The University of New Mexico

NEWS RELEASE

Media Contact: Susan McKinsey (505) 277-1807

October 8, 2008

UNM Working with Sandia Foundation to Build Children’s Campus Expansion and Building in Rio Rancho

University of New Mexico President David J. Schmidly has announced that UNM is working with the Sandia Foundation to finance and build two important projects. Details are still being worked out but the first building on the Rio Rancho campus will be somewhere between 50 and 60 thousand square feet and will house a combination of administrative and classroom space. The building will also host activities for the UNM Health Sciences Center, Central New Mexico Community College and New Mexico State University.

UNM Vice President of Institutional Support Services Steve Beffort says he hopes to complete a lease purchase agreement with the Sandia Foundation quickly so that construction on the Rio Rancho building can begin before the end of the year. Even moving at this accelerated pace, Beffort says it will be spring 2010 before the building will be ready for occupancy.

In a second project, supported by the Graduate and Professional Student organization on campus, UNM is preparing to begin a major expansion of the Children’s Campus for Early Care and Education. The campus currently accommodates 250 children from age 6 weeks to 12, but has a waiting list of 600. This expansion would double the capacity to 500 children. The expansion will be done at the north end of the current Children’s Campus on University Blvd.

Both buildings will be done on a lease-purchase arrangement with the Sandia Foundation. The foundation will supply the upfront construction costs and UNM will lease the buildings with the understanding that the university will buy the buildings as soon as it can put together funding, through bonds or state appropriations.

There is an additional financial element for the Children’s Campus expansion. Schmidly says the university will put together a business plan that will factor the cost of the expanded operation into the costs charged parents with children at the Children’s Campus. Schmidly says the projected costs must be put before the parents at this stage of the process so that UNM can judge whether parents will be able to afford the costs. Schmidly says if parents don’t believe they can afford the expense, it will not make sense to do the expansion.

If everything goes smoothly, Schmidly says he would like to see ground broken early next year. It would take at least a year to complete the expansion.

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