Las Cruces Sun-News POSTED: 07/24/2015 07:26:07 PM MDT
By Diana Alba Soular

LAS CRUCES >> An energetic crowd gathered Friday morning in front of a monument to the historic St. Genevieve Catholic Church in downtown Las Cruces to mark a momentous occasion: a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new civic plaza.

It was a day at least two decades in the making, said several plaza proponents at the event.

Mayor Pro Tem Greg Smith noted the location is in the midst of a historic neighborhood, near the historic church site and within a few blocks of the also-historic El Camino Real route, Acequia Madre irrigation channel and a dance site for a Native American tribe.

“This is a great spot; you couldn’t ask for a more perfect location,” he said. “This day we are making history, folks.”

Former Las Cruces Mayor Ruben Smith addressed the audience, holding up a copy of a 1994 study that identified a civic plaza as a key part of revitalizing the city’s historic center. And he gave a nod to a lengthy list of Las Crucens who contributed their energy to the work back in the project’s early years, when the city’s population was about 63,000. But many have since died, he said.

“The list goes on and on,” he said. “These are the people who started with us 20 years ago and are no longer with us today.”

Smith thanked supporters who’ve carried the project through to the point of starting construction, saying: “I congratulate all of you on this wonderful endeavor.”

City councilors unveiled a sign announcing the project, and along with a number of other dignitaries, turned over shovels of dirt in a ceremonial gesture. The actual work — demolition of a Bank of the West drive-through and removal of the monument on the 1.95-acre site — is set to start Aug. 3, according to city officials. Construction will take about a year.

Wilma Hutson, who lives in the Mesquite Historic District, just east of the downtown, said she was “very excited” about the project because it will add beauty and art to the downtown.

“And with that, it should bring in some business,” said Hutson, who attended the groundbreaking.

City officials have hailed the plaza as a showcase feature in a long-range plan for revitalization after an unsuccessful renewal project of the ’60s and ’70s. Another major project was reopening the Main Street route to vehicles after it was closed for decades as part of an unsuccessful outdoor pedestrian mall.

Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima thanked a list of elected officials ranging from former U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., to former Gov. Bill Richardson to current state lawmakers for their support of downtown revitalization.

“And last, but not least, the city of Las Cruces — you, our residents,” he said. “I know there’s time where you wonder ‘What in the world is the city doing?’ but we have a lot of faith and trust in our city management team. And thank goodness (the plaza) is here.”

Jessie Sanchez, a vice president of Citizens Bank of Las Cruces, said it was a “great occasion” to witness the civic plaza groundbreaking.

“It’s something that can be utilized by everyone in the city,” he said. “I think it’s going to an a venue for events. They can have an orchestra, bands playing — open it up to individuals from all over New Mexico.”

State Rep. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, whose district includes the downtown, said the plaza will create “exciting possibilities” for the area.

“We’re going to have many good years of community and special events ahead,” he said.

City Councilor Miguel Silva, whose district includes downtown, said during a trip to Spain in 2012, he visited the Sagrada Família basilica, which is a century-long construction project. He said he was inspired by the dedicated workers building the project because “to me, those were the angels that were building the cathedral that’s going to be standing years beyond their lives.” He said a “lot of people” have been involved in the plaza project — something he hopes will “be here 100 years down the road.”

“With this plaza, I hope we’re having a momentous event, and I hope it doesn’t take us 100 years to make,” he joked. “But I think what we’re making here is something momentous in that we’re re-establishing that focal point in the city.”

Bank update

Through a go-between developer, Las Cruces Community Partners, the city bought most of the land for the plaza from Bank of the West, which has a four-story building just north of the plaza site.

Though the bank’s drive-through has been sold, the bank will continue operating from the multistory building at 201 N. Church Street. In addition, the bank branch will be open extended hours on Saturdays — 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. — through the construction, according to a Bank of the West news release.

George Stanfield, executive vice president of the Rocky Mountain Division at Bank of the West, said in a statement that the company is “proud to participate in the revitalization of downtown Las Cruces.”

“The new plaza is an important expansion for our community, and we continue to remain committed to providing excellent customer service as the renovations progress,” he said.

Meanwhile, as the plaza is being built, the multistory building will undergo a renovation “into a state-of-the-art facility which will include a ‘media wall’ with digital screens featuring financial tips and other useful information; a walk-up, deposit-accepting ATM; and a night deposit service — all ways customers may choose to conduct their financial transactions outside of business hours,” according to the news release. Those renovations will be done by early 2016.

