ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Central New Mexico Community College has been investing millions of dollars to expand their campus, now they’re purchasing a place from the University of New Mexico. The building, once purchased, will eventually be used as a facility for the college’s trades programs.

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The former family housing site has been vacant since June. This week, the UNM Board of Regents approved the $1.5 million sale of the property to CNM.

“The recommendation was to replace the complex, which at the time would cost about $45-million,” said Cinnamon Blair, a spokesperson for UNM.

UNM says there has been a drop in occupancy rates at these apartments, over the past seven years. The majority of students living there were either single students, or students with a partner, but no kids. Students living in the apartments were told in January of last year, they’d have to move out, giving them more than a year to find a new place.

In the past five years, CNM has invested $108-million in building improvements, and nearly $24-million in constructing two new buildings on their campus. UNM says the sale will be beneficial to both colleges.

“They bought it so they will be able to take the building, reconstruct it, and reimagine it in a way that will offer an educational benefit,” said Blair. “We thought that was a win for everyone including our New Mexican citizens and students.”

Once complete the building could be used for programs like solar panel installation, welding, machine tool technology and more. The building CNM currently uses for applied technologies and trades programs were built in the ’70s. CNM says they’re still in the very early planning stages, they don’t have a timeline for when the building could be complete.