: Vendetti and staff said the MRA designation would allow the city to pursue redevelopment financing tools, prioritize and govern investments through a Metropolitan Redevelopment Commission, and speed targeted improvements on the city-owned Midtown site (approximately 64 acres) and surrounding commercial corridor.
Details and timeline
- Consultants and statutory basis: The city is working with Plan Collaborative (planning/landscape) and SB Friedman (economics) to develop the MRA plan. Vendetti cited the New Mexico Metropolitan Redevelopment Act as the authorizing statute requiring a finding of necessity and a later redevelopment plan.
- Boundaries and scope: The proposed MRA largely matches the Midtown Local Innovation Corridor commercial area; residential parcels were generally excluded from this first-phase MRA designation. Staff said residential inclusion and neighborhood stabilization work will be addressed in a separate, forthcoming RFP for a neighborhood stabilization plan.
- Tools and governance: Vendetti said an MRA would establish a Metropolitan Redevelopment Commission, prioritize public investments and unlock financing approaches such as tax-increment financing or districts (TIF/TID) and business improvement districts (BIDs) as appropriate.
- Schedule: The commission recommended designation at its meeting earlier in the day. Staff presented the designation report to EDAC the same day; the plan is scheduled for a governing-body finding of necessity on April 30, 2025, and staff indicated a target for a draft MRA plan in Q3 2025 if designation is approved.
Vote and next steps
The committee approved forwarding the designation report. Staff said they will continue outreach, finalize the legal report required by state statute, and, if the governing body makes the finding of necessity, return with a Metropolitan Redevelopment Plan that will explore financing and implementation tools.
Ending
Council members asked about Franklin Miles Park and residential inclusion; staff said those subjects are part of the neighborhood-stabilization scope and that staff will examine whether additional parcels should be included before the governing-body hearing.
