The three pools at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center have been closed since at least September 8, 2026, and the City of Santa Fe still lists them as closed until further notice. The City's backup plan sends swimmers to Bicentennial Pool and Fort Marcy Pool. The plan leaves out a public pool on Richards Avenue at Santa Fe Community College. The same campus has a free fall calendar of exhibitions, artist lectures and a night of stargazing that runs into December. For Nava Ade, 6401 Richards Avenue now carries more of the south side's public life than the rec center on Rodeo Road.
What the City Has Said So Far
The City's September 8 notice blamed "a mechanical issue affecting the facility's air circulation units." Its latest update on the GCCC page explains the repair in detail. Technicians are fixing or replacing the parts they can buy locally. They are also coordinating fabrication of the parts that have to be custom-built for the system. A project manager from the City's Facilities Division has been assigned to oversee the work.
The line that matters most for a swimmer's plans comes next:
"Both air handling units are currently online and operating at a minimum level to help prevent additional damage to the natatorium. However, the current level of operation is not sufficient to reopen the pool to the public."
The City gives no reopening date. The 50-meter pool, therapy pool, leisure pool, open rec swim and lap swim are all closed on weekdays and weekends. The rest of the building keeps its regular hours: 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends.
The City's temporary pool schedule covers September 28 through October 2:
- Bicentennial Pool: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday
- Fort Marcy Pool: 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday and Wednesday, 6 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Friday
The City says these hours may change.
The Pool the Substitute List Leaves Out
The William C. Witter Fitness Education Center at SFCC is open to the public, not just students. Non-students can use any part of the building on a first-come, first-served basis, as long as no class is scheduled there at the time. The college lists these spaces as open to the public:
- A warm-water pool, 25 yards long, open to the public during open swim hours
- Lap swimming during open swim hours
- An indoor track
- A weight room and cardio machines, including treadmills, ellipticals, stationary bikes and stair steppers
- Basketball, pickleball and tennis courts, where you bring your own ball or gear
Everyone who uses the center must be at least 16 years old.
The aquatic page describes the warm-water pool as four lanes, with a ramp and a water wheelchair for access. An eight-person whirlpool looks out over both the lap pool and the warm pool. The water runs around 90 degrees. That is warm enough to matter for anyone who used GCCC's therapy pool, which is on the City's closed list.
You don't have to sign up for a class to get in. SFCC's fitness FAQ lists a $7 day pass, a $35 five-visit pass and a $50 ten-visit pass. Those prices come from a page last updated in August 2025, so check them when you buy. Passes are sold through the fitness site at fitness.sfcc.edu and the SFCC Fitness Education Center app. For a swimmer used to a membership, a five-visit pass is a cheap way to try the pool while the Chavez Center repairs go on.
Two warnings from the college come with this. The aquatic page lists pool hours of 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. The pool is closed Sunday. The same page says in capital letters that both pools' schedules may change because of a lifeguard shortage, and it asks swimmers to sign up for daily notifications in the app. The fall lap and warm-pool schedules run through December 5, and the posted schedule PDFs show slightly longer facility hours than the main page. Check the app on the morning you plan to go. The locker rooms also close every Friday from noon to 3 p.m. for cleaning, though the lobby and gender-neutral restrooms stay open.
A Gallery in the Hallway
A swim at SFCC puts you on a campus that is showing art this fall. Moss's exhibition Devotion hangs in the Main Hallway across from the Cashier's Office through December 2. The Main Hallway and the Dean's Gallery pop-up shows are open whenever the campus is. That means 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Those hours reach past the fitness center's closing time on every day of the week.
The Visual Arts Gallery keeps shorter hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. Right now it is showing In the Thick of It, a group show of seven artists, through October 14. Its free opening reception was Thursday, September 24, from 4 to 6 p.m. Devotion gets its own free reception on Thursday, October 8, also from 4 to 6 p.m.
October on the College Calendar
The artist talks and the astronomy night fill most Thursdays and one Tuesday in October. Every event below is free. The Visiting Artist Lecture Series meets in Lecture Hall Room 216 at 4 p.m.
- Thursday, October 1: Visiting artist lecture with Laura Krifka
- Tuesday, October 6: Celebrate World Space Week, 6 to 10 p.m., hosted with the Santa Fe Stargazers
- Thursday, October 8: Opening reception for Devotion, 4 to 6 p.m., Main Hallway
- Thursday, October 15: Visiting artist lecture with Martha Tuttle
- Thursday, October 22: Visiting artist lecture with Chris McCaw
- Thursday, October 29: Visiting artist lecture with Jordan Ann Craig
On October 22 you can do two things at once. The McCaw lecture is on campus at 4 p.m. At 5 p.m. the same day, the SFCC library hosts a free online reading and slide show by Miriam Sagan and Isabel Winson-Sagan about Fables from the Flower World. That event requires registration.
The Planetarium Opens for One Night
SFCC's planetarium has no regular public show schedule. The college says public shows are only being considered as resources allow. So the October 6 World Space Week event is the one planetarium night on the fall calendar so far. It starts with an expert panel in Planetarium Room 215 at 6:30 p.m. Seats go first come, first served, and space is limited. From 8 to 10 p.m. the group moves to the West Wing patio to look at the night sky, if the weather cooperates. Arrive early for a planetarium seat. The patio viewing has more room.
Into November and December
Things get quieter on campus after October, though the calendar keeps going. SFCC's Fall 2026 Continuing Education catalog lists 96 new noncredit classes, workshops, tours, lectures and intensives. The college's highlights include a new Art Academy, culinary tours and puppetmaking. One class on the main campus, Mosaic Materials, Methods and More, runs November 16 through 18 and costs $149 in tuition plus $16 for materials. The listing showed a waiting list when last checked. The full catalog and registration links are on the college's Continuing Education page.
The free Writing Generation series moves online for the fall and requires registration. Rebecca Reuter Puerto reads on October 21 and leads a workshop on October 28. Deborah Jackson Taffa reads on November 11 and leads a workshop on November 18. A final participant reading on Zoom is set for December 2, the same day Devotion closes in the Main Hallway.
The last big public event of the year on campus is the Holiday Arts & Crafts Fair on Saturday, December 12, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. It fills the Main Hallway and the Campus Center, and admission and parking are free. The fall pool schedules end a week earlier, on December 5. By then the City may have posted an update on the Chavez Center pools. Until it does, the GCCC page is the place to check for the next set of temporary hours.
The places that fill a south-side week, like a pool, a lecture hall or a hallway of paintings, shape how a home near Richards Avenue actually lives. Beth Caldarello and Plaza Group Santa Fe follow these details for our clients. If you're thinking about a home on this side of town, or about how to present one, Schedule a Private Consultation.
