The UNM Physical Plant, which is responsible for the operation and maintenance of facilities, will renovate a 50-year-old cooling plant to improve the reliability of utilities on campus.
The construction will be the beginning of a five-year project and is budgeted at $55 million.
It will be replacing the current engineering annex and will include chilled water modifications, conservation measures and the renovation of the Ford Utility Center.
A co-generation unit will be installed, allowing UNM to generate 80 percent of the electricity on campus as opposed to the current 20 percent manufactured, said Mary Vosevich, the Physical Plant director.
“UNM is its own little city with its own utility systems,” Vosevich said. “We have about 11 miles of distribution tunnels under campus.”
She added that the new equipment will be more energy efficient and reliable.
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“You can just imagine the change in technology from the systems that were more than a century old,” Vosevich said.
Jeff Easton, Physical Plant utilities associate director, said the project will not begin until the engineering annex is torn down.
“A firm demolition date has not been set, but the contract will be finalized in late July — we will most likely begin in late August or early September,” Easton said.
A new engineering building also will be constructed in the shared area, but plans have not been finalized.
Diane Gwinn, School of Engineering Academic Administrator, is responsible for clearing out the present offices in the annex.
“We plan to get everyone out of the building within the week so it can be turned over to the physical plant,” she said. “The building is falling apart on its own by now.”
Staff and students will be moved to Wagner and Tapee Halls, which are being remodeled to accommodate the diversity programs that were in the engineering building.
“The remodeling will be more equipped for the diversity program’s specific needs,” said Rick Ruminski, the Physical Plant remodeling manager. “We have new architecture and mechanical distribution systems for offices and computer labs.”
The Ford Utility Center’s new post at the building will be completed 18 months after construction begins, said Easton.
“The Ford Utility renovations will clear the way for a new central cooling plant,” Ruminski said.
When the center is complete, UNM will save utility costs by manufacturing its own power, said Vosevich.
