UNM Celebrates Grand Opening of New Student Housing Complex

Bill Bay­less, (l.) pres­i­dent and CEO of Amer­i­can Cam­pus Com­mu­ni­ties and Robert Frank, pres­i­dent of UNM cut the rib­bon for the grand open­ing of Casas del Rio res­i­dence halls.

The Uni­ver­sity of New Mex­ico is cel­e­brat­ing the grand open­ing of Casas del Rio, the newest stu­dent res­i­den­tial com­mu­nity on cam­pus.  The multi-building facil­ity is part of a con­tin­u­ing long term public-private part­ner­ship between UNM and Amer­i­can Cam­pus Com­mu­ni­ties designed to mod­ern­ize cam­pus hous­ing and rein­force stu­dent recruit­ment and retention.

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The nearly 272,000 square foot devel­op­ment fea­tures 1028 beds in one and two bed­room suite-style floor plans with an encom­pass­ing envi­ron­ment designed to fos­ter inter­ac­tion.  The com­mu­nity cen­ter spreads over 6400 square feet and includes large group study rooms, a com­puter lounge, game room, fit­ness cen­ter and court­yards with cov­ered seating.

“Liv­ing on cam­pus is part of a great col­lege expe­ri­ence,” said UNM Pres­i­dent Robert G. Frank.  “UNM is max­i­miz­ing that oppor­tu­nity with Casas del Rios by adapt­ing to how stu­dents live and study in today’s world. This project brings in more than 1000 new res­i­dents to enjoy Lobo life right in the heart of the Uni­ver­sity in the mid­dle of Albuquerque.

Each build­ing houses res­i­dent lounges that include TV view­ing, kitchen areas, laun­dry facil­i­ties and study rooms.  Stu­dent suites offer pri­vate desks, per­sonal sinks, spa­cious clos­ets and enter­tain­ment cen­ters with microwave and mini-fridge.

“Pro­vid­ing a diverse selec­tion of on-campus liv­ing options is an essen­tial part of devel­op­ing the qual­ity of stu­dent life at UNM,” said Car­o­line Muraida, Pres­i­dent of Asso­ci­ated Stu­dents of UNM. “There is a notice­able increase in the vibrancy of our cam­pus com­mu­nity. As stu­dents, we are excited to be a part of the ben­e­fits that stu­dent hous­ing will con­tribute to the aca­d­e­mic and com­mu­nity mis­sion of our University.”

ACC funded the $39.4 mil­lion dol­lar project by using its Amer­i­can Cam­pus Equity pro­gram and through a long-term part­ner­ship with UNM.  Casas del Rios is the sec­ond phase of a strong work­ing rela­tion­ship devel­oped with the ini­tial project of Lobo Vil­lage, which opened in 2011.

Media con­tact: Dianne Aner­son (505) 277‑1807; email: danderson@unm.edu