Tres Semillas Statement

The Abiquiu News was not able to interview Bernadette Gallegos but was provided by this interview style statement

By Bernadette Gallegos
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Question: So why is Tres Semillas selling its land?

Bernadette Gallegos:  We decided, after a lot of discussion, that we needed to get back to what we were founded to do.  This goes way back: in about 2007 Karl Bode wanted to sell some parcels of land, the land that now belongs to Tres Semillas.  That was around the time that the El Sueno ranch closed and its owners, the Hunt family, moved. We had the Boys and Girls Club and Regalos in the hopper at the time, and they didn’t have a home of their own. The idea grew out of this basic need.  By the time we got the land bought, the Boys and Girls Club was tucked safe and sound at the school.  This brought home the need to focus on economic endeavors. We knew others had the same idea of starting their own, that was clear from the beginning from community meetings.  We never did want to run a business.

Question: We do remember there were community meetings and an effort to reach out. 

Bernadette:  Yes, it was contentious at times. Everybody had their own ideas about how the property could best be used.  But the focus was never just about the property.  It was about how we could use it as a vehicle to promote economic opportunity.  The Tres Semillas charter says we are focused on “economic development.” 

Question:  What was the strategy?  How did that work out? 

Bernadette: We had a lot of ideas presented to us, but the footing for this property was always to build a “Tenant Shared Space”. There are some very successful tenant shared spaces that I visited whereby the tenants shared the responsibility of caring for the property and buildings, with shared resources of expertise, equipment and shared missions. The other strategy was to have for-profit ventures that would support non-profit efforts. 

Question: So what changed?

Bernadette: We supported a number of enterprises and non-profits over the years. We never did move into a full “Tenant Shared Space” mode of operation.  But we are so happy to see that the non-profits Northern Youth Project and the Abiquiu Farmers Market are doing well on their own.  Both are now thriving. But they were heavily subsidized by Tres Semillas with free use of the property or such low rent that it really didn’t support taking care of the property.  The Frosty Cow and Studio 84 are doing very well, I think.  Over time we realized that we were running a public park or an industrial park without the money or staff to do that.  And we had taken our eye off the ball.  It was time to reboot, and financially we could not continue as we were. 

Question:  So what about Northern Youth Project, the Farmers Market and your other tenants?

Bernadette: Well that’s really up to them. They are their own enterprises with their own missions, which are not the same as ours. NYP has had 15 years to solidify and grow their organization.  We wish them well and will do what we can to help them in this time of transition.  We have kept everyone up to date about our thinking and we are in no rush, so we’ve tried to be as accommodating as possible.  Some are interested in buying the land, which would be great. 

Question:  How much do you expect to sell the land for, and what will you do with the money? 
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Bernadette:  We have listed the property for $610,000, on the advice of Real Estate Advisors of Santa Fe.  Anyone interested in buying the property can contact them.  We are restricted in what we can do with the final proceeds of the sale by the laws governing non-profits but we want to do something meaningful and something that affects more people in need than we now do.