Late last month, Kim Shanahan, former executive director of the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association, the Building Santa Fe columnist for the New Mexican, a longtime Santa Fe contractor and all-around mensch, died from a heart attack at the too-young age of 68 at his home in Costa Rica. Before green building became a thing, Shanahan had the foresight to help develop (and push through) what became Santa Fe’s green building code. He was also an indefatigable proponent of affordable housing and water conservation—again, well before many if not most other builders, contractors and others in the home industry.
As cited in a Construction Dispute Resolution Services blog several years ago, Shanahan had long been “recognized as a national expert on Green Building Codes after 35 years of general contracting in Santa Fe, New Mexico. With a career spanning hands-on remodeling, luxury custom homes and affordable housing subdivisions–all encompassing the best thinking in sustainable construction practices.”
Shortly after the housing bubble burst in 2008, Shanahan, according to the blog, “pivoted his career from being the elected president of the board of directors for the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association, a volunteer position held by a builder-member, to becoming the association’s paid executive officer, a position he held until the end of 2018.” A year later, Shanahan, who was also a longtime board member of Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity, began his column for the The New Mexican (at Michigan State, he’d studied journalism, among many other subjects).
Also, in 2009, the National Association of Home Builders’ Executive Officers Council asked him to be its liaison to the highly technical NAHB Construction Codes and Standards Committee. And, as the CDRS put it: “Even without a vote as a liaison, Mr. Shanahan was often the only member from Rocky Mountain Western states on the committees and always brought a strong voice for that region’s unique perspectives and challenges to the attention of his national code peers.”
Again, per the CDRS blog: “One of Mr. Shanahan’s greatest achievements in his last two years managing SFAHBA was shepherding the creation of the nations’ first ever predictive calculation tool for determining presumed water consumption in a new home. Called the Water Efficiency Rating Score (WERS), it was adopted as a Santa Fe city code in 2006. Mr. Shanahan then introduced the concept to the national association and lobbied successfully to have it included into the National Green Building Standard. The name was changed to the Water Rating Index (WRI) and is now a standalone appendix in the 2020 NGBS.”
Miles Conway reached out to numerous Santa Feans for their reflections on Shanahan, his contributions, his personality, his legacy—and shared them with Home.
Paul Weideman, founder and former editor of Home, admired Shanahan as “an eminently reliable source, always available and on-topic. And he was super-opinionated, which reporters love—especially when his convictions were so well-informed.” Weideman also recalled Shanahan’s KTRC radio show (“Santa Fe Green Building and Sustainable Development”) and for having helped put together the children’s Lego contest as part of the Santa Fe Home Show and that “each year he skillfully adapted the popular Haciendas—A Parade of Homes tour to the ups and downs of the housing market. But sustainability was always his byword.”
“I met Kim over 30 years ago when I was involved in the building industry,” says Paco Arguello, Home’s “News from SFAR” columnist and chief executive of the Santa Fe Association of Realtors. “Back then, he was a contractor making his way during the Santa Fe housing boom. Over the years he positioned himself as a staunch advocate for affordable and workforce housing.
"Always keeping local government, and the building and real estate industry on its toes as it concerned fair and equitable housing. For the past four years I served with him on the Habitat for Humanity board of directors.
"His relentless passion for the less fortunate was a constant motivator toward Habitat’s mission of promoting affordable homeownership by constructing simple, adequate and energy-efficient new homes and repairing or rehabilitating existing homes through the cooperative efforts of partner families, volunteers, donors and staff.
"Kim’s passion serves as an excellent example of how we all should be mindful of what is happening within our community and how it affects our neighbors.”
“He was my mentor,” wrote Glenn Schiffbauer, executive director of the Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce. “One of my founding board members. And he took me by the hand and introduced me to Santa Fe’s sustainability community—not just the generous philanthropic folks who do so much, but the ones with boots on the ground. The doers. He showed me where the real work was happening, and who was doing it.
