A resident of Santa Fe, New Mexico since 1979, Mr. Geiss has been a real estate specialist since 1977, with a career in construction, development, commercial brokerage and investment.  Since that time, he has constructed hundreds of residential units ranging from luxury single family homes to affordable multi-unit projects, medical and office buildings, resort facilities and residential subdivisions.  Mr. Geiss (with his partner Dave Gurule) is the master developer of Las Estrellas, an 835-unit mixed-use community on the City’s north side approved for 200,000 square feet of commercial tenants, a fully appointed senior residential facility, a city park, and 5 miles of pedestrian links throughout the 550-acre community.

Mr. Geiss is the qualifying broker of Phase One Realty, Inc., Santa Fe’s oldest commercial real estate services firm.  In addition to its brokerage and consulting activities, Phase One is an investor in over 60 projects throughout 12 southern states.  Most of the investments and projects controlled by Phase One entities involve the firm’s principles and an array of outside partners.  Mr. Geiss is the principal in charge on each project with which he is involved, articulating the investment goals, collaborating with engineers and architects, overseeing design and construction, and executing established marketing targets.

Mr. Geiss is continuously involved in the entitlement process, largely in Santa Fe, working with City officials to define projects that respond to the City’s General Plan and long term economic development policy.  Through his professional and volunteer activities, he is an active voice on issues related to affordable housing, water resources, and the quality of employment.  Mr. Geiss is involved in two local LEED certified commercial projects that are valued at $45 million and $4.6 million, respectively.

From 1999 to 2001, Mr. Geiss also served as a senior managing director of Thornburg Foundation Realty, a Santa Fe based REIT specializing in the disposition of debt encumbered commercial real estate through charitable giving strategies.

A graduate of Northwestern University, Mr. Geiss is the past chairman of the Santa Fe Preparatory School Board of Trustees, a founding member of the New Mexico Chapter of Lambda Alpha (an international land economics society), and on the advisory board of the Farmers Market Institute which has built a permanent 26,000 square foot home in the new Santa Fe Railyard project.

A few of Mr. Geiss’ projects include:

Pueblo del Rosario:     Project Manager in 1985 for this 50-unit affordable residential project near the downtown of Santa Fe.  Responsible to the general contractor for the value engineering, budgeting and construction of the infrastructure and finished homes.

Casas de San Juan:      Project Manager in 1988-1992 for this 60-unit luxury community of single family and attached homes adjacent to the Santa Fe Opera.  Mr. Geiss was responsible to the principle developer for design, budgeting, construction and pricing of the finished homes.

Las Estrellas:               From 1993 to present Mr. Geiss (with his partner Dave Gurule) has been the managing agent for a family corporation that owns this 550-acre parcel inside the city limits on the north side.  He led a team of engineers, planners and architects in 1993-96 for a redesign of an approved master plan to accommodate the creation of the northern terminus of Highway 599, known as the Santa Fe Relief Route.  In that process he negotiated compensation for the land acquired for the highway project, including the design and construction of internal spine infrastructure.  The master plan was recently updated to accommodate new uses and densities.

Las Estrellas is a mixed-use community approved for 835 residential units and 200,000 square feet of commercial and community facilities, including a public park, and pedestrian trails that link the City’s open space plan to the north side.

Included in the commercial district is the new Thornburg Office Campus, a 100,000 square foot Ricardo Legoretta designed facility, with a $45 million budget.  Phase One Realty’s role was to broker the land sale to Thornburg, approve the land plan and architecture, and defend the project against a law suit by the neighbors.  Legal issues are concluded and Thornburg occupied in February 2009.

Galisteo Commons:     Principle and managing partner for this 41-unit residential project in the Hospital district.  This is an infill project scheduled to break ground in the summer of 2010, with a retail value of $17 million.

The Orchard
Condominiums:           Principle and managing partner of this 4-unit residential condominium in the South Capitol district that was completed in the fall of 2005.  The project was sensitively designed and coordinated to minimize intrusion into the daily life of a neighborhood characterized by narrow, congested streets, and to optimize the contribution the project could make on an established historic area.  Responsible for the design, budgeting, construction, financing and marketing of completed units.

Ridge Canyon at
Las Estrellas:               Principle and co-managing partner of this 23-acre residential subdivision on Santa Fe’s north side, including 21 estate lots with a total value of $5.4 million.  The subdivision was completed in first quarter of 2007.  Mr. Geiss was responsible for securing the development plan approval, financing, construction, sales and oversight of architectural controls.

Santa Fe County
Affordable Housing
Strategic Plan:             In concert with Suby Bowden and Associates served as fee consultant to Santa Fe County to produce an affordable housing strategy for the county, including the plan concept and feasibility program for a county-owned housing project on Galisteo Road including a blend of 94 affordable and market-rate units.  Study included a needs analysis, inventory of all projects in some phase of the approval/approved process, coordination of goals between City and County, and financial modeling of concept plan.  Report was completed in the fall of 2009.

The Santa Fe
Farmers Market:          Volunteer developer for this 26,000 square foot multi-tenant facility that will become the permanent home of the 40-year old Santa Fe Farmers Market in the new Santa Fe Railyard project.  Organized the design-build concept, managed the creation of the procurement process to select the architect/contractor, served on selection committee, participated in fund raising, and supervised leasing of third-party spaces.  Original budget was $4.8 million, actual $4.6 million, completed on-time within 12 months.