Media: Santa Fe Studios developer bypasses county for loan
Phaedra Haywood for The New Mexican
Santa Fe County will not be lending developers $6 million to build a film studio after all.
County Attorney Stephen Ross said Friday the developers have arranged to get a $10 million loan from Los Alamos National Bank instead.
Lance Hool and Jason Hool have tried for years to build a film studio south of town.
Earlier this year, it began looking like they might realize their dream. They had purchased land for the project — 65 acres off N.M. 14 — and were well on their way to securing a $10 million economic development grant from the state. Santa Fe County had agreed to donate $3.5 million worth of water rights and infrastructure to the project, and also to loan the developers an additional $6 million that would have been financed by a bond backed by gross receipts tax proceeds.
But before the deal could be finalized, Gregg Bemis Jr., Jack Stamm and James McCaughey filed a lawsuit alleging that the deal violated the anti-donation clause.
The county disputed the claim and asked that the case be dismissed, but Ross said the pending suit was holding up the project so the developers sought private funding.
“This is a faster way,” Ross said. “It eliminates the need for the county to loan the money and it eliminates the contentions in the petition.” He said the newly reworked deal will be considered at the County Commission meeting Tuesday.
“We’re excited,” said Santa Fe Studios President Jason Hool. “The county was very generous in their loan and we liked it a lot but this opportunity presented itself and we thought it would be good to get a private bank involved.” Hool added that the relationship with the private lender could come in handy if the Hools need funding for future expansion.
Bemis said he had just returned from a trip Friday evening and had not heard the news until a reporter told him.
“It’s wonderful if they’ve been able to receive funding from private sources rather than from taxpayer resources,” Bemis said. He said he didn’t know for sure how the change would effect the lawsuit.
The state Economic Development Department is still reviewing the project to determine if it qualifies for the $10 million Local Economic Development Act grant.
