Railyard District plans raise concern
Opinions vary on current proposals
While the fate of Market Station in Santa Fe’s north Railyard District is being sorted out in bankruptcy court, things appear to be falling into place across the railroad tracks.
Richard Czoski, executive director of the Santa Fe Community Railyard Corp., the nonprofit entity that leases and manages the 50 acres of cityowned property, said this week two parcels in the heart of the north Railyard District are now under lease, inching a commercial development project 20 years in the making closer to capacity.
But not everyone is happy about what’s happening.
One of the few remaining parcels — parcel P in the master plan — is proposed to be a three-story structure housing retail shops and office spaces, as well as a rooftop beer garden. Developed by a partnership that includes Violet Crown Cinema owner Bill Banowsky and Santa Fe developer Rose Utton, the
property is catty corner from the theater, north of Second Street Brewery and right behind Boxcar, another watering hole.
“Do we really need more beer?” asked Charlotte Jackson, who owns a gallery in the district.
Jackson and other members of the Railyard Arts District, or RAD for short, have concerns about the proposal, including the density of bars in the area, parking and the height of the proposed building.
In addition to Second Street Brewery and Boxcar, the Violet Crown sells beer and wine, and owners of the beleaguered Market Station hope to soon open Railyard Strike Bowl & Brew. That would make five businesses that serve alcohol all within a stone’s throw of each other in a district planned to be family friendly, they say.
In addition, it’s unclear what the planned use is for another parcel — a wedge-shaped lot closer to the tracks and bordering a walkway, to the west of parcel P — that Czoski says is also now under lease. It’s the same property where, as of a few months ago, Utton had designs to build a “patio restaurant.”
“It’s kind of on hold ... . It’s yet to be determined,” she told the Journal in October when asked the status of that idea.
Parking a concern
Czoski says lease agreements are not public information and it would be up to the lessee to announce plans.
“I will say that the building anticipated is within the size and height limits,” he added.
That’s not the case with parcel P, where Banowsky and Utton plan to put their three-story building. At 11,000 square feet, that proposed structure would exceed the size limitation by 1,000 square feet. Consequently, the project will require Planning Commission approval, a decision likely coming next month after another public meeting.
An Early Neighborhood Notification meeting was held last week, but another is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Warehouse 21.
Czoski said the first meeting satisfied the regulatory requirement but, because it was held two days after Christmas, a second “informational” meeting was scheduled. “We’re really doing it as a courtesy to the folks who were out of town during that week,” he said.
Still, more than a dozen people attended last week’s meeting. Concerns were raised about parking and the height of the proposed building, a deviation from the original plan, he said.
“The master plan anticipated two one-story buildings. Instead of two one-story buildings, there will be one three-story building,” he said.
But members of RAD, which met Thursday to discuss the proposed project, have concerns about that.
“It will block all of our views, which is one of the things that makes this area so nice,” said galleryowner William Siegal. He has accused the Community Railyard Corp. of favoritism toward Utton, an early developer in the Railyard, an accusation Czoski has denied.
Siegal expressed interest in the parcel Banowsky and Utton are leasing. He says his proposal was denied because he planned to bring in two more art galleries, a proven draw for the district, but the Railyard Corp. doesn’t want more galleries.
Czoski told the Journal in October the Railyard board considers use, size, aesthetics and the impact the business would have on the district in deciding what projects are picked. He said this week that the Banowsky-Utton proposal fits the overall scheme for developing the section of the Railyard nearest the Rail Runner depot.
“One of the prime goals we had when seeking tenants for parcel P was to increase foot traffic during daytime hours,” he said. “The project plan will eventually have 20 businesses. There’s a constant demand for retail and office space 1,000 square feet or smaller and, up to this time, we haven’t had that.”
But the arts group says there are spaces in the area, including right across the railroad tracks in Market Station, that have been vacant for years.
“We want the developers to succeed,” said Leroy Garcia, of Blue Rain Gallery, which is next door to Siegal’s, “But we don’t want to see more vacant space. It looks bad.”
The other big issue is the demand for parking.
