A proposed land deal to build a large state office complex near Interstate 25 south of the city inched forward Monday as the state Capitol Buildings Planning Commission voted to send a proposed contract between the state and developers of the Las Soleras project on to the attorney general for review.

However, at the urging of Senate President Pro-tem Tim Jennings, who has been a leading critic of the project, the proposed deal will be heard by two legislative committees — the Legislative Finance Committee and the Legislative Council.

None of those bodies has to formally approve the land deal. Nor does the building commission. Under state law, the contract must be approved by the attorney general and the state Board of Finance before it becomes final.

At stake is 20 acres off south Cerrillos Road, where the state would build a new headquarters for the Human Services Department, which currently is scattered among several Santa Fe office buildings.

For this, the state would pay $6 million to a partnership headed by Albuquerque developers John Mahoney and Gordon "Skip" Skarsgard and turn over to them 4.4 acres of state land in the Galisteo Business Park, which is in southeastern Santa Fe.

General Services Department Secretary Art Jaramillo told the commission that a parcel of state land in Valdes Park, which originally was part of the deal, is now off the table. That means the price of land in the deal is $9.11 a square foot.

Las Soleras, under the contract, would build a Rail Runner station, roads, utility lines and other amenities such as sidewalks, landscaping and bicycle trails. The state would have an option on 20 adjacent acres in the 710-acre Las Soleras property for possible future expansion.

Jennings, D-Roswell, and others on the panel praised Jaramillo for negotiating what they said was a good price for the property.

But Jennings still remains highly critical about some aspects of the proposal.

One of his major concerns is traffic. Despite the hope of some state officials that many of the 2,600 state employees who would work in the complex would ride the Rail Runner Express to work in the new building, Jennings said at the meeting, "If you think people are going to go in to work on a train, you're crazy."

Instead, Jennings said, the new building is going to greatly increase traffic on Cerrillos Road and possibly south Richards Avenue. "I'm just an old hick from out in the sticks, but I know what traffic congestion is," he said.

Jennings repeatedly said city officials should have been at the meeting because the project is going to affect the city budget.

After passing the contract on to the attorney general, the commission heard from representatives for two other properties that want to sell land for the state office complex.

Architect Gerald Chavez and development consultant Phil Sena spoke for The Pavilion, a 371-acre project between N.M. 599 and the Santa Fe Municipal Airport planned by Española developer Richard Cook. Cook has offered to donate $5 million to Partners in Education, which pays for various programs in Santa Fe Public Schools, if the state chooses his site.

Chavez and Sena said they are proposing a public-private partnership, which would cut the state in for 5 percent of the development's project. They also would give the state water rights on their parcel and would design and construct the building itself on a cost-plus basis.

However, The Pavilion's proposal didn't spark much interest from the commission. Department of Cultural Affairs Secretary Stuart Ashman, who is a member of the commission, said he thinks the donation to Partners in Education might be a violation of the state anti-donation clause because the $5 million would be an indirect donation to a private group from the state.

Marc Bertram of Zia Station, who owns land off St. Francis Drive that used to be a pumice plant, said he believes his property, adjacent to a Rail Runner stop that's already been built, is better suited for the office project than those offered by other private interests. However, he said, the best location studied by the state is the property around the state Department of Transportation, which he pointed out already is owned by the state.

Bertram said he's concerned that a new state office building would empty out several existing office buildings "in the heart of Santa Fe," which the state currently leases.

Jaramillo argued that the Legislature already has approved the basic idea of the project, which is to save money being paid to private landlords and to consolidate scattered state offices.

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