The University of New Mexico (UNM) has announced plans to demolish the College of Education building (Building 67) located at 200 E. Las Lomas Rd. N.E., on University property.
The decision is part of UNM's ongoing efforts to maintain and improve campus facilities in a cost-effective and sustainable manner while addressing the needs of the University community and supporting the goals of the Integrated Campus Plan.
Classes previously scheduled in this building have been rescheduled in other classroom/lab spaces for those courses. The University appreciates the efforts made by the College of Education and Human Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, and centralized scheduling to accommodate these efforts. Alternative space for units that had office space in this building has also been identified. The University does not anticipate this project to have any impact on delivering the academic and research mission of the university.
The building will be vacated by June 2023, and an inventory of the property within the building will be conducted to facilitate the removal of furniture, fixtures, and equipment for reuse prior to demolition.
The decision to demolish Building 67 is based on a comprehensive building assessment report conducted in 2022, which estimated the cost to repair, restore, and address significant facility failures related to the current building code to be over $7.2 million. The construction cost of a new building with similar spaces was estimated to be just over $11 million. Considering the surplus of classroom space available across campus and the identified facility deficiencies, the decision was made to demolish the building.
The site of Building 67 will be transformed into a functional green space or a future development site, depending on the outcome of the ongoing Integrated Campus Plan. The interim functional green space will connect nearby pedestrian and landscaped areas, including Education Complex spaces, Cornell Mall, and Smith Plaza, to Travelstead Hall and other Education Complex buildings with open space and accessible routes.
Pre-emptive measures will be implemented to monitor and mitigate disturbance or impact to the adjacent Travelstead Hall (Building 65), which adjoins Building 67 via an enclosed breezeway and is on the highest historical significance tier of the UNM Heritage Preservation Plan, Tier 1, "historically very important to retain." Mobilization for demolition activities is anticipated to occur in August 2023, with the project expected to be completed by the end of the Spring 2024 semester.
The demolition project is expected to impact traffic flow and accessibility to existing buildings and parking areas around the site due to the central location of the building on campus. Any anticipated disruptions to traffic or access throughout the project will be communicated proactively to minimize inconvenience to the UNM community.
UNM will provide updates and further information about the demolition project to ensure transparency and communication with the campus community and stakeholders.