The Lobo Development’s housing forum turned into a rapid-fire, question-and-answer session at the SUB on Tuesday night.
ACC representatives did not present building plans, even though the forum was advertised as a public meeting to discuss American Campus Community’s main campus “Strategic Housing Plan.”
“When folks hear ‘plan,’ they assume it’s a planning document and expect to see architectural deliverables and where buildings are going, and that’s not what the ‘Strategic Housing Plan’ is,” ACC representative Matt Stein said. “The ‘Strategic Housing Plan’ is defined by the memorandum of understanding that UNM and ACC entered into, and what it does is it helps quantify a business plan for moving forward.”
About 40 people, including UNM, Lobo Development, ACC ASUNM and Residence Life student representatives, attended the forum, and ACC didn’t get through its presentation before being bombarded with questions.
Lobo Development and ACC representatives explained that the housing plan is an “investment thesis,” and it does not involve concrete building plans.
Stein said architectural designs won’t be developed until Lobo Development and the Board of Regents approves the housing plan. If Lobo Development approves the housing plan Friday, it will be presented to the Regents’ Finance and Facilities Committee on Dec. 9.
Phase II of the housing plan could involve building a dining hall, Stein said, which prompted questions about the hall’s viability and location.
Residence Life specialist Megan Chibanga said a dining location near Redondo Village would be difficult for Hokona students to access.
“It’s just silly to put it as far as they can go away from students in Hokona and Laguna De Vargas who don’t have kitchens,” she said.
UNM Parent Association President Maria Probasco said her organization wasn’t included in the main campus planning process. She said nobody approached the organization about meeting.
“It appears to me that a lot of people in this room who are really primary stakeholders were not included … including the Parent Association,” she said. “What plans do you all have to educate and take feedback from these stakeholders so whatever is decided in the end will have a buy-in for everybody?”
Kim Murphy, Real Estate director, said Lobo Development welcomed stakeholders’ input and tried to get people interested in giving feedback.
“We specifically created a website so that we could communicate the progress of these planning efforts,” he said. “And we tried to get a meeting with the Parent Association.”.
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UNM neighbor Peter Dudleysaid he is concerned about the proposed wood buildings.
“Wood is a cheap construction style,” he said. “Buildings made with wood frames look bad after 10 years and start to sag. Shouldn’t it be some kind of better construction?”
University officials warded off questions from ASUNM President Lazaro Cardenas, who asked about parking plans once construction begins, but Stein reiterated that nothing has been finalized.
Joe Montano, from UNM Housing Services, said ACC housing could put him out of a job.
“Eventually, ACC is going to come in and take over the whole campus in a period of time, and I guess I’m worried about my job,” he said. “Where do we go? We have kids to feed and families. Have you thought about the people who maintain the buildings and housekeeping? Do you just get rid of them, kick them out and bring in your own people?”
Stein said that ACC has no intention of taking over UNM’s campus housing and is committed to replacing the cash flow that the existing buildings create.
University officials assured forum attendees that issues will be addressed before a ground lease is signed in May.
Murphy said more forums will take place as the process moves forward.
“This is obviously bothering a lot of people,” Murphy said. “This is not a traditional ground lease either. It is a very complex, detailed document about the relationship between UNM and ACC. Are we going to have everything from A-to-Z figured out when we sign it? No.”
