The UNM community is enjoying 400 new parking spaces on campus today, as the long-awaited Cornell Parking Structure has opened.
The six-story structure is the first phase of a larger project that will eventually encompass much of the land near the UNM Bookstore.
Construction on the project took more than a year and a half, and had an original completion date of September 2003.
Gerald Martin Contractors, the construction company that spearheaded the project, ran into unforeseen problems while installing the underground pipe systems needed to operate the University's newest building.
The structure officially opened Monday and is completely finished except for the painting of a metal terrace overhanging the southern part of the building, said Bob Cardenas, Gerald Martin's project manager.
"The building is completely open for business," he said. "We still have some minor touch-ups, and we are still working on the utility lines south of the SUB, but for the most part, we are done."
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
The utility line project near the SUB has required the uprooting of much of the sidewalk south of the building to replace outdated pipes that lead to the Cornell structure.
UNM officials said they are excited about the building finally opening so the UNM community can enjoy it, and so it can begin paying back the $5.75 million in revenue bonds that funded its construction.
"We've been looking forward to having it available," said Roger Lujan, director of Facility Planning. "Everyone at UNM stands to benefit from the structure. We're pretty excited about it."
The building was entirely sandblasted recently to make its appearance more aesthetically pleasing, but is not without its eyesores.
Portions of the structure remain cordoned off with bright construction tape and construction cones, and its two biggest amenities, a visitor center and Internet caf, have yet to be built.
UNM has a contract with a separate construction company to tackle those projects once Gerald Martin has completed its obligations at the site.
UNM's Parking and Transportation Services Department will manage the structure's day-to-day operations and is offering an additional incentive to the UNM community to take advantage of the now open structure.
For this week only, the daily parking rates, which usually run 50 cents per half hour and $10 a day, are cut in half.
"It's good that they are giving us a break on the cost this week," said UNM senior Josh Hunt, who said he has parked in the Cornell structure every day this week. "It's going to get pretty expensive once they hike those prices back up. I probably won't be here much after that."
Many members of the University community said they aren't worried about the price and the unfinished portions of the building. They said they are just happy to have the building at their disposal.
"I'm just glad it opened," said Jesus Aguilar, a retired UNM employee who said he plans on parking at the structure several times a week while visiting friends at the University. "I'll worry about the small details later. I'm going to enjoy having it for a while."
