The University of New Mexico Board of Regents approved today the sale of the former site of UNM Student Family Housing to Central New Mexico Community College (CNM) for $1.5 million. The 13-acre site will become part of the CNM Main Campus, where CNM plans to build a new state-of-the-art facility for its applied technologies and trades programs.

“Higher education in New Mexico naturally drives creative solutions that benefit our students and citizens,” said UNM President Garnett S. Stokes. “This mutually beneficial arrangement allows us to reimagine a space that will continue to serve our students and cultivates an environment of opportunity for diversifying our workforce. This is a real win for all of us – as educators, neighbors and collaborators. I appreciate the thoughtful and timely planning that went into this initiative; it was truly a successful team effort.”

Built in 1975, the property housed a 200-unit apartment complex and was designed as student family housing, including a mixture of one, two, and three-bedroom units.  Occupancy at the site over the last seven years has been in decline and a recent facility assessment indicated that it would require $5.82 million in capital expenditure to extend the physical life of the improvements for an additional 20 years.

The analysis concluded that the significant capital expenditure did not provide a positive impact on value and that the highest and best use was to raze the improvements for redevelopment of the site.  Costs to prepare the site for an alternative use came in at $4.52 million.  Ultimately, the best option for UNM was to sell the site to CNM “as is,” providing the best benefit to both parties.

“The property transaction between CNM and UNM that has now been approved by the Boards of both colleges is another great example of our strong partnership and our common cause to support the higher education needs of our shared community,” said CNM President Tracy Hartzler. “The property that CNM purchased from UNM is adjacent to CNM’s Main Campus and will allow us to move forward with plans to design and construct a new, state-of-the-art trades facility.

“There is an existing and fast-growing demand among regional business and industry for many more skilled workers in the construction and manufacturing trades, which also requires more sophisticated technology and training than ever before. Modernized facilities at this location will help us better address the skilled workforce needs of our state. On behalf of CNM, I want to thank UNM President Garnett Stokes, the UNM Board of Regents, and the CNM Governing Board for approving this transaction, which will not only benefit CNM and UNM, but our entire community.”

The proceeds of the sale will be used by UNM to finance a comprehensive capital Master Plan for the University that will include consideration of a future location for family housing for UNM.