On the Drawing Board: Construction Update

For Release - September 22, 2009

GALLUP— Groundbreaking for UNM-Gallup’s proposed Student Services and Technology Center is due to occur at the end of October, according to Ron Petranovitch, manager of the Physical Plant. Bidding for the $13.4 million project is due to occur about mid-October. The 36,000-square-foot building will house all of Students Services, including the Registrar’s office, Financial Aid, Counseling and Advisement, as well as the cashiers, on the upper level. The Arts and Letters and Social Sciences departments will be located in the lower level.

The building will also have several so-called smart classrooms, which will feature the latest in technological advances. It will be the first LEED- (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified building in Gallup and McKinley County.

“We’re comfortable with the silver status, as far as LEED criteria, but we’re hoping for gold,” said Petranovich. Projects earn points toward certification based on various “green” building criteria, including sustainable site, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality and innovation and design process.

Once the groundbreaking starts, parking will be temporarily affected, as some of the current space will be used as a staging area. No new parking is planned for the building, as it is designed just to accommodate current programs rather than any expansion.

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Construction work at Calvin Hall continues through October, according to Petranovich.. The renovations are about two weeks behind schedule, but according to Murphy Builders, the company in charge of the renovations, they will be able to make up time and finish the $1.3 million project on schedule.

The repairs include updating the mechanical/HVAC system, installing new fire sprinklers, finishing floors and painting the walls of the 30-year-old building.

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Another project recently completed was the replacement of the exercise stations along the track at a cost of $70,000. The durable steel stations replace the wooden ones that had deteriorated.

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The rehabilitation of Vo-Tech Drive, located on the north side of the campus, and which leads to the Career Technology classrooms and on to the Nursing and Health Careers buildings, is due to start in March. The reconstruction, which will include improved gutters to handle run-off from the new building, will also include curbs and street lights. It will be bid out over the winter. Funds are from the local $8 million G.O. Bond passed in February.