Santa Fe condo with iconic downtown views hits market for $2.3 million

The latest City Different dwelling to hit the market offers unique views of downtown Santa Fe — one of them being a front-row seat to the soft pink glow of the iconic Scottish Rite Temple just across the street.

The adobe property’s rooftop also offers a “perfect view” of the annual burning of Zozobra, according to owner Kerri Zaldastani.

“You can see the crowds walking down on the street because I’m right on Bishop’s Lodge Road,” she said.

Zaldastani, a retired petroleum engineer who worked in the oil and gas business for decades before becoming an interior designer, has lived at the Santa Fe property, located at 333 Magdalena, for more than seven years.

The weather, culture, people and art drew her to the City Different, and 333 Magdalena’s architecture — by the prominent late Santa Fe architect Mike Fischer — sealed the deal.

Despite the views, which Sobethby’s Realtor Darlene Streit said are “very hard to find” in downtown Santa Fe, and proximity to the historic plaza, life circumstances have prompted Zaldastani to put the condominium up for sale.

The 2,517-square-foot space — with two bedrooms, three bathrooms and an office space — listed for nearly $2.3 million earlier this month. The availability marks the property’s return to the market at a price much lower than the nearly $3.2 million it listed for with another agency in June of last year.

“Now, it’s a really good price,” said Streit, one of Santa Fe’s top sales brokers.

The condominium shares its traditional two-story stucco building with two other residential units that are occupied by a pair of sisters.

“It’s the easiest place to live,” Zaldastani said, citing her friendly neighbors and the absence of a homeowner’s association. “It’s just like a little village.”

In the backyard, a new curved stone stairway with a 10-foot stone wall leads to antique doors and “a secret, storybook passage” to the Plaza, the listing says.

The property’s location is prime for “culinary enthusiasts,” the listing adds, with restaurants like Santacafé and Market Steer Steakhouse just a short walk away.

Getting out and enjoying the area’s food and art spots was a common pastime for Zaldastani but so was staying home to watch a sunrise or sunset with a margarita in hand. With a private patio just outside the condominium’s second-floor primary bedroom, Zaldastani could see everything from the city lights of downtown to the landscape of the Jemez Mountains.

The interior offers several traditional Santa Fe design elements, including hardwood and brick floors; hand-carved doors; kiva fireplaces; coved ceilings adorned with thin sticks known as latillas and larger beams known as vigas; plaster; antique sconces; and colorful Mexican tiles.

Zaldastani renovated the condominium’s kitchen and a bathroom, giving the space what Streit described as a “very warm and beautifully updated” feel while maintaining its traditional, Old World character.

Streit has received a good level of interest in the property since listing it at the new price, primarily from out-of-staters looking for a second home.

Zaldastani said she hopes the property offers its next owner “quality of life,” adding it gave her a “refreshing and relaxing” season fully plugged into local art, culture and nature.

Window Shopping is a recurring Journal series exploring unique homes on the market in New Mexico. Send tips to Kylie Garcia, the Journal’s retail and real estate reporter, at kgarcia@abqjournal.com.