Gov.-elect Susana Martinez will have final say over whether the state goes ahead with a land sale for a new "supercomplex" government office building south of the city on the Las Soleras property.

Following a lengthy discussion, the Capitol Buildings Planning Commission today gave final approval for the Las Soleras project contingent.

The developer agreed to give the state the right to terminate the deal in the next 90 days — mid-February. Martinez takes office Jan. 1.

"Governor-elect Martinez's position on this issue remains unchanged," spokesman Danny Diaz said in an e-mail to The New Mexican. "Considering the potential cost of building this new complex and the economic situation currently facing the state, further review is both needed and warranted. The Governor-elect welcomes the extended period of time to determine whether this is in the best interests of taxpayers."

Las Soleras, near the intersection of Cerrillos Road and Interstate 25, is being developed by a partnership headed by Albuquerque developers John Mahoney and Gordon "Skip" Skarsgard.

State House Speaker Ben Luján, D-Nambé, who chairs the commission, said allowing the new administration a month and a half to decide on the future of the project removes any appearance of movida — political payoff — that some have used to describe the Las Soleras deal.

Other legislators at the meeting — Senate President Pro-tem Tim Jennings, Senate Republican leader Stuart Ingle and House GOP leader Tom Taylor — praised General Services Secretary Art Jaramillo for putting together a deal that would save the state money.

However, all three of those lawmakers questioned the effect it would have on the office vacancy rate in Santa Fe. Jennings predicted it would take at least 10 years to fill the office space that would be vacated by the Human Services Department to move to the "supercomplex."

"The inner core of your city will do nothing but deteriorate," Jennings said. Vacancies would lead to vandalism and "more and more slums," he said.

Mike Branch, who represents owners of five office complexes that lease space to the Human Services Department, has contacted the Capitol Buildings Planning Commission — as well as the Martinez transition team — with a proposal for a 25-year lease-purchase agreement with the state. Under Branch's proposal, the cost of the current leases would go down 20 percent.

Jaramillo argued that the Branch proposal doesn't fit in the state's building master plan to consolidate government office buildings. He said all of the buildings leased by Human Services have their own reception areas, conference rooms and kitchen areas for employees.

The secretary said the hard economic period actually is the best time to be planning new buildings. Design and construction bids are relatively low now, Jaramillo said. And it would create jobs to help Santa Fe's economy.

Jaramillo pointed out that the proposal to construct a new building to put all Human Services offices under one roof came during the Gary Johnson administration.

The state Board of Finance will discuss the financing of the proposed land deal today.

Under the proposal to buy the Las Soleras property, the state would pay $6 million. The state also would give the partnership 4.4 acres of state land in the Galisteo Business Park, which is in southeastern Santa Fe. The price of land in the deal is $9.11 per square foot.

The developers would build a Rail Runner train stop, roads, sewers, utility lines and other amenities such as sidewalks, landscaping and bicycle trails. The state would have an option on the 20 adjacent acres in the 710-acre Las Soleras property.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.