EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — New Mexico State University broke ground on Friday, Dec. 6 on two significant construction projects for the College of Health, Education and Social Transformation.
The work will include an expansion of O’Donnell Hall that will add more than 15,000 square feet of new space to the building, which was originally built in 1968.
The addition will house the Kinesiology and Communication Disorders departments and feature state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary labs and an anatomy classroom, NMSU said in a news release.
Additional renovations will also take place in the Health and Social Services Building, constructed in 2002. The recently completed expansion and modernization of the Nursing Skills and Simulation Center will undergo further construction to create a new operation room simulation space for the School of Nursing’s anesthesiology program, NMSU said.
The estimated cost for the combined projects is $18.8 million. In November 2022, New Mexico voters approved a general obligation bond that provided $15.5 million for the projects.
Earlier that year, the New Mexico Legislature and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham respectively passed and signed House Bill 153, which appropriated and authorized the funding.
During a ground-breaking ceremony Friday outside O’Donnell Hall, Phillip Post, interim dean for the College of HEST, said the projects had been under development since 2017 and that entering the construction phase marked a pivotal moment for the college.
“This state investment will enhance our ability to prepare nursing, communication disorders and kinesiology students with cutting-edge equipment and spaces that reflect real-world health care settings,” Post said. “These programs are essential to addressing New Mexico’s health care workforce needs and improving health outcomes for our communities.”
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