The last day of service for the downtown branch’s drive-through is close of business July 31, according to a posted announcement.

Bank of the West directed customers who want to continue using a drive-through to a bank branch at 795 S. Telshor Blvd.

Las Cruces Sun-News POSTED: 07/18/2015 10:38:30 PM MDT
By Diana Alba Soular

LAS CRUCES >> About a year from now, there will be children playing on a splash pad to cool off from the summer sun on the north end of the new downtown plaza. Music lovers will hear concerts on the elevated permanent stage at the south end. In between will be a sun dial built into the pavement of the courtyard’s center. This is according to a plan adopted by city councilors in March, and what plaza developers hope will become an “outdoor room” for residents to enjoy.

The style of the architecture and features, such as park benches and columns, will match the nearby section of revamped Main Street, city officials have said.

The “outdoor room” concept the city is striving for means multistory, private development will eventually encompass all sides of the plaza, said Andy Hume, the city’s downtown development coordinator. The west “wall” already exists with the Rio Grande Theatre and other buildings on Main Street. The north “wall” will be the remodeled Bank of the West building, he said.

“It’s very important; if you look back on the history of New Mexico plazas, they all have two- and three-story buildings surrounding them, like the Mesilla plaza has, and there’s a street all the way around,” Hume said.

Ideally, there will be a mix of living spaces and businesses, including retail, Hume said.

The plaza, once built, will be able to hold about 1,500 seats. Events could range from large performances to church services to wedding ceremonies to — if the venue is otherwise not booked — impromptu jam sessions by musicians, city officials said. Closing off the streets around the plaza would allow for larger events.

And, City Manager Robert Garza said, those visitors to downtown will want services from restaurants and shops that should spark private investment.

“I think there will be an opportunity from the private sector to say: ‘Wow, a captive audience on a relatively frequent basis; I think we need to take advantage of that,'” he said.

One-year time line

There will be three general phases of plaza construction. It will start with demolition of paving and other structures, city officials said. A monument to St. Genevieve church will be removed from the site.

“Work starts Aug. 1,” Garza said. “Everything is looking ahead. Once demolition starts, it will take about 12 months to complete the entire project.”

Secondly, there will be an excavation stage because there is a lot of underground infrastructure that must be moved and replaced, Hume said. Utilities must be moved from underneath the site so that when they require repairs in the future, the plaza won’t have to be torn up to do the work. Upgrades to electrical infrastructure will allow for the lighting and sound needs of concerts and performances — as well as serve the surrounding neighborhood.

“It’s a double bang for our buck,” he said.

Lastly, the new plaza, along with two streets, will be built. The former Organ Avenue, an east-west route closed during the 1960s and ’70s urban renewal, and a street on the east side of the plaza.

Growth potential

The city owns a building known as the Camunez Building to the west of the plaza site next to the Rio Grande Theatre, which it got from the state, Garza said. It had a number of environmental problems, such as asbestos.

“We’ve done a complete environmental cleanup with the anticipation of the plaza being built and finding someone that says: ‘Wow, I want to move in here,'” he said. “That building can be used for a whole variety of things from retail to other commercial uses,” he said.

The city’s municipal court complex, which includes the city’s historic post office, is on the east side of the plaza. A part of the building that’s not historic could eventually be torn down and replaced by a private development. Hume said the city would likely look to sell the land if someone steps forward with a development proposal. “We have an opportunity to work with companies or individuals on development,” Hume said. “But the city is not interested in becoming a developer.”

The city is also in the midst of adopting a downtown zoning code. Proposed new projects will have to align with those goals, Hume said.

Arianna Parsons, executive director of the nonprofit Downtown Las Cruces Partnership, said she expects the plaza to serve as a catalyst for attracting new businesses to the downtown.

“Let’s say that even two new projects happen as a result of the plaza,” she said. “Even two new retail and housing projects will have a huge impact on downtown. Those two are probably going to spur at least one or two more.”

Garza said one of the key measures of the plaza’s effectiveness will be the growth in commercial activity downtown.

“The true measure of success will be how the land uses around the plaza evolve and change and create a stronger downtown presence,” he said. “Because a plaza all by itself is not necessarily going to draw people downtown. It’s the restaurants and the eateries and the bars and the social part of downtown.”

