Midtown Weekly Update

By City of Santa Fe

The Midtown development team, Team Midtown (KDC/Cienda Partners), will host the last in a series of “Meet the Developer” meetings, set for Tuesday, June 23 from 5 p.m. – 7 p.m. in a virtual format and featuring a conversation on Affordable Housing as a component of the Midtown development.  The “Meet the Developer Meetings” have been an essential step in the continuing public engagement process. Residents can attend the meetings virtually at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKPVlxk0l-IyxAVEPs2ig0w.

The public is invited to submit questions to the development team before the meeting at following email address:info@midtowndistrictsantafe.com.

The “Meet the Developer” meetings are designed to be a two-way street, to gather public input while sharing information. The public has an opportunity to submit questions and learn more about the initial ideas, and the developer gets a better understanding of the public’s goals and aspirations and continue their information gathering to further education of the community’s wants and needs. The series topics have been based on those areas where residents expressed the most interest and have included Arts & Innovation and Film & Education.

Previous “Meet the Developer Series”

View previous “Meet the Developer Meetings”, Special Governing Body meeting, and the introductory video on the Midtown YouTube Channel here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qoymhNmPC3_p79SlheEge7q7GABzNvDa/view

The development team and the City will continue public engagement, either virtually or in person, throughout the year to inform development plans for the Midtown District.

Team Midtown has outlined a proposed development approach that is intended to produce new mixed-income affordable housing, create jobs through multimedia and film studio expansion, and create space for recreation, as well as arts and cultural events. The developers’ proposal outlines a healthy communities vision on the 64-acre site that includes collaborations with YouthWorks and Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center, as well as HomeWise, Yes Housing, Santa Fe Art Institute, and other local organizations, companies, and businesses with a commitment to creating equitable and healthy communities.

KDC is a Dallas-based development company with strong local ties, including a partnership with Cienda Partners, which worked on such iconic Santa Fe projects and Las Campanas, El Rey Court and La Fonda Hotel.

In collaboration with the City and the communities of Santa Fe, the development team will listen and explore what it will take to create a live-work-learn-play and shop district based on publically generated guidelines that will continue to be shaped by public engagement, site analysis, and economic studies.

Featured Question of the Week

Will new housing that is affordable be developed in the Midtown District?

Yes. The Midtown Planning Guidelines listed affordable housing as a priority for the future of the Midtown Site.  It was also included in the RFEI and all the development teams included affordable housing developers.  In fact, Team Midtown, the development team that the City is currently working with, includes local and regional affordable housing developers.  The public has made it very clear that the new homes should be affordable for a broad range of household incomes, and include both rental and homeowner opportunities.  The goal is to have a wide range of housing types to meet the needs of Santa Fe households.  The City and the developer have a shared commitment to ensure that the homes are energy and water efficient, and to use green building methods to create healthy environments.  We will be looking to best practices in housing design to achieve the public’s vision of creating a place where people live, work, play, and learn.