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Board approves $13.97M for UNM facility services building to clear site for School of Medicine
Summary
The State Board approved UNM’s request for $13,966,000 in general-fund capital expenditures to build an 11,300-gross-square-foot Facility Services Building to enable the School of Medicine project. Presenters said the move will reduce duplicated space and improve operations.
The State Board of Finance voted to approve capital funding for a new Facility Services Building for the University of New Mexico, a project UNM says is necessary to clear the site for the planned new School of Medicine.
Joe Brown, capital projects director at the New Mexico Higher Education Department, said the request is for an 11,300 gross-square-foot building at 1613 University Boulevard NE and that the project is funded by a state general-fund appropriation of $13,966,000. Brown said the facility will house landscaping, grounds, recycling and small repair functions and will include exterior site improvements.
Shauna Wolf, UNM’s vice president for institutional support services, said the project is “an enabling project for the new School of Medicine” and that "without relocating the facility's function, we cannot execute the school of medicine improvements that have been planned." Wolf described a planning process aimed at right-sizing space, reducing duplication and improving operational efficiency.
Board members asked for clarity about funding sources for the broader medical-school project. Director Ashley Leach told members the House had advanced $150 million for the school in a House bill and that additional funding sources — including general-obligation bonds and supplemental severance-tax note programs — were being discussed. Wolf said she would follow up with more detailed funding-source information if needed.
The motion to approve the UNM capital expenditures (moved by Member Paul Cassidy and seconded by Member Laura M. Montoya) passed on roll-call vote.
What happens next: UNM can proceed with the construction steps contemplated in its project schedule; staff said the project is step one in a larger multi-step campus strategy and that additional moves and projects remain under future consideration.
