Recovery Program May Upgrade Existing Structure Near Santa Fe

A substance abuse recovery center with locations in Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Taos wants to open a new facility on an 11-acre rural site just outside of Santa Fe.

The project could see the possible upgrading and repurposing of a sprawling rectangular-shaped structure on the property in question with the goal of housing nearly two dozen women dealing with substance issues.

Officials with the private-for-profit Shadow Mountain Recovery Centers, which additionally operates a facility in Spring Branch, Texas, say the new site will prove particularly conducive to the recovery process due to its bucolic setting.

That site is at the end of the small, unpaved Calle Del Barrio road trailing off the Old Las Vegas Highway, roughly 12 miles to the southeast of downtown Santa Fe.

Documents pertaining to the development of the site have been submitted to the County of Santa Fe, in particular the county’s Growth Management-Land Use Department. According to reports, the New Mexico State Historical Preservation Division has also reviewed the application for the project.

Shadow Mountain centers are typically upscale developments with an emphasis on spacious living rooms, full kitchens, and comfortable residential quarters.

The proposal has sparked the opposition of residents in the sparsely populated area primarily expressing concerns regarding the possibility that some of those receiving treatment may be dangerous.

Center officials maintain that its clients are not dangerous and are typically white collar professionals with addiction challenges.

Although it is not known when the county will make a final decision on the project, some neighbors, in an area where homes are often listed above the $250,000 mark, have vowed to take the matter to court should the project get a green light.
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Through a series of counseling and education initiatives, the Shadow Mountain centers address addiction issues holistically and claims to have a better than 85% recovery rate.

​By Garry Boulard

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