Shoofly Station Apartments taking shape in Baca District
May 31—Shoofly Station Apartments in the Baca District of the Santa Fe Railyard is just months away from accepting tenants in its 18 units, a project that largely completes development of the area.
The complex is under construction on the last vacant large lot in the Baca District. The Railyard area nearby is nearly built out, after 20 years of development.
"We're getting to the end of the development stage of the Railyard [and Baca District]," said Christine Robertson, executive director of the Santa Fe Railyard Community Corp., the master leaseholder of the city-owned property.
"Shoofly Station adds to the vibrancy of that area," she added. "I think it's great for all the businesses that are there."
Marc Bertram, one of the project's developers, said Shoofly Station's one- and two-bedroom units should be ready for residents in early fall. The project — two parallel, two-story buildings with metal and stucco siding that fits with the Baca District's industrial architecture — is geared toward young professionals and empty nesters, he said.
He estimates monthly rates will go from $1,700 to $2,500 for the units, which range from 640 to 1,050 square feet.
"It's preliminary to know where the rents will land," Bertram said.
Bertram and co-developer Andy Duettra, as Shoofly Partners LLC, also are partners in the downtown Washington Inn hotel project on Otero Street; the 32-unit Midtown Lofts in a former First National 1870 bank building on Rosina Street; and a 62-unit apartment complex in the early planning stages on Boylan Circle.
They inherited the Shoofly Station plans and city approvals from a prior developer who dropped out.
"The opportunity presented itself," Bertram said. "We basically took over the project. The thing we liked about it was it was ready to go."
Construction started about six months ago at Shoofly Street and Flagman Way. Bertram believes the Railyard has gained a critical mass.
"The Railyard is becoming their own place," Bertram said. "They are becoming an alternative destination, I mean a real alternative place of its own."
Bertram and Duettra are 30 to 60 days away from starting construction on the 27-room Washington Inn.
The duo expect to follow in the fall with the conversion of the former bank building into apartments, ranging from 800 to 1,200 square feet. Midtown Lofts would likely be ready for residents in winter 2023, Bertram said.
Planning is preliminary for the complex on Boylan Circle. The three-building project would be adjacent to the Acequia Lofts apartments under construction on Agua Fría Street west of Frenchy's Field Park.
