The goal is to control all the land.
"It is really the only opportunity for the campus to expand," said Kim Murphy, director of UNM's Real Estate Department. "We've been around for 100 and some odd years, and we're gong to be around for another 100 more years. We just need to make sure we can control our growth and development."
When properties go up for sale within the UNM boundaries, the University makes every effort to acquire them, Murphy said.
UNM follows a master plan of expansion and development, which hasn't been updated for over a decade. Administrators are trying to figure out which path the University's growth should take.
But nothing can be purchased for more than the appraised value.
Roger Lujan, director of UNM's Facility Planning Department, said private residence owners try to raise their prices all the time. In that case, UNM cannot make the purchase.
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Depending on the price, the money can come from minor capital funds, land proceeds or the Regents Endowment.
"Some of these commercial properties on Lomas, they could be $3 million or $4 million," he said. "We don't have sufficient minor capital to cover those properties."
The University is updating an economic development plan that could take up to a year to complete.
Nobody has decided what the long-term decision will be, but clearly we have to evaluate the master plan, Lujan said.
From Zimmerman Library, there is a 10-minute walking diameter to the boundaries of main campus from University Boulevard to Girard Boulevard and Lomas Boulevard to Central Avenue that encases the academic core of the University, where most undergraduates are.
"There's reason to believe the University can be a little denser, have a little higher buildings, a little bit more ground coverage and still do a very good job of accommodating that 10-minute walking diameter," Lujan said, adding that the pedestrian environment is important for the academic core.
To make the main campus feel more connected to north campus, Lujan said, a bridge connecting the Duck Pond to the UNM north golf course is being considered.
For south campus, a transit system may be put into place.
"It doesn't always have to be by a contiguity or by being proximate to something that a connection is made," Lujan said.
President Louis Caldera said he sees a need to make the campus more attractive so more students want to be on campus.
Main campus has a Pueblo Revival style, but other parts of campus have a more modern style.
"It may be that the outcome is that there is a particular style for a particular precinct, a group of precincts, and maybe a different style for something else," Murphy said.
As more grants are received for research, Caldera said, one of the challenges is finding where to do that research.
"That is one of the critical capabilities you need to be able to have to build a research portfolio - to build a place to do the research," he said. "By any stretch, it won't be the principal goal."
Caldera said when they begin to consider what needs to be changed in the master plan, the University community will be involved.
"You want this whole range of spaces for students to grow and work together," he said. "I think that will come out as we go through a process that asks the University community what they would like to see."
