Dept. saves $3.1 million in annual lease costs
SANTA FE –About 160 additional workers with the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department recently moved into offices on the state-owned child wellness and education campus in southeast Albuquerque, New Mexico General Services Secretary Ken Ortiz announced Thursday.
More than 500 CYFD employees now work on the five-building campus, saving the department $3.1 million a year in costs for leased office space, CYFD Secretary Brian Blalock said.
“The move of additional CYFD employees to the campus marks another milestone in the extensive and successful renovation of the former Pinetree office complex for use by CYFD and other state agencies,” said Ortiz, whose department has managed the renovation and also maintains and operates the campus.
“The state-owned campus provides a centralized location for the children, youth and families that we serve,” Blalock said. “This new campus will help us better serve our families and children and support our staff while also saving state dollars.”
The additional CYFD employees who moved to the campus this month came from leased space in the Broadbent Business Park on Lamberton Place in northeast Albuquerque.
The move was made possible by the second phase of renovations of the campus buildings. That phase, at a cost of $29 million, includes upgrades to heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, roof replacements, interior remodeling and playground construction.
The first phase of renovations was completed in 2018 and included creation of CYFD’s Children’s Wellness Center, its Children’s Receiving Center and the department’s Statewide Central Intake. The cost of that phase was $20 million, includingpurchase of the former office complex with more than 200,000 square feet of space.
Following completion of phase one, about 360 CYFD workers moved to the campus from leased space on San Mateo Boulevard in southeast Albuquerque.
”The new campus was designed to be child-centered, featuring a trauma-responsive assessment center, enhanced family visitation space, updated technology for our call center, state-of-the-art training and classroom space, and an increased safety and security infrastructure,” Blalock said.
The third and final phase of campus renovations, projected at a cost of $8.7 million, is expected to be completed in 2023. It will include additional remodeling of office space.
Once phase three is completed, about 50 employees from the state’s new Early Childhood Education and Care Department will move onto the campus, as well as about 12 to 18 workers with the New Mexico Department of Veterans Services.
“The state investment in the child wellness and education campus has clearly been significant, but that investment will pay off in savings from leased space and in improved services for New Mexico families,” Ortiz said.
The child wellness and education campus is located on Indian School Road just east of Carlisle Boulevard.
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