The Governing Body adopted a milestone Midtown Moving Forward Resolution establishing the next steps to make Midtown shovel-ready for the reuse and redevelopment of the property. The resolution was put forward by Mayor Alan Webber and District 4 Councilors Jamie Cassutt and Amanda Chavez, to move forward key actions, including:

• REQUESTS FOR PROPOSALS to redevelop and operate the beautiful Visual Arts Center as an arts, culture, and film hub; expand and update Garson Studios into a state-of-the-art film and multimedia production studio; and create a Garson Performance Theatre that will be affordable for local groups and attract regional, national, and international performers.

• MIXED-USE ZONING to allow land uses that the public wants, as stated in the Midtown Planning Guidelines and confirmed by this year’s public engagement campaign. Mixed-uses, which are currently not allowed with the current zoning, include residential, commercial and educational buildings, open space, and the expansion of the Greer Garson Studio.

• PUBLIC LIBRARY STUDY to reuse the iconic Fogelson Library Complex as an innovation hub that will increase access for Santa Fe communities to education and creative learning activities in partnership with other educational organizations and institutions.

• MOVE TOWARD IMPLEMENTATION TO CREATE A NEW SANTA FE CENTER that was described in the Midtown Planning Guidelines approved by Governing Body resolution in 2018 by preparing the site for incremental development and prioritizing goals presented by all Santa Fe communities.

An amendment introduced by Councilor Garcia and Councilwoman Villarreal was approved that emphasized the importance of affordable housing and housing options on the site.

The focus of the Midtown team will continue to be on key economic development and job-creating initiatives such as expanding film production, as well as reusing existing iconic buildings for visual and performing arts, a public library, and education. Additional initiatives will include affordable housing production at Midtown as the redevelopment plans unfold for public input during this spring and summer.

Mayor Alan Webber says: “This resolution marks a major milestone for the Midtown project. The community engagement process was an outstanding success. The work that’s been going on by City-staffed committees has provided us with the roadmap to action. Action is now what we’re taking. We’ll push ahead with the rezoning, the master planning, and the requests for proposals that will move Midtown forward.”

This Midtown Moving Forward Resolution establishes a policy directive to proceed with important actions that began with the Midtown Planning Guidelines in 2018 and continue to be confirmed in the Midtown public engagement effort sponsored by the City. The Midtown Redevelopment Plans, which will be comprised of two inter-related documents -- a Community Development Plan and Land Development Plan, will be based on the City’s commitment to equitable and sustainable development that creates a welcoming, dynamic place for all people to live, work, play, learn.

For more information, visit MidtownDistrictSantaFe.com