Committee approves recommendation to announce Midtown parcels for sale or lease, sets RFP timetable

The Santa Fe Finance Committee on a 4-0 voice roll call on March 1 recommended that the governing body approve a public announcement to market portions of the Midtown redevelopment site for sale or lease and to begin a developer outreach process.

The recommendation, presented by Daniel Hernandez, Director of the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency, covers roughly 24.8 acres and 22 parcels within the larger 64-acre Midtown site. Hernandez said the city has recorded a new block-and-street grid consistent with the Midtown master plan and that the parcels proposed for disposition do not include approximately 8 acres of state-owned property known as “tracto” or about 4.5 acres of public right-of-way.

Why it matters: Midtown is a long-planned mixed-use redevelopment near the city’s cultural assets, and the committee’s action starts a public, competitive developer selection process that will shape housing, commercial uses and public spaces. Committee members emphasized outreach, transparency, affordable housing goals and the value of having multiple developer proposals to choose from.

Hernandez said the city has begun outreach with developers, the Office of Economic Development, the Office of Affordable Housing and the Urban Land Institute (ULI) and that the next step—contingent on governing-body approval—will be an RFP. “The next step would be, an RFP,” Hernandez said, describing a projected April 4 opening and an anticipated close in June if the governing body authorizes the announcement.

Hernandez described site components: an 11.7-acre area under a disposition-development agreement for film studios; a “community use” zone that includes existing cultural buildings (the visual arts center, performing arts theater and Fogelson Library); civic open space including the plaza and Arroyo Parkway; and the acreage proposed for sale or lease. He said the city will prioritize proposals that comply with the city’s inclusionary housing program.

Councilors pressed for detail on several points. Councilor Cassatt asked for updates on the state-owned tracto; Hernandez said the governor’s office is actively engaged and pursuing a combination of affordable housing and commercial uses on that state parcel. Councilor Lee Garcia and Councilor Casa pressed the agency to ensure affordable housing is distributed across the site rather than concentrated in one location; Hernandez said the community development plan calls for scattering affordable parcels and that the agency will release at least one RFP next month for a tract adjacent to the library and theater.

On inclusionary requirements, Hernandez said the agency will make upfront the city’s expectations. “We will prioritize projects that comply with the inclusionary housing program,” he said, and noted that the city will require developers who seek fee-in-lieu to document that on-site affordability is infeasible and to explain how their proposals otherwise advance community development plan goals.

Process and outreach: Hernandez said marketing materials and a developer package—with summaries of the master plan and community development plan—will be posted to the MRA and city websites by the end of the week. The agency plans a developer kickoff and tour in April (working with ULI) and will present all responsive proposals to the governing body; any recommendation to enter exclusive negotiations would be discussed in executive session before a disposition-development agreement is negotiated.

Ending: The committee’s recommendation does not itself dispose of property; it authorizes the agency to announce and begin soliciting proposals. Final sale or lease agreements, including any negotiated affordable-housing commitments, will require subsequent governing-body approval.