Options emerge for campus

Resolution offers glimpse into what might become of site

The city of Santa Fe is moving forward with a plan for the Santa Fe University of Art and Design campus that could include low-income apartment housing, film production, technical education, research and shopping.

The resolution for what the property might someday look like is set to move forward with its first public hearing Oct. 16 before the City Council’s Finance Committee. Legislative action for the 64-acre parcel that once was home to the College of Santa Fe comes as a property analysis and appraisal suggests its best use would be an amalgam of tenants that incorporate housing — with commercial and academic demands as a way to pay off the debt and maintain the property and buildings.

The city resolution also asks for further analysis to determine whether the Fogelson Library on the campus can serve as a midtown replacement for the La Farge Branch Library on adjacent Llano Street.

The appraisal, sent to City Attorney Kelley Brennan and Matthew O’Reilly, the city’s asset development manager, by the Albuquerque real estate firm CBRE, pegs the value of the land at $7.5 million. But with improvements and the potential for rental income, the appraised value of the entire property is $36 million.

That’s more than the $29.6 million the city borrowed to purchase the land at 1600 St. Michael’s Drive and to fund improvements to the water,

sewer, transportation and electrical systems. “The improvements are in average to good overall condition with over $16.6 million spent on renovations,” states the appraisal completed by Stephen Wilson, vice president of commercial real estate in New Mexico for CBRE, and Jo Dance, a senior commercial appraiser.

O’Reilly said the appraisal indicates the city’s investment in the property can reap benefits for taxpayers, and the value of the parcel must be measured in more than just dollars.

“According to the appraisal, it’s worth more than we paid for it, but the value goes far beyond that. It’s an asset for the community,” O’Reilly said.

In the midst of the housing

meltdown and the recession, the city of Santa Fe purchased the land from the Christian Brothers in 2009 after the college they founded declared a financial emergency, which forced it to close. Originally named St. Michael’s College, the school opened in 1859 and helped generations of families in Northern New Mexico gain a college degree.

Some parcels were further subdivided to accommodate sales of a tennis center on campus and a facility occupied by the Santa Fe Art Institute. But the bulk of the campus was leased to the for-profit education company Laureate Education LLC in September 2009.

Laureate at one time promised thousands of students would come to its Santa Fe campus as part of a robust international exchange program with affiliate schools around the globe. But the promise never materialized as for-profit education came under increased scrutiny from

the federal government.

Laureate attempted to save the school with a partnership agreement it signed with a Chinesebased education company, but that was terminated as it became clear that travel restrictions imposed by the Trump administration would make it harder for students to come to the United States.

The property has 33 buildings with about 500,000 square feet of space. Laureate has continued to pay down the debt with annual payments of $2.23 million. The bonds were issued by the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority and mature in 2035, but can be repaid starting in September 2019 without penalty, O’Reilly said.

Though Laureate has said publicly it will close the Santa Fe school at the end of the current academic year, May 2018, it has still not given formal written notice to the city, which it must do seven months before it vacates.

In the meantime, the Baltimore-based

company must maintain the campus and abide by the payments, O’Reilly said.

The appraisal was obtained by The New Mexican as part of a public records request. The appraisal cost the city $18,000 and is available on The New Mexican’s website. The 165-page document lists all the buildings and improvements on the land and the potential lease value of each building.

The city resolution on the school campus land is sponsored by Councilors Mike Harris and Signe Lindell and was introduced Aug. 30. It is scheduled to go before the City Council on Oct. 25 after hearings before three committees.

It acknowledges there has been “significant interest ” in the campus property but that the city has not been successful “in identifying one tenant that can commit to acquiring the entire campus and continuing all the programs offered by SFUAD.”