Oct. 2—Concrete was poured last week for the first six tennis courts and two pickleball courts at the new First Serve New Mexico/Forked Lightning Racquet Club.
The court concrete is the first surface construction for the $13 million after-school tutoring, student tennis and private tennis club under construction between the Genoveva Chavez Community Center and Rodeo de Santa Fe and behind the Santa Fe County Fairgrounds.
Grading work started in January. Foundation work started in June, and the footings for the primary building with three classrooms and locker rooms have been poured, said Lisa D. Martinez, the project’s land-use planning consultant.
“It’s a massive amount of concrete,” said Martinez, adding that the eight courts required about 500 cubic yards of concrete.
First Serve will ultimately have 12 tennis courts and, for now, 10 pickleball courts. The first courts that are being built will be indoor courts under an inflatable dome.
“We are installing the dome [in October],” Martinez said.
The general contractor is J.M. Evans Construction and the architect is Riskin Associates Architecture, both of Santa Fe.
A groundbreaking ceremony took place Aug. 1.
“They will pour six more tennis courts later in October,” Martinez said.
At a later date, the courts will be completed with an acrylic-based hardcourt Plexicushion, applied by Mid-American Courtworks, the same subcontractor doing the concrete work.
The plan is to complete the project by spring 2025.
The primary building with three classrooms for third to 12th grade students will also have a locker room and gym for private tennis club members.
This campus was the 20-year dream of First Serve founder, president and executive director Eleanor Brenner, who died in April at age 89. She had sought a permanent home for her after-school tutoring and tennis program since starting the free program for Santa Fe students.
The dream took on an edge of reality when Brenner met Texas oil magnate Scott Sheffield, who bought a home in Santa Fe in 2003 and moved here planning to retire in 2016.
He and his wife, Kimberley Sheffield, were instantly intrigued with Brenner’s dream and offered $3 million on a preliminary $6 million estimate to build a classroom/tennis complex. The coronavirus pandemic squelched fundraising, so the Sheffields chose to cover the full $6 million, with that growing to $12 million and currently, $13 million.