Now that many students are headed home for summer, UNM Residence Life/Student Housing is busy making positive changes to student housing on campus.

“We are continuing our efforts to make visible changes in our residence halls to better serve our students,” said Director of Residence Life and Student Housing Patrick Call.

Residence Life plans to spend $4.8 million to expand the quality and visual appeal of various residence hall facilities for students living on campus.

The department plans to focus spending on building renovations, upgrades, and landscaping initiatives specifically selected to enhance life‐safety and increase student satisfaction.

Residence Life and Student Housing will spend an estimated $3 million to replace and repair outdated water lines and to install 220 heating and air‐conditioning units and ventilation systems in the Student Residence Center (SRC) apartments. In addition, another $1.8 million is planned for various remodeling projects, including a goal to modernize 36 SRC apartments by updating kitchen and bath interiors and installing new carpet.

Aside from significant renovations to the SRC apartments, an estimated $100,000 will be spent to update Hokona Hall bathroom fixtures, faucets, counter‐tops and sinks. 

“A second laundry facility is also being added to Hokona Hall to maximize convenience for students,” Call said, “Nearly $100,000 will also be spent for carpet installation, in a number of common areas and many hallways, in Redondo Village apartments and inside study lounges in Alvarado, Santa Ana and Santa Clara Halls.” Another $400,000 is slated to upgrade fire protection and alarm systems in Santa Ana and Santa Clara residence halls.

Attention is not only being given to the residence halls on main campus, but an estimated $125,000 will be used to re‐pave and re‐stripe Buena Vista Village parking lots and to repair the basketball courts on south campus.

Finally, an additional Residence Life and Student Housing furniture project will be completed by spring 2010. Based on a fall 2008 Residence Life survey, 90 percent of Coronado Hall residents were satisfied or very satisfied with their new bedroom furniture first installed last summer. Based on the high satisfaction rate, the department projects it will spend another $220,000 in updating furnishings for use in common areas and study rooms throughout the residence hall system.

“We want to increase student’s academic achievement and retention to the university. We want our residents to be excited about living on campus.” Call says, “By improving the quality of our facilities and by making them more visually appealing, we are actively serving and promoting student comfort and satisfaction in our on campus residential community.”

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