The future of UNM’s campus could be in students’ hands.
The Master Plan of Development, a long-term plan of construction projects and projected growth, has been in the works for several years, said Mary Kenney, UNM planning officer. Before it’s finalized, students can comment online on the proposed plan.
Kenney said the final copy of the Master Plan should have been ready last December, but President David J. Schmidly and the Board of Regents want the Master Plan to be available to students, staff and faculty for as long as needed to consider all suggestions.
“We had our first rough draft in February, but President Schmidly wanted us to go back out into the community and expand it,” Kenney said. “In April, we asked if we still needed more input and were told ‘Yes’ by Regents President Raymond Sanchez.”
Will Gleason, the Master Plan project manager, said the plan outlines comprehensive construction projects.
“In general, we’re just trying to lay out the framework for the next 10-to-20-year period at the University,” Gleason said. “Some projects are already under way, and some won’t start for another 15 years.”
Gleason said the plan provides general guidelines on many issues that students are concerned about. He said bike and pedestrian paths, parking and sustainability are all major factors in the plan.
Kenney said that the revised final draft of the Master Plan will be presented again to the regents at their Sept. 29 meeting.
“I hope (the plan) will be approved at the next regents meeting, because it has been a labor of love over the last several years,” she said. “I think it provides a framework for how to move forward and develop the campus.”
Kenney said that UNM hired design firm Dekker/Perich/Sabatini to make the Master Plan, which cost the University $200,000, but Kenney said the plan is worth the money.
“Generally speaking, a Master Plan runs around $1 million,” Kenny said. “So it is probably the best money we’ve ever spent.”
Steve Beffort, vice president of Institutional Support Services, said many students have had concerns about the shortage of on-campus housing. He said that the Master Plan suggests construction of 800 apartment-style units of housing on south campus. “We would encourage the movement of upperclassmen, who are currently living in on-campus housing, to (the south campus) area, and that would open up more on-campus housing for freshmen,” Beffort said.
Christina Ferraro, a pre-med student, said housing for upperclassmen on south campus would be inconvenient.
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“I lived in the Laguna De Vargas dorms my freshman year, and it was really nice to be so close to campus,” Ferraro said. “I just don’t think I’d move into dorms that are on south campus because it’s so far away.”
Beffort said that one of the main goals of the Master Plan is to unite the north, south and main campuses. He said that in the future there will be better bike and pedestrian paths between these parts of campus, along with some form of mass transit.
To comment on the UNM Master Plan of Development, go to frem.unm.edu/PCD.
