State agency support space near the Roundhouse, from storage and maintenance shops to mechanical rooms and loading areas, has to be built around buildings that are older, busier and more public than most industrial sites. We build that support work and plan it with the same care a client would expect from a trusted facilities partner.
The New Mexico State Capitol, known as the Roundhouse, was built from 1964 to 1966 and dedicated December 8, 1966, at a cost of $4,676,860 for 232,346 square feet. It is the only circular state capitol in the United States and part of a complex with executive agency offices and the New Mexico Supreme Court and Court of Appeals. A building that unusual produces unusual mechanical, electrical and structural conditions, and project crews expect to find them.
Our work in the area includes renovations and modernization of older equipment rooms, site concrete and ADA compliance for walks and loading zones, and new shops or storage buildings for agencies that outgrow their current space. Each project needs a plan that respects public use of the grounds.
A public campus with its own rhythm
The legislature meets on a calendar, courts hold hearings, and agencies keep regular hours, so the best times for noisy or disruptive work are limited. We map those rhythms before scheduling, and we propose work that avoids session weeks, public events and peak parking hours. The Rail Runner’s South Capitol station, which serves the capitol area, opened December 17, 2008, and it brings steady foot traffic that our plans also take into account. Work in the neighboring Railyard District and in the Plaza and historic district has to reckon with the same crowds, and we coordinate staging across all three when an owner has projects in more than one.
The Bataan Memorial Building at 407 Galisteo Street was completed in 1900 as the third Territorial Capitol, was remodeled in Territorial Revival style from 1949 to 1952 with the dome removed and a five-story tower added, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 28, 2025. A listing like that sets expectations for any work nearby.
Older buildings and current codes
The 1992 Capitol renovation included committee room expansion, asbestos abatement, and mechanical, electrical and accessibility improvements, and the building was rededicated December 4, 1992. It is a useful reminder of what public buildings from the 1960s need as they age: hazardous material surveys, new building systems and improved access.
The 2021 New Mexico Commercial Building Code adopts the 2021 International Building Code as amended, and the 2021 New Mexico Existing Building Code governs alterations to existing buildings. Our permitting and entitlements coordination sorts out which code applies to which scope, including which items trigger accessibility upgrades.
Sequencing around session weeks and public hours
We build schedules for public campuses with fixed no-work periods and protected access routes. Demolition, concrete cutting and heavy deliveries go in off-peak windows, usually evenings, weekends or between sessions, while finish work is held for hours when staff are away. A written calendar shows each restriction and each hand-off.
Because public procurement can lengthen lead times, we help owners identify the long-lead items early. Our long-lead procurement management tracks electrical gear, mechanical units and custom doors so that approval and delivery do not become the critical path.
Where a building must stay occupied, we split the work into zones and complete each zone before moving to the next. Staff can return to a finished area while the next one is still closed, and utility shutdowns are limited to short, announced periods. We confirm every shutdown with the building engineer a week ahead and again the day before, since a missed notice on a public campus is far harder to repair than a delay in the schedule.
Quiet, documented and accessible
Public work succeeds when it is documented. We keep daily logs, photographs of existing conditions and inspection records, and we share them with the owner on a regular schedule. For work near occupied offices, we use dust barriers, negative air where needed and a plan for relocating occupants during noisy tasks.
Accessibility is part of the work, not an extra. When we pour or replace a walk, we match slopes, cross-slopes and landings to the accessible route, and we check them before the concrete sets. This protects the owner from rework and the public from poorly designed paths.
Public and support buildings we handle
The project types we take on include government and municipal support buildings such as maintenance shops, warehouses, vehicle bays and mechanical enclosures, as well as storage space for records and equipment. We also work with office buildings that need a new equipment room or loading area.
Owners of larger campuses sometimes ask about utilities and power improvements, such as emergency generator pads and fuel storage. We pour the pads, place the conduits and coordinate the tie-in during a planned outage. Because campus buildings often share central equipment, we trace each service from source to point of use before cutting anything, which prevents the kind of accidental shutdown that gets noticed by hundreds of people at once.
Plan capitol-area support work
Tell us what the building or system needs to do, who occupies the space and which weeks are off-limits. We will build a plan that fits the calendar of the people who use the campus.
Common Questions
Can you work in or near the Roundhouse without disrupting the legislature?
Yes, if the schedule is built around the legislative calendar. We avoid session weeks for noisy or disruptive work, schedule heavy deliveries off-peak and use barriers and negative air where occupied space is nearby. The owner approves each restriction in writing.
How do older public buildings affect scope and cost?
They add investigation. Older buildings can contain asbestos, outdated electrical systems and structural details that do not match current drawings. We survey first, price what we find and carry a clear allowance for what we cannot see, so the owner knows how much uncertainty remains.
Which codes govern alterations to existing state buildings?
The 2021 New Mexico Commercial Building Code applies to new construction, and the 2021 New Mexico Existing Building Code applies to alterations to existing buildings. Accessibility and fire requirements can be triggered by the extent of work. Your design team confirms the exact package at permit time.
What do you do about historic listing of nearby buildings?
We treat listed buildings as constraints: we avoid physical contact, limit vibration, protect finishes and document conditions before work. If a project could affect a listed property, we involve the design team and the appropriate reviewers early.
Can a small support building be completed quickly?
A well-defined small building can move quickly once approvals are in hand and long-lead items are ordered. Public procurement, review and utility connection usually set the pace. We give owners a schedule that separates what we control from what we do not.