“That’s what we hear all day long: they can’t find parking,” Kathrine Erickson, of Evoke Contemporary, said of her customers. While there is an underground parking garage nearby, people either don’t know about it or don’t want to use it, especially after dark. Erickson says she also hears complaints about the cost to park there.
Keeping it small, local
Perhaps tempered by what apparently was a premature announcement of the restaurant, Utton said she didn’t want to say much about what plans she and Banowsky have for this project.
“We’re in the beginning stages,” she said in a phone interview Tuesday.
Right now, the plan calls for 11 small shops to be located on the ground floor, 11 offices spaces on the second floor, and a beer garden with indoor and outdoor seating on the third level.
Utton said there might be more to say in a few weeks after WSB Management, her partnership with Banowsky, works to line up tenants.
“We’re trying to recruit small local businesses — unique retail businesses — that are trying to get started,” she said. “We’re not looking for arts and craft-type businesses, we’re looking for people who make unique, quality retail items.”
Utton said business startups would be well suited to occupy one or more of the upstairs office spaces. She wouldn’t say if she had a proprietor for the beer garden in mind.
The 1997 community plan says the Railyard project shall “emphasize local artists, local businesses, and local cultures.” The master plan’s hierarchy for leasing preferences has “locally owned and operated businesses that serve the local community and/or the out-of-town community” at the top.
Utton said she’s gotten to know Banowsky and his wife Susan since he brought the Violet Crown to the Railyard. Offering a menu of food, beer and wine, the Violet Crown in Santa Fe is one of a trio in the theater chain. Banowsky also has theaters in Austin and in Charlottesville, Va.
“Just like me, I know he is committed to the success of the Railyard,” said Utton, who along with her then-husband John Utton were early tenants. They built two galleries at the corner of Guadalupe Street and Paseo de Peralta, and the building now occupied by the LewAllen Galleries. They also constructed one building and renovated an existing warehouse in the Baca section of the Railyard District on the property’s south side.
Banowsky says he sees great potential for the district.
“I have enormous confidence in Santa Fe as a market and in the Railyard as a development site,” he replied in an email. “Violet Crown’s early success has proven to me that the Santa Fe community will frequent the Railyard and will support the businesses there. The more businesses we can get in the Railyard, the better for everyone.”
Banowsky said, just like Violet Crown, with 11 screens and the largest theater seating about 150 people, the smaller retail shops and office spaces offer an economy of scale.
“Our average seat count is less than half that of a traditional cinema. This scale works well for our business, despite conventional wisdom that would suggest a cinema must be much larger to succeed,” he said. “Rose and I hope to bring similar unconventional thinking to retail. Our plan for the retail portion of this project is to create 11 retail spaces that would be considerably smaller than traditional retail spaces, opening up opportunities in the Railyard for existing and aspiring businesses that can’t afford traditional retail space in downtown Santa Fe.”
Market Station troubles
Meanwhile, Market Station, the main commercial building in the district anchored by outdoor outfitter REI, is going through troubling times. The locally owned company that operates the building, Railyard Co., LLC, declared bankruptcy in 2015. Yet, it still plans to open a second-floor bowling alley above the space vacated by the Flying Star Café, which has also declared bankruptcy.
The court appointed a trustee in July, over the objection of the owners, citing gross mismanagement, bookkeeping problems, and loss of trust by the Railyard Co.’s lender and REI.
The latest is that the bankruptcy judge has hired an “audio consultant” to help determine whether the bowling alley is compatible with surrounding tenants, including the city of Santa Fe, which bought part of the building for $3.6 million in 2012. Aside from REI and the city, the 93,000-square-foot building has just three other tenants: Verizon Go-Wireless, Daniella Designer boutique and Marvelous Hair Design.
While there are vacant storefronts in Market Station, most of the 42 parcels that make up the Railyard project are accounted for. With the approval of the Railyard Flats 58-unit housing complex earlier this year, Czoski says just one spot in the north Railyard district, next to Warehouse 21, is available for lease. There are three parcels in the Baca area, which is mostly made up of light industrial and office buildings.
Czoski says more is happening behind the scenes and an announcement should be coming soon.
“We’ll have more good news to announce some time in February,” he said.