In addition, Hume said the city will be looking to find out how many days the plaza is used for events, as well as public feedback about the project.

“It’s going to be important to gauge citizen feedback,” he said.

Other steps

The civic plaza may be a major step toward revitalization, but won’t be the last one, city officials have said.

The next major project entails the conversion of Water and Church streets — both one-way routes — into two-way streets, Hume said.

The city has about $4.8 million from the Tax Increment Development District — portions of city, county and state shares of sales and property taxes collected for the purpose of downtown revitalization — for roadwork, Garza said.

Also, encouraging more housing downtown will be important to keep businesses — like restaurants — open after 5 p.m. and the end of the work day, Hume said.

A sense of place

While economic development is a driving factor behind revitalization, some noted the plaza will serve another important need: boosting quality of life for residents and help regain the lively feeling lost with urban renewal.

“Downtown was the center of the city, where people came to meet, to shop, to eat, to go to church until urban renewal happened in the 1960s,” said architect Steve Newby, who is working with plaza developer Las Cruces Community Partners. “Prior to that there had been some flight into our first mall, but urban renewal put the marker on the grave of downtown. And then the pedestrian mall which existed for almost 40 years killed what was left of that bustling downtown. I’ve been working for the last 30 years to bring that back and I think we’re very close to bringing the bustle back to the city center.”

Hume said it will be impossible to return to the downtown of yesteryear, but agreed the plaza has potential to “rebuild the spirit of community that downtown stood for,” something he views as important as the economic development aspect. Birthday parties, quinceañeras, wedding photo shoots are among the day-to-day activities that could happen at the new plaza.

“But when you’re talking about quality of life, how do you measure that?” He said. “Well, I think you measure it in the renewal, the rebirth of the spirit of community that has been, frankly, dormant for many years and is slowly and surely coming back to life. And the plaza is going to be a huge next step in that renaissance.”

Las Cruces leaders hope to create focal point for city lost in urban renewal

Las Cruces Sun-News POSTED: 07/18/2015 10:38:15 PM MDT
By Diana Alba Soular

LAS CRUCES >> When city leaders and citizens gather Friday for the ceremonial groundbreaking on a downtown plaza, it will be the culmination of more than two decades of planning, praying and pushing — and the start of about a year’s worth of building. Plaza supporters said the event will mark a major milestone in the effort to revive downtown and correct the errors of a failed revitalization attempt that started in the 1960s.

A key goal of this central gathering space, with its planned splash pad and covered stage, is to attract more people and new investment that will ultimately spur economic development in the downtown area. But the second aim, they said, is to boost the quality of life in Las Cruces by creating a venue people — tourists and locals — like to visit.

“It brings a focal point to the downtown,” said City Councilor Miguel Silva, who represents the district that includes the new plaza. “We really don’t have a focal point. That’s really some of the value it brings to the overall plan of downtown revitalization.”

The plaza will be built over the course of about a year on a 1.95-acre parcel of land just south of the Bank of the West building. The land now holds a bank drive-through formerly owned by Bank of the West and a historical monument owned by the Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces. The city bought the land Wednesday.

Faded glory

A decade ago, a walk through portions of Las Cruces’ downtown on most days called to mind an abandoned movie set.

Main Street was closed to vehicle traffic. Sidewalks covered the historic street, topped overhead by permanent canopies. And, while there were buildings interspersed with businesses and nonprofits throughout the so-called outdoor pedestrian mall, there weren’t many pedestrians — except during the twice-a-week farmers and crafts market.

The city’s once-vibrant center was in a state of stagnation that many residents trace back to urban renewal — a city attempt in the late 1960s and early ’70s to revitalize the downtown area. Instead of revival, the project had the opposite effect, as business and traffic dwindled.

By the early 1990s, when former Mayor Ruben Smith first took office, the languishing status was fully felt. Smith, when asked whether people were disappointed at the time with the aftermath of urban renewal, replied: “Disappointment, I think, was probably an understatement.”

It was about that time the city launched its first efforts to correct those mistakes downtown, Smith said. A plan at the time identified three major needs: memorializing the historic St. Genevieve Catholic Church torn down in the ’60s, reopening Main Street to traffic and building a civic plaza.

“Those three probably had the unanimous support of everybody,” he said. “There was a strong conviction and commitment that we had to get those three things done if in fact we were going to revitalize downtown. So I was very, very excited the city is finally in the position of starting on the plaza.”