“With Earth Day just behind us,” added Schiffbauer, “it feels especially right to honor the work he devoted himself to: his passion for green building, his leadership in co-creating the Next Generation Water Summit, and his unwavering belief that we can—and must—do better when it comes to protecting our planet and preserving its resources for future generations.”
“What I can reflect on,” remarked Laura Long of Jørgensen Builders and a former SFAHBA vice president, “is his ability to take controversial political/social issues and find the Center of Truth about the issue and create a balanced platform for people to understand and how they might create a different perspective of what they thought.”
Harold Trujillo, Bureau Chief for the Energy Technology and Engineering Bureau, observed that “Kim contributed to saving our planet and improving our environment. He was a strong advocate of improving the sustainability of our homes and the built environment. We worked together on developing the Santa Fe Green Building Code and on updating the statewide energy conservation building codes. He had a special skill in communicating with people and writing his articles.”
“Kim was a generous supporter of the Interior Design Department at Santa Fe Community College,” added Joe Granville of Poulin Design Remodeling. “He provided SFHB student memberships and helped the students to network within the building community. Kim was an extraordinary communicator whose insightful articles helped to keep our industry informed and prepared for the future.”
“I remember Kim as always being . . . a champion for the built environment,” wrote Kurt Faust of Tierra Concepts and SFAHBA’s 1992 president. “He always worked to make things better and always found ways to bring fairness to difficult situations.”
Another former SFAHBA president, Brandon Snoy, of Palo Santo Designs, talked about Shanahan’s reach. “I went on to be the leader of the State of New Mexico Home Builders Association and traveled the country extensively with the state and national association. I always met people that knew of Kim and shared their appreciation for his steadfast ways and commitment to the most mundane things that affected housing and builders’ issues.”
Bill Roth, of Modern Design + Construction and the 2014 SFAHBA president, added, among many other touching remarks: “John Irving had a line in his book The Cider House Rules that applies to the life Kim lived. It was: ‘Be of Good Use.’”
Late last month, Kim Shanahan, former executive director of the Santa Fe AreaHome Builders Association, the Building Santa Fe columnist for the New Mexican, a longtime Santa Fe contractor and all-around mensch, died from a heart attack at the too-young age of 68 at his home in Costa Rica.
Before green building became a thing, Shanahan had the foresight to help develop (and push through) what became Santa Fe’s green building code. He was also an indefatigable proponent of affordable housing and water conservation—again, well before many if not most other builders, contractors and others in the home industry.
As cited in a Construction Dispute Resolution Services blog several years ago, Shanahan had long been “recognized as a national expert on Green Building Codes after 35 years of general contracting in Santa Fe, New Mexico. With a career spanning hands-on remodeling, luxury custom homes and affordable housing subdivisions–all encompassing the best thinking in sustainable construction practices.”
Shortly after the housing bubble burst in 2008, Shanahan, according to the blog, “pivoted his career from being the elected president of the board of directors for the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association, a volunteer position held by a builder-member, to becoming the association’s paid executive officer, a position he held until the end of 2018.” A year later, Shanahan, who was also a longtime board member of Santa Fe Habitat for Humanity, began his column for the The New Mexican (at Michigan State, he’d studied journalism, among many other subjects).
Also, in 2009, the National Association of Home Builders’ Executive Officers Council asked him to be its liaison to the highly technical NAHB Construction Codes and Standards Committee. And, as the CDRS put it: “Even without a vote as a liaison, Mr. Shanahan was often the only member from Rocky Mountain Western states on the committees and always brought a strong voice for that region’s unique perspectives and challenges to the attention of his national code peers.”
Again, per the CDRS blog: “One of Mr. Shanahan’s greatest achievements in his last two years managing SFAHBA was shepherding the creation of the nations’ first ever predictive calculation tool for determining presumed water consumption in a new home. Called the Water Efficiency Rating Score (WERS), it was adopted as a Santa Fe city code in 2006. Mr. Shanahan then introduced the concept to the national association and lobbied successfully to have it included into the National Green Building Standard. The name was changed to the Water Rating Index (WRI) and is now a standalone appendix in the 2020 NGBS.”
