The fencing along the Roundhouse's north side went up last spring. Across Don Gaspar Avenue, four small Pueblo-Spanish Revival houses that stood for about 90 years were gone by the end of one April week. If you walk past the Capitol on the way to the Railyard or to errands on Galisteo, you have watched both changes happen in pieces. One project is due to finish in December. The other has barely started.
The building is open now, the art inside is free, and the renovation is due to wrap up before the holidays. After January 19 the Capitol runs on the Legislature's clock. And the empty lot on the 400 block of Don Gaspar is the first visible step of a state office project that could reshape that block for years once bids go out.
What the fencing is for, and when it's due to come down
The work around the Capitol is a concourse renovation. At the April 17, 2026 meeting of the Legislative Council, staff said the fence "marks the beginning of the State Capitol concourse renovation," put the cost at $7.5 million, and said the north side's renovation "should be completed by December 2026." The same Legislative Council minutes included a heads-up that anyone living within earshot already understands: the renovation "may be loud."
An earlier Santa Fe New Mexican report described the concourse project as a fix for deteriorating concrete and water getting into the parking garage below. That report gave a lower cost estimate, and the April 2026 figure of $7.5 million replaces it.
As of this week, the Legislature's homepage still says the Capitol exterior is under construction through December 2026. It also says the building is open to the public throughout and asks visitors to "mind the signs for entry access." So for most of November you can still go in. Just expect to follow signs to a different door than usual.
Inside, a free collection on a weekday schedule
The Capitol Art Collection is the part of the Roundhouse that neighbors can use most easily, and the Capitol Art Foundation describes it as free and open to the public. The catch this time of year is the schedule. The Legislature's visitor page lists self-guided hours of 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. Saturday hours run only from Memorial Day through the last Saturday in August, so between now and spring the art is a weekday outing. The same page lists free weekday parking at 420 Galisteo Street.
The current show in the East Rotunda Gallery is Intersection: Color and Form, a group of contemporary mixed-media works by New Mexico artists. The foundation's listing gives a December 18 closing date. That puts its last weeks in the same stretch as the end of the concourse work, which makes early-to-mid December a good time to see both.
The permanent collection stays up all year. Three pieces are easy to find by location:
- Buffalo Maiden by Tammy Garcia, in the second-floor east lobby
- Black Mesa by Dave Barnett, in the fourth-floor west hallway
- Cross Talk by James Gasowski, in the Annex Walkway
If you'd like more context than the wall labels give, guided tours are by appointment. Call (505) 986-4589 during regular business hours to book one.
The tradition at the southwest corner
The Governor's Office calls the State Christmas tree lighting at the Capitol an annual event. Last year's media advisory set it for 5:15 p.m. on Monday, December 1, 2025, at the Capitol's southwest corner. It invited the public to caroling, with free biscochitos and hot cider.
The 2026 date has not been announced yet. Going by last year, watch for an advisory from the Governor's Office around Thanksgiving week. For South Capitol, this is the closest of the season's tree lightings. The Plaza's lighting, which SantaFe.com lists for Friday, November 27, from 4:30 to 8 p.m. with the lighting at about 6:15 p.m., is a longer walk north.
What happens to the Roundhouse after January 19
The Legislature's homepage lists the 2027 session as opening at noon on January 19 and ending at noon on March 20, a 60-day session. For those nine weeks, the hallways where Buffalo Maiden and Black Mesa hang are also where lawmaking happens. The Capitol stays a public building, but the visit is different.
The session also explains the empty lot across Don Gaspar.
The block across Don Gaspar, before and after
The four casitas on the 400 block of Don Gaspar went up around 1930. The Santa Fe Reporter reported that state police used them on and off during legislative sessions. Demolition started on a Wednesday in April, and by that Friday most of the four houses was rubble. Grancor Environmental of Albuquerque had the remediation and demolition contract.
The site covers more than the four houses. The Historic Districts Review Board had already approved demolishing the Concha Ortiz y Pino building next door, plus a motor pool and garage building, to make room for the complex. The New Mexican reported that the board's vote on the casitas themselves, taken last December, was 3-2.
Here's how the change in scale looks, based on the two outlets' April reporting:
| Before | Planned | |
|---|---|---|
| Buildings on the casita parcels | Four houses from about 1930 | One executive office building |
| Size | Small casitas | About 165,000 square feet |
| People | Intermittent session use | Occupancy of about 565 |
| Parking | None reported | 585 spaces in three tiers |
The planned parking is the number that matters most for the neighborhood. With 585 spaces for an occupancy of about 565, the plan has slightly more parking spaces than people. The New Mexican noted that people who opposed the plan over the years raised concerns about increased traffic, along with the historic value of the small homes.
The two outlets' April reports list different agencies for the building. The New Mexican quoted a General Services Department spokesperson naming the Department of Finance and Administration, the Secretary of State, the state Treasurer, the State Auditor, the Higher Education Department and the Lieutenant Governor's Office. The Santa Fe Reporter named the Secretary of State, State Engineer, State Auditor and General Services Department. Both lists include the Secretary of State and the State Auditor. The final tenant list is still open.
Why the state wanted this block, and why the timing matters
The project has a long history. According to the Santa Fe Reporter, a $22 million version was first proposed nearly 20 years ago. It stalled for seven years after a 2012 ruling protected some of the houses, and it came back when it appeared in the state's 2021 master plan. The New Mexican reported that the Legislature set aside $95 million for it.
The agencies' reasons tie back to the session. At the board's December 9 hearing, State Auditor Joseph Maestas told members, as the Santa Fe Reporter recounted, "We have no working space in the Capitol to work. We're borrowing and stealing, so to speak, during the session." Board member Jennifer Biedscheid put the board's reasoning this way in the New Mexican's coverage:
"While Santa Fe is known for its historic identity, it also identifies as the state capital. State government exists here. We can't contradict that fact, and its ability to function needs to be a serious concern."
The Old Santa Fe Association took the other side. Its chairman, Edward Archuleta, told the Santa Fe Reporter that the group was "very disappointed to lose another part of our town's history." He said the casitas, though not historically or architecturally significant, were good examples of Pueblo-Spanish Revival design that "contributed to the fabric of the historic district." The group thought about appealing to the city council but decided not to.
The timeline is what matters for the coming months. In April, GSD spokesperson Joe Vigil told the Santa Fe Reporter that design should be done by October, and said, "We will begin asking for bids for construction at the end of 2026." The New Mexican quoted the same department saying the building was scheduled to be built next year. The April schedule is the latest public one. If it holds, construction bids would go out around the same time the concourse fencing comes down and the session opens.
That means the stretch from the end of the concourse work in December to January 19 may be the calmest the Capitol's edge of South Capitol gets for a while. It's a good time to see Intersection: Color and Form before it closes on December 18, and to catch the tree lighting at the southwest corner once its date is announced.
If you own a home near the Capitol and wonder how a project this size across the street might affect your plans over the next few years, I'm happy to talk it through with you, with no pressure and no pitch. Kenny Crowley keeps track of what's changing around the Roundhouse, so Let's Connect.