A memorial was erected in the late ’90s to mark the historic church. And in August 2005, city officials hosted a ceremony that marked the start of demolition of the downtown mall and reopening of Main Street, which had been closed to vehicles since the early ’70s, according to Sun-News archives. After years of construction in the multi-phase project, the street reopened entirely in November 2012.

Since reopening Main Street, the city has spent about $9 million on downtown revitalization, if the recent land purchase and plaza construction costs are factored in, said City Manager Robert Garza.

‘Turning point’

Over the years, downtown revitalization — plaza construction included — has faced a number of challenges. There have been multiple city councils and administrators in place since the effort began. Ideas have varied about how to accomplish revitalization. And perhaps the biggest challenge of all, city officials said, was finding a source of revenue for the costly endeavor.

The “turning point” was the city’s establishment of a special taxing district, known as a Tax Increment Development District, Silva said. It provided a source of money for the redevelopment projects, he said.

The district, established in October 2007, is a geographic area surrounding downtown in which portions of city, county and state shares of sales and property taxes are collected for the purpose of downtown revitalization.

To date, $9.93 million has been collected through the TIDD, according to the city.

Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima said during Gov. Gary Johnson’s administration in the 1990s, local governments weren’t getting much funding help for big projects from the state. Then, a state law passed under then-Gov. Bill Richardson, who took office in 2003, allowed for the redevelopment districts to be created. The city took advantage of the opportunity to create a TIDD — a strategy that’s become “something of a model for other communities” looking to revitalize their downtowns, he said. Without the tax district, the city would either have to scrape together funding from another source — or more likely — not build the projects at all.

“It’s definitely the instrumental part,” Miyagishima said.

City councilors in recent weeks sold the former city hall on Church Street to a private company to generate more than $1 million toward civic plaza construction.

In addition, of the $9 million spent so far on downtown revitalization, about $3.5 million stemmed from non-TIDD funds — money used for the Main Street work. Garza said nearly $2 million came from grants and legislative appropriations.

Other hurdles

In addition to finding money for the downtown revitalization, some challenges were specific to the proposed plaza itself, including that the ideal parcel was privately owned, city officials said.

Silva said the bank’s ownership changed several times. And the owners were always headquartered in another state, making negotiations harder. And the price kept climbing.

“Over the years, it was always difficult to find an agreement in regards to the price and the quantity of land,” he said. “It’s taken a while, but we’re finally there.”

On Wednesday, the city — via a go-between purchaser, Las Cruces Community Partners, which is also the plaza developer — bought the land in a multiparty real-estate sale.

Las Cruces Community Partners purchased the Bank of the West and church land from the owners of those parcels. The city, in turn, bought the subdivided plaza land from the developer for $1.42 million.

LCCP owned the plaza “for a split second,” Miyagishima said.

The city also placed $4.26 million in escrow to be paid to LCCP incrementally, as the company does work over the next year on the plaza.

“They’ll get paid for how much they accomplish each month,” Miyagishima said.

City officials said the deal with LCCP is structured so that, even if something goes wrong with construction, the city will still own the land for the plaza — itself a step forward from past years.

LCCP will be paid an 8 percent “overhead, profit and management fee,” amounting to about $450,000, for carrying out plaza construction, Garza said.

As for the land sale, Garza said LCCP is not actually making a profit directly. Rather, the developers, who’ll retain ownership of the Bank of the West building, are counting on the building to gain value by remodeling the structure. The plaza also should boost the value.

Delayed start

City administrators thought toward the end of last year they were narrowing in on the start of construction on the plaza. But the City Council didn’t like the fact that the plans left out a permanent stage. Councilors added it back in, prompting a delay, as revisions to construction plans and a key pricing agreement with LCCP had to be redone.

It may have taken years to reach this point, but the revitalization so far, as well as the plaza itself, hasn’t been a simple task, said Arianna Parsons, executive director of the nonprofit Downtown Las Cruces Partnership, which promotes downtown renewal. There’s been a lot of work done on the plaza proposal.

“It’s all a matter of timing and getting the right players in place, and that’s not something that comes around very often, as we’ve seen,” she said. “It’s not at all surprising that it took this amount of time.”

