Santa Fe moves forward with Zia Station development

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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.- The new Zia Station project in Santa Fe will move forward.

It won approved after a 7-hour city council meeting Tuesday.

The Zia Station project, at the intersection of St. Francis and Zia, will be home to a 400-unit apartment development. It will also include office, retail and restaurant space.

Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber believes the project moves Santa Fe forward.

"They’re talking about a lot of jobs, a lot of construction, hopefully a lot of local jobs for people to build this project and make it part of our recovery," he said. "Dont’ forget, we’re coming out of a pandemic where a lot of people didn’t have jobs."

The project includes three-story buildings, which the city council had to approve because zoning rules only allow two-story buildings in that area.

During a virtual public meeting Tuesday, many people who live in the area opposed the project.

"And we are throwing out ordinances to make this happen," one person said. "This is shameful are we the city different or are we the city of apartments?"

Webber said they’ve acknowledged concerns about not only the building height, but also traffic congestion and pedestrian safety.

"And we listen, we hear those concerns, and we want to do anything that we can to mitigate any negative impacts going forward, but there is a housing crisis in Santa Fe and this is one step towards addressing that housing crisis," he said.

There are still more steps in the planning process before the project can break ground. It’s not clear when that will take place.