Just off the Railyard, on Paseo del Peralta, a chain-link fence encloses an old campus and abandoned playground — a harrowing sight amid the elegant galleries that border the train depot-turned-meeting-place.
The property, formerly home to Alvord Elementary School, closed in 2010 due to low enrollment after 80 years of operation. Soon, the site that once housed the Tierra Encantada Charter School for six years will be home to new Railyard residents.
David Barker, of Barker Realty and owner of the property, hopes to split the two lots bordering Paseo de Peralta and Camino de la Familia into a 10-lot subdivision. Barker is proposing that the zone heights be increased to allow for more dense development on the side of the property closest to the railyard—a section where the schoolyard used to be.
Local residents have concerns about the proposed designs.
In an early neighborhood notice Wednesday night, residents questioned the proposed height restriction changes and how the new development would change the vibe of the neighborhood.
“The construction of high-end developments in this part of town will further alienate Santa Feans and make it less affordable for people,” Lucy Foma, a neighborhood resident, said during the meeting. “There is nothing stopping people from buying these as investments and then renting them out for short term rentals or second homes. And that will lose the character of this neighborhood.”
Barker hopes the city will change the approved master plan to allow buildings up to 48 feet tall on the playground’s property. Current zoning regulations allow building heights of up to 36 feet on some portions of the lots, although the majority of the two-lot lot is zoned for a height of only 28 feet.
Daniel Esquibel, a senior planner with the City of Santa Fe, explained that the city’s planning commission for taller buildings must recommend approval of the master plan changes and then seek governing board approval.
The lot, previously classified as residential, was rededicated as the Business Capitol District-Redevelopment Subdistrict at Barker’s request when he bought the lot from the Santa Fe Public Schools in 2017. The new designation allows for both commercial and residential buildings.
While the west portion of the lot will house the 10-lot subdivision, Barker hopes the east playground will be zoned to allow for buildings up to 48 feet tall. The plan for this part of the property is still unknown.
“We have no plan for a design there. What we’re asking at the playground is just changing a height ordinance,” Barker told residents. “Then we would then work on a blueprint for what we want to put in there.”
Barker says he hopes to achieve higher zoning limits to allow for higher density commercial or residential buildings on this portion of the property.
“The change to the master plan regarding height restrictions makes a very strong case for significantly increasing the building mass,” said Bill Ramsey, a neighborhood resident, referring to the unknown size and shape of the undetermined building. “If you’re telling us you don’t have any plans, then I would say maybe you need to make some plans, come up with a… concept and then create a standard around that.”
Residents have also expressed concern about a proposed exit ramp for emergency vehicles that will connect the property to Adolfo Street, a cul-de-sac.
When Barker’s real estate group acquired the 30,000-square-foot lot from the school district for $2.55 million, the original design was to create artist living and work spaces and a commercial space.
Last April, the real estate company decided to abandon the commercial component of the design and make the property purely residential. Barker intends to sell the homes built on the 10 lots.
“This project will be far less dense than what could be developed, resulting in less traffic and congestion,” the real estate group’s filing motion said. During the meeting, Barker noted that the design had been altered to address residents’ concerns about traffic by removing a previously included access point to the properties on the Paseo.
Other residents questioned the possibility of including affordable housing.
Barker informed attendees that in lieu of affordable housing, he would pay a fee into the Affordable Housing Trust Fund under the Santa Fe Homes Program Ordinance.
RoseMary Diaz (Santa Clara Pueblo), a neighborhood resident, tells SFR that she has concerns about the proposed height increase and the unaffordability of the future homes.
“It’s supposed to keep us out and let in other people who are moving here. That’s the bottom line,” says Diaz, whose daughter attended Alvord Elementary, noting recent developments at the railyard that attract more affluent residents than the surrounding neighborhood.
Diaz says she’s not against new housing. Rather, she hopes that the end product will include a “less invasive architecture — you know, more inclusive tenant applications.”
Barker estimated that the next phase of the process, a public hearing before the Planning Commission, could take place as early as April.
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