santa fe hoping for state funding to help build new teen center

In a move to bring to the construction phase a project that has been longed talked about, officials in Santa Fe are hoping to receive around $4 million in funding for a teen center that would go up on the city’s growing south side.

The funding, if approved, would be one of several capital outlay requests that Santa Fe is submitting to the New Mexico State Legislature for the upcoming month-long winter 2020 session.

Last year lawmakers approved $1.4 million for the initial planning, design, and building of the facility.

To be built in the Tierra Contenta subdivision, across the street from the Southside Branch Library in the 6500 block of Jaguar Drive, the multipurpose, 10,000 square foot facility will include both gym and recreation space, as well as rooms for community meetings.

Santa Fe officials have said that the need for such a facility is great in a section of the city seeing the construction of more than 2,300 housing units in the last two decades.

 It is thought that there will be at least another 2,000 units going up in Tierra Contenta between now and 2030.

The New Mexico legislature is scheduled to meet between January 21 and February 20 of next year.

By Garry Boulard

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