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Council approves start of Midtown parcel sale/lease process; MRA outlines 24 acres available
Summary
The Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency presented a marketing and disposition plan for Midtown, saying 22 development tracts exist and approximately 24.8 acres (eight tracts) will be offered for sale or lease; the governing body voted to proceed with the disposition announcement and outreach.
The City of Santa Fe voted on March 26 to begin the formal disposition process for up to eight development tracts at the Midtown site, authorizing staff to proceed with marketing and developer outreach under the Midtown community development plan and a 2021 governing-body resolution.
Daniel Hernandez, director of the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency (MRA), told the council that Midtown encompasses about 64 acres and that, following recent surveys and parcel mapping, 22 tracts are identified for development. Of those, 14 tracts are already in predevelopment or designated for civic infrastructure; roughly 24.8 acres spread across eight tracts are now being offered through a sale-or-lease disposition process.
The disposition move matters because Midtown is intended as a mixed-use urban center and the MRA’s plan calls for at least 30 percent of all Midtown residential units to be affordable to low- and moderate-income households. Hernandez said the community development plan and the 2021 resolution require governing-body approval to dispose of public property, and that the council’s vote authorizes marketing and the start of exclusive negotiation agreements with potential developers.
Hernandez outlined how Midtown will be prioritized under the community development plan: workforce and moderate-income housing, on-site inclusionary housing rather than in-lieu fees, neighborhood-serving retail, job-creation uses (including film and multimedia production), and arts/culture anchors. He described the site composition as follows: about 11 acres for film-related uses, 7.7 acres for existing community uses such as the visual arts center and Garson Performing Arts Theater, and roughly 7.8 acres for civic uses including an Arroyo Park and a central plaza. A state-owned tract of about eight acres is under separate discussions.
Hernandez said the MRA will undertake developer outreach in April, including ULI (Urban Land Institute)–facilitated roundtables and site tours, and that exclusive negotiation agreements would precede any final disposition and development agreements (DDAs). He said the office aims to return DDAs to the governing body for approval in the last quarter of 2025 where possible.
Council members asked about the 30 percent affordability requirement; Hernandez clarified the 30 percent is a minimum floor and projects proposing deeper affordability would receive preference. Councilors also asked whether a single developer could propose multiple tracts; Hernandez said yes and described that as a potentially desirable outcome to promote cohesive development.
The motion to approve the proposed announcement and disposition process passed on a roll-call vote. Hernandez said the MRA will provide a timeline and additional materials to councilors and will receive proposals for evaluation; any recommended DDAs would return to the governing body for final approval.
Councilors praised the communication and encouraged an accelerated schedule. Hernandez said marketing materials and outreach plans will be circulated and that local and national developer outreach will be part of the immediate strategy.
