After almost a year of construction, the redesigned Johnson Center is beginning to take shape.
While there will be many new additions, the remodeled recreation center will not have a rock-climbing wall, a feature suggested at the start of the project.
According to Director of Recreational Services Jim Todd, there wasn’t room in the $35 million budget for the addition.
“Recreation centers go far in helping students succeed,” Todd said in a June interview with the Daily Lobo. At that time, he also said that a renovated Johnson Center would help increase enrollment.
The project, funded entirely by student fees, is scheduled to be completed in March 2020, according to Sarah Scott, a communication and outreach specialist for the project. Todd also reiterated a promise he’d made that allows students who were enrolled during the four-semester construction could receive vouchers to use the center after the construction had finished.
“The process is still being developed, but basically students will have the option to enroll in a program that will allow them to receive access to the facility for the same amount of time that they paid the increased student fees,” Todd said.
In the Fall 2015 semester, when the University began the process of requesting money for the rec center, mandatory student fees were $753.60 for a student enrolled in at least 15 credit hours, according to the Bursar's Office.
In the Spring 2019 semester, student fees for a student taking at least 15 credit hours are $952.20, according to the University.
More than half of student fee revenue goes to “debt services” used, in part, for repaying state-issued bonds like the one used to build the new Johnson Center, according to the UNM Office of Planning & Budget Analysis.
Otherwise, the construction and renovation of Johnson Center marches on. In a press release, Amy Coburn, University architect and director of UNM Planning, Design & Construction, said the development process had so far been “smooth.” She said the project was also on schedule and within budget.
The new center will have several additional features along with several renovated ones. The list includes “expanded space for weight and cardio equipment, an indoor running and walking track, an indoor cycling studio and additional bathrooms," according to Scott.
One feature not returning after the construction are the racquetball courts, according to Todd.
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FBT Architects were contracted to design the new center.
Justin Garcia is a staff reporter with the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers student government. He can be contacted at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @Just516garc.