Sale will become final July 15, groundbreaking set for July 24 on community gathering place

Las Cruces Sun-News POSTED: 06/21/2015 02:20:23 PM MDT
By Diana Alba Soular

LAS CRUCES >> Las Cruces City Manager Robert Garza announced last week that a closing date has been set on the city’s purchase of land for a proposed downtown civic plaza.

“We have set a closing date on the property, which is the critical path forward,” he said in a council meeting Monday. “And that is July 15.”

Garza said a formal groundbreaking ceremony is tentatively set for July 24.

The construction of a city-owned plaza is considered to be one of the main highlights of a plan to revitalize Las Cruces’ downtown after decades of stagnation.

Mayor Pro Tem Greg Smith said the plaza has been discussed for years and is much-anticipated for its potential to spark renewed interest in the downtown area. The plaza is a “very important piece” of the revitalization, he said.

“I’m thrilled; this is the first time we’ve had a closing date in this whole conversation within the last 10 to 20 years,” he said. “This is huge — having a closing date.”

The proposed real-estate closing on the parcel, which now holds a Bank of the West drive-through and a historic church memorial, has been delayed a few times over the past year.

On closing day, the city will buy the land from developer Las Cruces Community Partners. The developer, in turn, will have bought it from the Bank of the West and the local Catholic diocese, which owns a small parcel containing a memorial to the historic St. Genevieve Catholic Church.

Developer Bob Pofahl with Las Cruces Community Partners said the company’s purchase of the property to sell to the city and the bank building itself will finalize July 15, as well.

“We close on it simultaneously,” he said. “It’s all under contract and in escrow.”

Said Pofahl: “We’re excited to have the plaza moving forward.”

The Bank of the West parcel includes the four-story bank building and its drive-through windows to the south. At least part of the delay in arranging for a closing was because property surveys from three different landowners in the process weren’t lining up, Garza said in a recent interview.

“And so we required a brand-new subdivision plat that delineates where all of the property lines are,” he said.

Part of that subdivision process entailed the city reviewing plans to divide what’s now exclusively Bank of the West’s property into land that, post-closing date, will be owned by the city for the plaza — the current drive-through — and land that will be owned by the developers, the bank building, according to Garza. The final plat was recently finished.

In addition, another outstanding factor was the final design of the plaza project — something delayed when when city councilors earlier this year opted to include a music stage in the initial plaza construction, rather than later on in the plaza’s development.

Garza said the stage hadn’t been part of the plaza design work up until that point, which prompted a delay. Not only did the plans have to be amended, but the cost estimates had to be re-calculated, since the proposed stage adds to the expense.

Asked about the cost of the plaza project, Garza said city administrators last week were narrowing in on the final number.

“The land that will be deeded to the city will have a final price of $300,000,” he said. “The plaza portion will be approximately $5.4 million.”

In addition to selling the plaza land to the city, LCCP also has a contract with the city to build the plaza.

Garza said he’s also planning to present a final funding package to city councilors for them to sign off on how the project will be paid for. That plan is set to appear on an agenda for a July 13 meeting of the Tax Increment Development District board.

The board, which oversees a special pool of tax dollars for downtown revitalization, is made up of the city council and a non-voting county commissioner.

Smith said he sees the plaza as becoming a focal point of the city to showcase its culture and history — “the character that’s already there” — and set the tone for future of the downtown. The plaza is one of several revitalization pieces, including proposed commercial development on the edge of the plaza, a plan to eventually move the city’s art museum into the city’s historic post office that now houses municipal court and the conversion of Water and Church streets into two-way routes.

Smith said he envisions the plaza as a place to hold wide-ranging community events, such as concerts, other performances, weddings and parties. Also, the city’s farmer’s market would use the space. The plaza will help to give visitors to the city a “sense of Las Cruces — what this place is about.”

“In a traditional city, there’s an open space at the center that’s the heart of what’s going on,” Smith said. “And we’ve been living without that for the last 40 years.”

La Clinica de Familia’s remodeling of old Memorial General Hospital months away New clinic could open by July 1, 2016
Posted on The Las Cruces Sun News:05/03/2015 05:50:10 PM MDT

LAS CRUCES >> The temporary fence around the old Memorial General Hospital has been up for a while. Driving or walking past, it doesn’t look like there has been much activity in renovating the 67-year-old building, at 575 S. Alameda Blvd., which will become the Las Cruces Central Cervantes Complex, a medical, dental, behavioral health services and 24-hour urgent care facility operated by La Clinica de Familia.

