what to do with large but-soon-to-be-abandoned santa fe campus is a challenge for city officials and residents

The future look and function of an airy 64-acre campus in Santa Fe will be the subject of a series of community input meetings this spring.
 
Last April it was announced that the Santa Fe University of Art and Design, located at 1600 St. Michael’s Drive, would close its doors by this June.
 
While that ending for the four-year nonprofit school has caused obvious anxiety for its students, city officials have been thinking about what is to become of the campus once the last classes at the school are held.
 
Now, what is being called a Midtown Campus Project, sponsored by the City of Santa Fe, is asking for ideas about how to reimagine the campus space, which features more than 30 structures, including office and classroom space, student housing, a library, fitness center, and theater.
 
As proposed, five design teams will put on paper ideas gathered through community input, leading to an eventual public vote on those ideas, with a final report subsequently sent to the Santa Fe City Council.
 
Some of the ideas that have already been informally suggested include turning the campus into a mixed-use development, with housing and office space, and perhaps even a new Santa Fe Public Library location.
 
The art and design school, a subsidiary of Laureate Education, Inc. of Baltimore, said it was closing its doors due to financial issues. The school’s enrollment of around four hundred in 2010 is today less than half that number.

By Garry Boulard

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