The first phase of New Mexico State University’s Agricultural Modernization and Educational Facilities project is underway on the university’s Las Cruces campus.
Construction is funded by $43 million in general obligation bonds passed by New Mexico voters in 2018 ($25 million) and 2020 ($18 million).
Ground was broken in August 2021, as construction began at the corner of Knox and Stewart streets on the west side of NMSU’s Las Cruces campus.
Construction of the two-phase project began in June and includes building and modernizing facilities that support human health and biomedical research, student learning and public outreach and food security and animal production efficiency, NMSU said.
“The NMSU Las Cruces campus is unique among American collegiate campuses in that its agricultural district, which is approximately 164 acres in size, is adjacent to the campus core,” NMSU said in a news release. “The last major facility added to the agricultural district was Skeen Hall, constructed in 1999 as the Center for Sustainable Development of Arid Lands.”
“Much of the ag district, including the campus livestock, education and research center, consists of older, underused facilities,” said University Architect Heather Watenpaugh. “The conditions and use of those older facilities no longer align with the needs of the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences (ACES) or the academic advancement trajectory of NMSU in general.”
Modernization of NMSU’s ag district will help create an agricultural workforce that can advance the industry in New Mexico and help New Mexico’s economy grow, said ACES Dean Rolando Flores Galarza.
Much of the current ag district, the campus livestock, education and research center, consists of dilapidated and disused facilities whose conditions and use do not align with the needs of the College of ACES or the academic advancement trajectory of NMSU in general Flores said.
Project summaries are from gobond.nmsu.edu
There are three general obligation bond questions on the statewide November ballot, including Bond C, which would allocate more than $215 million to higher education, special school and tribal school capital improvement and acquisition projects. If it passes, New Mexico State University will get more than $50 million of that total.
Here are the projects NMSU will fund if Bond C is passed by New Mexico voters:
Other projects: Infrastructure improvements and roof replacement at Doña Ana Community College in Las Cruces ($1.35 million), and renovations, infrastructure improvements and roof replacement for Martinez Hall at the NMSU-Grants campus ($1.25 million) are also included.
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