City says teen center will open in fall 2022

South-side facility to include gym, performing arts, career guidance center

A more than two-decade effort to construct a teen and resource center on the south side of Santa Fe officially has the green light.

The state has released $3.9 million in capital project funding, clearing the way for construction to begin on the 17,000-square-foot facility in late summer or early fall with an opening date planned for fall 2022.

The center will be across from the Southside Branch Library on Country Club Road and will bring a gym, game room, crafts and performing arts space to the resource-starved southern portion of Santa Fe. It also will include teen-appropriate programing, including résumé-writing classes and career guidance.

“It’s great to finally be moving forward,” said District 3 City Councilor Chris Rivera. “I know its something former Councilor [Carmichael] Dominguez had been pushing for for a while. But the stars had just never really aligned.”

Rivera said the city’s south side has lacked recreational resources for youth and that he hopes that the center helps change that.

Fellow District 3 City Councilor Roman “Tiger” Abeyta agreed, noting that since the south-side Boys & Girls club opened on the Zona Del Sol property in 2015, the need has been apparent for more teen options.

“We don’t have any city centers in District 3,” said Abeyta, who also is the Boys & Girls Club’s chief professional officer. “That was part of the reason we opened the Boys and Girls club about four or five years ago. We saw the need, but we immediately reached capacity at that building.”

Discussions on building a teen center in the area were spearheaded by Dominguez as the city pushed to develop the Tierra Contenta subdivi

sion, but they ultimately fizzled. In 2009, those discussions once again gained steam when a professional services agreement was signed between the city and a local firm to provide conceptual designs.

Though no member of the council has balked at the need for the center, questions have been raised over ongoing maintenance payments at the new facility in the wake of the 2008 recession, which Rivera said the city is still contending with in various ways.

“I think there had been some momentum and then the recession in 2008 really took hold and folded down on a lot of things,” he said. “We’re still catching up on deferred maintenance. It’s been rough, but it’s time to catch up and get new things in the works.”

Mayor Alan Webber voiced his support for the project shortly after being elected in 2018.

In 2019, the state appropriated $1.1 million to the city for the project, which Public Works Director Regina Wheeler said was used to move the project forward on through a contract with design firm Wilson and Company.

The city matched the state’s funding with $1 million of its own.

Last year, the state appropriated $3.9 million for the project but had opted to hold off on releasing the funds while it considered the impact from the coronavirus pandemic.

The project is budgeted at $6 million. The city asked for an additional $890,000 in 2021 for upgrades to the design to protect against COVID-19, including ventilation additions, touchless doors and adding lawn space. As of Tuesday, that request has not been granted.

Wheeler called the $3.9 million released by the state “the cherry on top of the sundae.”

Wheeler said the city recently received design updates from Wilson and Company and expects to be able to meet the expressed timeline.

The city said construction will be put out to bid in late spring or early summer.