A program that offers life-enhancing programs for adults may soon be upgrading and repurposing a retreat center that formerly belonged to the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
In early 2021, the Modern Elder Academy purchased for around $8 million land at the Saddlebag Ranch in Galisteo, with the goal of building both meeting and residential space for its students.
The Saddlebag Ranch location is set to also serve as the group’s new headquarters.
But now Modern Elder’s plans additionally call for the building of new dormitory space at the former Immaculate Heart of Mary Retreat and Conference Center, located at 50 Mount Carmel Road.
That center, formerly a part of the Archdiocese of Santa Fe, was auctioned off in the spring of 2021 as part of the archdiocese’s bankruptcy proceedings.
Modern Elder has announced plans to apply for a special use permit from the City of Santa Fe to build a 9,500 square foot structure at the Mount Carmel Road site. The group additionally wants to renovate some of the existing buildings at the site, while building new sidewalks on Camino de Cruz Blanca, which runs along the west side of the site.
The Modern Elder Academy has already held one public input meeting regarding its plans for the former archdiocese property. Those plans will eventually be examined by the City of Santa Fe’s Historic Districts Review Board.
Opening its first campus in 2018 in Baja California Sur, the Modern Elder Academy bills itself as the “world’s first midlife wisdom school,” described by Forbes magazine as a “boutique resort for midlife learning and reflection.”
By Garry Boulard
