You can’t miss it driving down Central Avenue: The ongoing construction at Johnson Center is a massive undertaking by the University of New Mexico.
The demolition phase is done and officials said it won’t be long before structures are added.
“I think we’re all pretty curious to see like, what’s different about it,” said M’Adele Little.
Expansion and renovation of UNM’s Johnson Center started back in June. Crews just finished demo on the $35 million student-funded project.
“And we’re looking forward to starting to frame up the structure of some of the new amenities in the near future,” said University Architect Amy Coburn.
From the windows to raised flooring, “You’ll actually be able to see runners moving along in their daily workout on the south side of the building,” Coburn said. “You’ll be able to see to elevation in a way you haven’t seen it in decades.”
Even a treasured piece of Lobo history, “We’re going to feature the historic building in a major atrium,” Coburn said.
The 50,000 square-foot expansion has a lot of moving parts. Coburn said they are ready to expand the southeast corner of the existing building.
“We looked at what are the areas that needed to be expanded and what are the site opportunities,” Coburn said.
Half of the foundation for the south gym has been installed. Next, they will add steel for the elevated running track by next spring,
“Seeing the difference from where they started to where they finish…it’s amazing to see the renovations that they do, creating new things for us…it’s really exciting,” said Breanna Gonzales.
Construction officials said right now the project is on budget and on schedule and should be done in March of next year.
New amenities to look forward to include an indoor cycling studio, renovated training rooms, and space for outdoor adventures and bike shop.
