'Midlife wisdom school' set for Mt. Carmel Road

Sep. 28—Since 1906, one property on Santa Fe's northeast side has hosted a tuberculosis sanatorium, a luxury hotel, a military hospital, photography workshops, classical chamber concerts and a monastery.

Soon, the century-plus-old buildings on Mt. Carmel Road will serve a new purpose: a "midlife wisdom school," as the founders of Modern Elder Academy describe their plan for the property.

Part of that plan includes construction of a new building, business representatives announced during a community meeting Monday evening.

Modern Elder Academy offers seven- and five-day retreats at its location in Baja California Sur, Mexico, with workshops for attendees to learn about topics like mindfulness, entrepreneurship or writing.

Former Airbnb executive and hotelier Chip Conley, along with his Modern Elder Academy co-founders Christine Sperber and Jeff Hamaoui, are developing two Santa Fe-area locations: the former Saddleback Ranch in Galisteo and the former Immaculate Heart of Mary Retreat and Conference Center on Mt. Carmel Road. Both properties were purchased last year.

The former Saddleback Ranch location — to be named Santa Fe Ranch — will be the site of the first Modern Elder Academy in the U.S., the company's website states.

Next will come the Mt. Carmel Road location. The group's plans for the historic campus will require approval from the city for at least two special use permits, Jennifer Jenkins of development management firm JenkinsGavin, Inc. said Monday.

In October, the group will apply for a special use permit for the addition of a 9,500-square-foot building to the property "in order to accommodate the needs of the academy," Jenkins said.

A second permit would allow the new owners to split off a parcel that contains a parking lot used by Santa Fe Preparatory School.

Before opening the site for business in fall 2024, the group's other plans for the Mt. Carmel Road property include improving the parking lot, constructing sidewalks along Camino de Cruz Blanca and renovating existing buildings — some of which date to 1920 — Jenkins said.

Site development plans show the group will forego Mt. Carmel Road's extension into the property for a "pedestrian allée" that will lead to a library, currently dubbed the chapel.

The campus has 58 rooms and 96 dormitory beds; Jenkins said the property will include 64 rooms and 78 beds after construction of the new building — adding the development will be "actually decreasing intensity with respect to the number of attendees who can utilize the campus."

Representatives from neighbors and tenants of the new Modern Elder Academy site appeared Monday to express approval for the group's plans, including those from St. John's College, Santa Fe Preparatory School and New Mexico Performing Arts Society.

Reid Callanan, founder and director of photography organization Santa Fe Workshops, said he was thrilled Modern Elder Academy purchased the property.

"Everything that they are proposing makes total sense to me as someone who loves and knows the property really well," Callanan said.

Aaron Schubach, head of Santa Fe Prep, said the school has had a rental agreement with the Archdiocese of Santa Fe for the parking lot at the north end of the campus that goes back almost 40 years. He said he was pleased with the "educational mission" of Modern Elder Academy and to not be in a "disaster scenario where we're talking about condominiums going up."

Jenkins said Modern Elder Academy plans to continue leasing space to Santa Fe Workshops and New Mexico Performing Arts Society, as well as leave the parcel housing the Carmelite Monastery undisturbed.

"We were pleased that the sentiment of the neighbors was curious and positive," Conley said of the meeting.

Conley told The New Mexican about his offer on the property in May 2021, which he only said was higher than another party's offer of $6.4 million. The sale took place during the Archdiocese of Santa Fe's bankruptcy proceedings.

The archdiocese acquired the property shortly after World War II. In previous decades, the property and its buildings played host to a number of uses, including as a health sanatorium for tuberculosis patients like famed architect John Gaw Meem.

Modern Elder Academy is in the process of applying to the National Register of Historic Places for recognition of some of the 100-year-old-plus buildings on the property, Jenkins said, particularly the Santa Maria building and the chapel. Development at the property also will be subject to review by the city's Historic Districts Review Board.