UNM officials announced Thursday that local contractor K.L. House, Inc., which built The Pit and other landmarks on campus, will complete the SUB renovation project.
The announcement follows the recent decision to terminate Silver Construction Co. from the Student Union Building project, citing the company's inability to meet deadlines and provide the required number of skilled workers.
UNM originally had planned that the project would have been completed by August 2002 and after numerous extensions, a projected May 1 date was compromised.
"I think the hiring of K.L. House to take the reigns of the SUB project was a good choice and a very positive move," said Roger Lujan, director of UNM's Facility Planning Department.
Mike Brogdon, president of K.L. House, Inc., said it was uncertain whether the May 1 completion date could be met until his company becomes acclimated with the project's details and the current state of the building.
"We've really gone into the project cold, so it will take us a couple of days to get up to speed on its status," Brogdon said, adding that his company was in charge of the SUB's original renovation in 1976.
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He said K.L. House was not one of the original bidders in the SUB renovation.
K.L. House officials toured the SUB construction site early Thursday, a day after receiving plans for the building. Brogdon said workers were expected to be on the site as early as Friday.
Brogdon added that from what he had seen, the portion of the building completed by Silver Construction was "high-quality workmanship" and that contrary to the reasons submitted by UNM for firing Silver, he found very few components of the project to be substandard.
"We're going to contact the subcontractors that still have work there and get them on the site," Brogdon said.
He added that he has not seen any signs that the companies had under-qualified workers on the site, but that he would promptly address any issues that may arise.
Some of the project's original workers remained on the job Thursday, he said.
"The overall quality of the building is fine," Brogdon said. "We just need to get in there and finish the job."
He said that while the bottom floor of the three-story SUB is furthest from completion, the top two floors and most of the electrical and mechanical work appears largely finished.
Lujan said that UNM agreed to let Silver remain on the job until a new contractor was selected, and that Silver's bonding company, CNA Surety, selected K.L. House and contracted with the firm.
Founded in 1922, K.L. House also built Dane Smith Hall, Farris Engineering Center and some other campus buildings, Brogdon said.
