Upwards of $30 million in state funding is targeting the construction of a facility in Albuquerque dedicated to advancing the reading skills of children and adults.
As overseen by the State of New Mexico’s General Services Department, the one-story building will measure just under 31,200 square feet and will house the New Mexico Literacy Institute.
Set to be built on a three-acre site at 1550 Mesa Vista Road, the structure will include specialized roofing and curtain glass walls and will be built to LEED standards. The facility will also feature outdoor learning spaces.
Project architect is the Albuquerque-based Design Plus Architects.
In announcing the center late last summer, Mariana Padilla, the state Secretary of Public Education, said the goal of the center will be to “make New Mexico a place where every child and adult can read at or above grade level.”
Padilla added that the center will be a “hub of innovation and support.”
In a press release issued by the New Mexico Public Education Department, it was noted that the center will house “structured literary programs rooted in the science of reading, offering year-around opportunities such as after-school, evening, and weekend instruction.”
Plans for the center received statewide attention in late 2023 when Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said she was going to ask the New Mexico State Legislature for funding to get the effort underway. That request was subsequently approved by the lawmakers.
If all goes as anticipated, work on the new center is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
January 8, 2026
By Garry Boulard
