As project manager at the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency (MRA), I worked closely with our internal team and the City of Santa Fe’s Arts & Culture Department to coordinate a working group of advisors to represent the community’s interest in the GGT’s planning efforts.
A milestone accomplishment at the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency was managing the feasibility study of the Greer Garson Theater in partnership with external collaborators, Artspace and Autotroph. The top priority of this study was to obtain cost projections and scope of rehabilitation work to address critical building systems, code, health and safety, and other conditions for rehabilitating and reusing the existing Greer Garson Theater (GGT) located at the former Santa Fe College of Art and Design campus.
As project manager at the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency (MRA), I worked closely with our internal team and the City of Santa Fe’s Arts & Culture Department to coordinate a working group of advisors to represent the community’s interest in the GGT’s planning efforts. This group worked closely with the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency, the Arts & Culture Department, Artspace and Autotroph at the onset of this scope, providing history and context about the site and the creative community in Santa Fe. These advisors (“Core Group”) also played a supportive role in inviting local stakeholders, such as arts organizations and civic leaders, to the input-gathering focus groups.
The Autotroph team led the building assessment component of this scope, which included reviewing the 2023 Facility Assessment Report to identify gaps and required updates. Throughout this timeframe, the team visited the building several times to document existing conditions and perform supplementary measurements. They then drafted CAD floor plans to reflect the current layout of the facility for use in future improvement modeling. The team began the updated building assessment report to outline recommended building updates related to basic code compliance and life safety, as well as energy efficiency and sustainability opportunities.
As that work was in development, I coordinated a site visit for The Artspace team over a three-day visit to engage local stakeholders and tour existing creative assets, the Midtown campus, and the Greer Garson Theater. The trip was successful in helping highlight the existing venues, cultural landscape and key operators that run similar venues in Santa Fe.
Following the information-gathering visit, Artspace defined four prospective operating models based on the stakeholder feedback, facility opportunities, and broader community context. These distinct operating concepts were presented to the City team for discussion and feedback, with the objective of identifying a singular model for further analysis. In addition to the concepts, the conversation also included a review of known priority upgrades/improvements, such as building envelope insulation, sprinkler system completion, obsolete Mechanical/Electrical/Plumbing infrastructure, and life safety and accessibility issues.
