deming building to be renovated as new home for county health office

A one-story structure that currently serves as an outpatient rehabilitation center in Deming, New Mexico will soon be both renovated and expanded.

Located at 1510 S. Slate Street, the building, soon to be the home of the Luna County Public Health Office, is slated for around $1.5 million in work.

Funding for the project is made up of $749,000 recently awarded Luna County in Community Development Block grants by the State of New Mexico.

That funding is part of a larger $9.7 million in grant support for what are deemed “essential infrastructure projects” across the state that have been approved by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Unlike larger cities which receive Community Development Block Grants directly from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, smaller counties and cities in New Mexico are receiving such funding through the state-run New Mexico Community Development Council.

The block grant funding for the Luna County project will be combined with another $750,000 earlier approved by state lawmakers as a capital outlay appropriation.

In a statement, Victor Reyes, the governor’s legislative director, said the awarding of the community development grants “represent opportunities to create jobs and improve quality of life for hardworking New Mexicans.”

In an interview with the Deming Headlight newspaper, Luna County Manager Chris Brice said the Luna County Public Health Office’s current location at 215 S. Silver Avenue was “no longer tenable and refurbishing that building would be even more costly.”
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A schedule for when work will begin on the Slate Street structure has not yet been announced.

By Garry Boulard

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