The Board of Regents moved forward on building a student recreation center, approving $80,000 to fund a planning phase at its meeting Tuesday.
University architect Roger Lujan will work with Van H. Gilbert and Opsis Architecture, a firm based in Portland, Ore., on the project.
No start date for construction has been set.
Lujan said Gilbert and his team will identify what students' priorities are before the University chooses a site.
Planning will be done in two stages and should take about five months to complete, he said.
At that point, the University will decide whether to fund construction of the center, despite the recent spending freeze, he said.
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Andrew Cullen, associate vice president of Planning, Budget and Analysis, said in an e-mail that if students show support for a recreation center, UNM will make it a priority.
ASUNM is working to include students in the planning process, vice president Alex Riebli said.
"Right now, the current recreation center isn't a viable option for most students. It's not accommodating to the traditional student schedule," he said.
Riebli said students aren't always able to work out during their breaks, because Johnson Gym closes its lower level for physical education classes during the day.
ASUNM has done research to determine what students want from a new center.
"The Student Affairs office has put a number of surveys through student voice. A lot of different groups are working at this on different fronts," Riebli said.
Lujan said students have shown interest in having a climbing wall, a food court and a larger cycling area.
"We've heard they want to have a recreational pool," he said. "Not a pool that is like Johnson's pool that is for instruction and competition, but one that is more for socializing."
Student Raychelle Brown said having a recreational pool where people can go to swim for fun or to relax would be a great service to offer students.
Lujan said the second part of the planning process is to find a location that will serve students' needs.
Gilbert and his team will look at sites on campus to determine which one will be best for students, he said.
"The architects are going to be charged with evaluating several alternatives," Lujan said.
"How should they relate to the SUB, to student housing, to Johnson Center? They are going to look at all the things that might influence where you might locate a center."
Lujan said UNM's tight budget will likely impact the project, but he couldn't say how.
"Our challenge is to be able to prioritize what all of those elements of the center will be and how important they are," he said. "Then you are reasonably assured you will be able to deliver it for the money and the kind of time we have to work with."
Riebli said the $80,000 for the selection of architects came from the Regents' Endowment Fund and that funding for construction hasn't been determined yet.
