UNM outlines $636 million School of Medicine plan; $150M early work approved

University of New Mexico Health Sciences leaders briefed the Legislative Finance Committee on plans for a new School of Medicine replacement facility and the project’s financing and schedule.

Mike Richards, executive vice president of the UNM Health Sciences Center, said the building is a 350,000‑square‑foot replacement designed to expand medical education, research and faculty space. “Ultimately, this will allow us to increase our medical school class from approximately 100 students per year to 200 students,” Richards said, adding the facility also supports 10 affiliated health‑profession programs and new laboratory and simulation space.

Richards and Stuart Lizzie, director of UNM’s Health Sciences Capital Projects Office, described a recent State Board of Finance approval of an early‑work package. “We received approval of the first $150,000,000 spend for the project,” Lizzie said; he told lawmakers the $150 million will fund long‑lead equipment procurement, utilities, deep foundations and structural envelope work.

Presenters outlined a total project cost of about $636,000,000, which Richards said includes institutional support and prior legislative allocations for design and bonding. Committee members asked specifically about cost containment. Lizzie described several controls: a target‑value design process with scope budgets for major systems, frequent (roughly six‑week) independent cost estimates, and use of Monte Carlo cost‑estimating simulations to model risk and sensitivity. “We are running these cost estimates about every 6 weeks,” Lizzie said.

On schedule, Lizzie told members the team expects demolition to begin in December and construction to fully mobilize in February–March 2027; he said the site is the northeast corner of Lomas and University and will require demolition and relocation of roughly 35,000 square feet of existing maintenance and automotive facilities.

Lawmakers probed uses of large meeting spaces and workforce housing near the site. Richards emphasized that the building is programmed for School of Medicine educational activities rather than as a commercial conference center; the university is pursuing mixed‑use development on the corridor, and Richards said a university/regent‑led work group is examining housing and retail opportunities along Lomas.

Why it matters: UNM officials framed the project as part of a statewide workforce strategy — the presenters projected growth in graduate medical education slots and new rural residency rotations tied to the facility. The committee heard both technical details about procurement and cost‑management methods and policy questions about housing, economic development and the timing of future funding requests.

The committee did not take any formal action; presenters said they will return to the board of regents, the higher education department and the State Board of Finance later this year as design and approvals progress.