But work is going on behind the scenes to get the renovation project started. The project is in the design phase, where final plans for the facility, which could cost as much as $8 million, are being refined. La Clinica de Familia officials are working with some members of the New Mexico Legislature to secure at least $643,000 in capital outlay funding to install broadband Internet lines, computers and telephones, and help pay for equipment for medical and dental rooms in the 43,000-square-foot building.

“We’re going, we’re moving forward,” said Suzan Martinez de Gonzales, chief executive officer of La Clinica de Familia. “We’re rocking and rolling. We’re hoping to have it running by July 1 next year.”

That’s about six months later than they had initially anticipated when plans to convert the former City Office Center into a clinic were worked on with the city of Las Cruces last year.

Coming up

Martinez de Gonzales said renovation is anticipated to start by September.

“We should all see the lights on within the building and perimeter in the coming days, marking the start of the renovation process,” City Manager Robert Garza said.

In addition to the lights, Martinez de Gonzales said security guards will routinely patrol the site.

The city of Las Cruces, through the Local Economic Development Act, has given the building to La Clinica de Familia with the stipulation that at least 55 jobs are created at the new clinic within three years.

“Our LEDA agreement contemplates a clock starting for the performance requirements at such time as they occupy the building,” Garza said. “We have consented to allowing them to proceed with recruitment now, since getting the highly skilled medical professionals will be a long process and one that takes significant time, due to credentialing and other enabling processes.

“They will temporarily place their new employees within other facilities in the (Las Cruces) area so they will be ready to transfer to the new facility and make it fully operational when they open.”

Martinez de Gonzales said she anticipates there will be 52 staff members working at the new clinic during its first year of operations. The additional health care professionals are expected to increase the number of patients La Clinica de Familia will treat every year.

“La Clinica saw 23,000 patients last year,” Martinez de Gonzales said. “When the new clinic opens, we’re projecting 13,000 patients will be seen the first year just at that site alone.”

The floor plan

The first floor of the two-story building will include dental and behavioral health services for La Clinica patients. The health care agency recently announced plans to take over behavioral health services from the soon departing Arizona-based provider La Frontera.

The old hospital’s emergency room on the east side of the building will be converted into an urgent care facility that will treat patients 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The second floor of the old hospital, which had most recently been a city office center, will house mostly medical examination rooms and doctors’ offices.

Capital outlay

Because the New Mexico Legislature did not approve any capital outlay funding during this year’s 60-day session, Martinez de Gonzales, other Clinica officials, and southern New Mexico legislators are hopeful a special session will be called to pass a capital outlay bill.

If that happens, state funds for the new clinic could be approved.

“There is at least $643,000 in capital outlay funds that have been pledged by legislators for that project,” state Sen. Mary Kay Papen, D-Las Cruces said. “Of that, $475,000 has been pledged by Democratic legislators and $168,000 has been promised from Republican legislators. The funding would be used for information technology, and medical and dental equipment. Many of us put money in the capital outlay bill, but we all now know that the session ended before any capital outlay could be approved.”

State Sen. Bill Soules, D-Las Cruces, said he pledged $100,000 of state funds allotted to him for public projects to be used to install broadband Internet lines, computers and phones for the new clinic.

“All of the local legislators put in some money to cover the entire $500,000 needed for IT improvements,” Soules said. “I offered $100,000 because I believe in the benefits a new clinic will provide to our residents.”

State Rep. Doreen Gallegos, D-Las Cruces, said she, too, didn’t hesitate to pledge capital outlay funds.

“They need that funding to help wire up the building,” Gallegos said. “In this age, that technology is crucial if adequate health care is going to be provided. We all need to work together to keep this project moving forward.”

Whether or not the capital outlay funds earmarked for the new clinic are approved, Martinez de Gonzales said the renovations will be done. But the state funds are important because if they do become available, that could notably reduce the bank loan La Clinica de Familia will have to secure to remodel the building.

“When you’re talking about almost three-quarters of a million dollars, that capital outlay funding becomes critical,” Martinez de Gonzales said.

Other improvements

In addition to the renovations, Martinez de Gonzales said La Clinica de Familia officials are exploring the possibility of installing solar panels on the roof to help mitigate electricity and energy costs. Also, a system to recycle water used in the building to irrigate plants and vegetation outside the building is also being considered.

Fundraising efforts to help offset costs to paint, decorate and maintain outdoor areas of the clinic are also planned.