City approves civic center land lease

Las Cruces city councilors approved Monday a lease agreement that will allow the city to build a civic center on the New Mexico State University campus.

Under the agreement, approved 6-0 with Councilor Dolores Archuleta absent, the city will pay $3,500 each year to lease eight acres of land. The cost of the facility is estimated at around $25 million.

The NMSU Board of Regents must still approve the proposal, and could do so at a January meeting in Santa Fe.

The city will consider a hotel surcharge of $2.50 per night to fund the project, but Councilor Ken Miyagishima has said he wants the city to consider a surcharge that is higher for those hotels closer to the civic center and lower for hotels that are further away.

The project is still 2-3 years from completion, officials estimate, but Monday’s vote was a hurdle the city has been unable for years to overcome. Las Cruces has failed to act while smaller cities around the state have built civic centers and benefited.

The city council also agreed to purchase 2,200 acre-feet of water from the university. NMSU plans to petition the city to annex the center into the city.

The center will be located on the southeast corner of University Avenue and Valley Drive, on what is currently agricultural land. That land has been used for that purpose at the land-grant institution since long before it was called NMSU, and many oppose the civic center for that reason.

But Miyagishima, in an e-mail sent Monday, said this was the right decision, noting that the land would cost $8-9 million to purchase, so it’s a good deal. He also said the center can be used by the university.

“I also like the fact that NMSU will utilize and pay us to use this center. NMSU will be building a hotel right across the street. Students from NMSU (their hotel and restaurant program) will be utilizing this for actual, hands-on experience,” he wrote. “I believe this partnership with NMSU will both fiscally and physically benefit our residents and students.”