Miles Conway reached out to numerous Santa Feans for their reflections on Shanahan, his contributions, his personality, his legacy—and shared them with Home.
Paul Weideman, founder and former editor of Home, admired Shanahan as “an eminently reliable source, always available and on-topic. And he was super-opinionated, which reporters love—especially when his convictions were so well-informed.” Weideman also recalled Shanahan’s KTRC radio show (“Santa Fe Green Building and Sustainable Development”) and for having helped put together the children’s Lego contest as part of the Santa Fe Home Show and that “each year he skillfully adapted the popular Haciendas—A Parade of Homes tour to the ups and downs of the housing market. But sustainability was always his byword.”
“I met Kim over 30 years ago when I was involved in the building industry,” says Paco Arguello, Home’s “News from SFAR” columnist and chief executive of the Santa Fe Association of Realtors. “Back then, he was a contractor making his way during the Santa Fe housing boom. Over the years he positioned himself as a staunch advocate for affordable and workforce housing. Always keeping local government, and the building and real estate industry on its toes as it concerned fair and equitable housing. For the past four years I served with him on the Habitat for Humanity board of directors.
"His relentless passion for the less fortunate was a constant motivator toward Habitat’s mission of promoting affordable homeownership by constructing simple, adequate and energy-efficient new homes and repairing or rehabilitating existing homes through the cooperative efforts of partner families, volunteers, donors and staff.
"Kim’s passion serves as an excellent example of how we all should be mindful of what is happening within our community and how it affects our neighbors.”
“He was my mentor,” wrote Glenn Schiffbauer, executive director of the Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce. “One of my founding board members. Andhe took me by the hand and introduced me to Santa Fe’s sustainability community—not just the generous philanthropic folks who do so much, but the ones with boots on the ground. The doers. He showed me where the real work was happening, and who was doing it.
“With Earth Day just behind us,” added Schiffbauer, “it feels especially right to honor the work he devoted himself to: his passion for green building, his leadership in co-creating the Next Generation Water Summit, and his unwavering belief that we can—and must—do better when it comes to protecting our planet and preserving its resources for future generations.”
“What I can reflect on,” remarked Laura Long of Jørgensen Builders and a former SFAHBA vice president, “is his ability to take controversial political/social issues and find the Center of Truth about the issue and create a balanced platform for people to understand and how they might create a different perspective of what they thought.”
Harold Trujillo, Bureau Chief for the Energy Technology and Engineering Bureau, observed that “Kim contributed to saving our planet and improving our environment. He was a strong advocate of improving the sustainability of our homes and the built environment. We worked together on developing the Santa Fe Green Building Code and on updating the statewide energy conservation building codes. He had a special skill in communicating with people and writing his articles.”
“Kim was a generous supporter of the Interior Design Department at Santa Fe Community College,” added Joe Granville of Poulin Design Remodeling. “He provided SFHB student memberships and helped the students to network within the building community. Kim was an extraordinary communicator whose insightful articles helped to keep our industry informed and prepared for the future.”
“I remember Kim as always being . . . a champion for the built environment,” wrote Kurt Faust of Tierra Concepts and SFAHBA’s 1992 president. “He always worked to make things better and always found ways to bring fairness to difficult situations.”
Another former SFAHBA president, Brandon Snoy, of Palo Santo Designs, talked about Shanahan’s reach. “I went on to be the leader of the State of New Mexico Home Builders Association and traveled the country extensively with the state and national association. I always met people that knew of Kim and shared their appreciation for his steadfast ways and commitment to the most mundane things that affected housing and builders’ issues.”
Bill Roth, of Modern Design + Construction and the 2014 SFAHBA president, added, among many other touching remarks: “John Irving had a line in his book The Cider House Rules that applies to the life Kim lived. It was: ‘Be of Good Use.’”
