Since 1997, the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum has been slowly outgrowing its current facilities on Johnson Street. The museum’s awareness that the facilities and could not adequately store and care for the collection, handle the volume of visitors, or expand educational offerings to support the youth and families of Santa Fe and northern New Mexico prompted the 2020s development of a plan to fundraiser, design, and begin construction on a new complex on the adjacent Grant Avenue. In a 2023 Santa Fe New Mexican article, the board and its director Cody Hartley publicly presented its plan to redevelop the Grant Avenue property that previously housed their Education Center.  

Developing this new museum at 123 Grant Ave presented challenges and complications. Located on the ancestral land of the Tesuque Pueblo, the property’s historic usage has included parts of the royal presidio, the Fort Marcy officers’ quarters, and a former Safeway grocery store. It is directly adjacent to the Otero-Bergere House, a HSFF Registered property that serves as the Museum’s Research Center. Additionally, the Museum received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities. It is therefore subject to review under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Section 106 requires federal agencies to consider the impact of their projects on historic properties and archaeologically sensitive sites. 

The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum hosted public meetings and listening sessions including outreach to consulting parties, resulting in an archaeological review process and plan that has been described as a model for future public/private partnerships. 

Construction is now underway with the plan to open the new museum in 2028. In this presentation, Hartley and his architect Devendra Narayna Contractor of DNCA Architects will present the design and discuss the process and challenges of designing this complex in downtown Santa Fe.