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The long-awaited renovations of Clark Hall are now advancing into the planning phase.
After voters passed the Bond C for Higher Education last November, Clark Hall received state funds for renovations. According to a November press release from UNM, “renovations have been needed for more than 20 years.” Associate Director of Capital Projects at UNM Rick Henrard said the bond provided $16 million, although he said construction costs will be slightly less than that.
The project is currently in a planning and programming stage, Henrard said.
“Our in-house planning and campus development team is planning the scope that was approved for the project,” he said.
The renovations were approved by the University primarily because they are highly needed, Henrard said. He said the money will be used to renovate “antiquated systems, teaching facilities and lab facilities.”
Money will also be allotted for new restrooms, mechanical and electrical systems and lab renovations, he said.
Laboratories in Clark Hall will become more useful with modernized utilities such as fume hoods, and labs will also be redesigned to make them more useful, said Stephen Cabaniss, professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology.
Cabaniss said the renovations are important because of the age and unfavorable condition of the building. Pipe failures have caused many fume hoods to shut down in Clark Hall because of poor performance, he said.
But he said the building’s renovation projects have historically suffered from a lack of money.
“As recently as 1970, chemists were breathing a lot of solvents that are now handled in a fume hood,” he said. “We did not have enough funds to modernize the plumbing or electrical systems.”
The original wing of Clark Hall, which was called Riebsomer Wing, was built in 1952, and an additional wing constructed on the south end later, Cabaniss said. He said the wing aimed to provide more research and lab space for students.
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The Riebsomer Wing was renovated “a few years ago,” recent renovations did not address the modern additions the department is now planning, he said.
Cabaniss said Clark Hall is used for lectures, chemistry and chemical biology labs, offices and research labs. Because of the requirements for chemistry courses in many fields, the department hosts about 20,000 student credit hours this semester, though not all in Clark Hall, he said.
Other plans include new air-handling systems that would help the building conserve money, he said.
“(This) should be more efficient, both to lower costs to operate and better elimination of fumes,” Cabaniss said.
Henrard said the project’s planning and programming phase is almost finished. Though he did not have a specific timeline for the renovations, he said his department will have to submit a request for proposal to the Board of Regents and complete a design before construction can begin.
“It’s going to be a lot of infrastructure improvements,” he said.
