Casa Cielo, 115 Brownell Howland, Santa Fe, NM – SOLD

About the property

Casa Cielo, at 115 Brownell Howland, is a contemporary house by the architect and builder Jim Satzinger, AIA, completed in 2016 and shown that year in Haciendas, the Santa Fe Parade of Homes. It sits on 2.43 acres at the top of the Northside with uninterrupted views in both directions: north over the Tesuque Valley and south over the lights of Santa Fe.

The main house is 2,860 square feet with three bedrooms and three baths, and a separate guest house adds 830 more with its own bedroom and bath, for 3,690 square feet in total. There are four fireplaces and a two car garage, all on one level.

The Webster Estates team represented the seller, and the sale closed in 2017.

The house

Satzinger builds each house as an argument for the newest thing he can find in design, construction, technology, sustainable materials, and energy efficiency, and Casa Cielo was the latest iteration of that argument when it came to market. His previous house, Casa Carolina, had taken an Emerald rating from Build Green New Mexico, a Merit Award for design from the Santa Fe chapter of the American Institute of Architects in 2015, and three green awards in the 2014 Parade of Homes. Casa Cielo was built to that standard and past it.

The plan is contemporary and single level, with the guest house standing apart so that it works for visitors, for a studio, or for anyone who needs a door between themselves and the main house. Portals face the views.

The neighborhood

Brownell Howland Road runs off Bishop’s Lodge Road at the top of the Northside, on the ridge between the city and the Tesuque Valley, which is why houses here get both views. It is a short and quiet road with a long list of serious houses on it. Our Northside neighborhood guide covers the area and the Northside market archive collects our work there.

We have handled another sale on Brownell Howland, and the same architect’s earlier house, Casa La Vega on Camino de la Cruz Blanca, is another Webster Estates Select Sold. For the style, see our guide to contemporary adobe homes.

The schools are Carlos Gilbert Elementary, Capshaw Middle, and Santa Fe High.

About the transaction

We represented the seller at Casa Cielo. It was a long listing, a little over seven months, which is the honest timeline for a new architect built house at the top of the market: the buyer pool is narrow, the buyers in it are careful, and a Parade of Homes house is bought by someone who has walked through it and decided, not by someone reading a description. It closed within four percent of the asking price.

Frequently asked questions

Q: Who designed Casa Cielo? A: Jim Satzinger, AIA, who designed and built it. It was completed in 2016 and featured in that year’s Haciendas, A Parade of Homes.

Q: How large is it? A: A 2,860 square foot main house with three bedrooms and three baths, plus an 830 square foot one bedroom guest house, 3,690 square feet in total on 2.43 acres, all on a single level.

Q: What are the views? A: Uninterrupted in both directions from the top of the Northside: north over the Tesuque Valley and south over the lights of Santa Fe.

Q: Which side did Webster Estates represent? A: We represented the seller.

Q: What awards has the architect’s work received? A: The previous house, Casa Carolina, received an Emerald rating from Build Green New Mexico, an AIA Santa Fe Merit Award for design in 2015, and three green awards in the 2014 Parade of Homes.

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The Webster Estates Team handled this transaction. Chris Webster, Patti Webster, Christopher Webster III, and Paisley Mason Webster, Associate Brokers at Sotheby’s International Realty, operating from 54½ Lincoln Avenue on The Plaza since 1976.