The future meets the past in Highlands newest construction project

One of Las Vegas’ unique historic buildings will soon house New Mexico Highlands’ Media Arts program.

The Highlands Board of Regents approved the final architectural plans for historic Trolley Building during its January meeting, and construction is scheduled to begin June.

The finished building will utilize the Trolley Building’s existing exterior walls to maintain the historic feel of the structure, but the interior will feature state-of-the art classrooms, studios and open gallery space to highlight student work. The building will also feature an outdoor screen to showcase student films and will give a nod to the building’s past by incorporating rails leading into the former trolley bays.

“This new building will definitely be a great recruiting tool for our program,” said Kerry Loewen, chair of the media arts program. “We’re very excited to see this come to life.”

Albuquerque-based Baker Architecture + Design created the design for the new Media Arts Building, which is scheduled to open next summer. Revenue from the voter-approved GO Bond C for Higher Education helped fund the architectural plans.