UNM – Renovation Work Continues Despite New Construction Ban
By Garry Boulard
The two-year moratorium on new state university construction
will not impact renovation projects already in the planning stage.
“The moratorium does not apply to anything that doesn’t add
to the present classroom space here,” remarks Eric Schwaner, senior project and
construction manager with the University of New Mexico.
“The ban is on new construction,” continues Schwaner. “It
says no new space—so we cannot for now do anything in that direction.”
The two-year construction ban was announced in May after
university presidents across New Mexico agreed to hold off on any new
construction projects as part of a larger budget-cutting initiative.
“This moratorium will help us to strike the right balance
between providing accessibility to higher education programs and ensuring that
taxpayers are not on the hook for unnecessary expansion,” New Mexico Governor
Susana Martinez said in a statement announcing the ban.
The governor added that the state should be paying more attention
to student performance and less to building new facilities, and estimated that
the moratorium could save New Mexican taxpayers up to $14 million a year.
At UNM, notes Schwaner, “Anything that is regarded as a
replacement project, which means basically taking down an old building and
putting back a newer and more modern version of it, will still be permitted.”
Among such projects currently in the talking stage at the
four-year school are proposals to remodel the UNM Student Health Center and
tear down and build a new Ferris Engineering Center.
“There are probably two or three remodels or replacement
projects that are slated for the next two or three years,” continues Schwaner.
“One would be the Clark Hall, which houses the chemistry
department, and another would be an interior remodeling of Logan Hall, which is
the home of the department of psychology,” adds Schwaner.
Governor Martinez has promised to take a new look at the
university and college construction ban upon its expiration in 2013.
Until then, remarks Schwaner, “We will have a lot of replacing work going on here.”
