Santa Fe hires asset development manager

The city of Santa Fe announced this week Terry Lease will serve as its new asset development manager.

Lease will work in the city’s Office of Community and Economic Development where he will be responsible for overseeing and reviewing underused city-owned properties. The plan is to use those assets to for development of more housing and commercial units and other projects.

“I’m quite happy to be back in Santa Fe and especially happy to be working in service of making this city the best it can be for all Santa Feans,” Lease said in a statement. “I’m looking forward to finding opportunities to maximize our assets for public benefit.”

Lease, who raised his family in Santa Fe, has a background in commercial real estate sales, brokerage, leasing, appraisal, development and portfolio management with Santa Fe County and the New Mexico General Services Department, according to a city news release.

Rich Brown, director of the city’s Office of Community and Economic Development, said Lease’s background in public facilities assessment and management would help increase the city’s ability to move forward with new developments.

“As we move further into economic recovery and building a more resilient city, our asset development department will be critical in helping us meet many of those goals,” he said. “Terry’s experience, and his connections to and love for Santa Fe, make him an ideal choice to lead those efforts.”

In January, Santa Fe launched the website sfpublicassets.org, where it lists properties the city is trying to unload. The website has just one property listed — a quarter-acre downtown lot, 635 Alto St.

The city recently announced it intends to partner with a developer to build five affordably priced homes on the lot.