More than $1.7 million has been approved for security and safety improvements on the 243-acre Hobbs campus of New Mexico Junior College.
That funding is coming in the form of a capital outlay approved earlier this year by members of the New Mexico State Legislature and subsequently signed into law by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.
The $1.7 million is part of a larger $8 million in approved capital outlay projects that Lea County is receiving, with $1 million of that amount targeting the renovation of the Lea County Courthouse, located at 100 N. Main Street in downtown Lovington.
That Art Deco building was constructed in 1936, extensively remodeled in 1957, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
Another $1 million is going to build an addition to the Lea County Detention Center at 1401 S. Commercial Street.
Located at 1 Thunderbird Circle, New Mexico Junior College was founded in 1966 and has a current enrollment of around 3,300 students.
Last fall state voters approved $4 million in General Obligation Bond C funding for the renovation of the school’s Watson Hall, as well as the construction of new sidewalks, tunnels and shade structures.
By Garry Boulard