ABC-7 speaks to a member of UTEP Heritage Commission
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Dr. P.J. Vierra led a presentation to El Paso County Commissioners yesterday explaining the historical significance of Core Heritage Sites and Buildings located on the University of Texas at El Paso campus and outlining concerns that nine historic buildings could be demolished.
Today, the university denied those claims.
Officials from UTEP provide the following statement to ABC-7:
“At an El Paso County Commissioners Court meeting, a member of the public misrepresented UTEP and our Campus Master Plan. He incorrectly suggested that a number of buildings will be demolished. That is incorrect. In fact, the master plan specifically says, “extreme care must be used . . . in order to maintain the integrity of the campus.”
The 2024 Campus Master Plan started by assessing the condition of every campus building and identified $348 million of deferred maintenance needed to bring UTEP’s 107 campus buildings up to standard. The Master Plan is a framework. Decisions on each building are made on a case-by-case basis as funds become available.
The Campus Master Plan was created with the input of hundreds of UTEP stakeholders and with the assistance of professional planners, including the DLR Group, MNK Architects, TenEyck Landscape Architects, EEA Consulting Engineers, Quantum Engineering, Walter P Moore Global Engineering Services and JBA1 Consulting.”
Dr. Vierra's presentation to county commissioners comes after UTEP President Heather Wilson shared the master plan with University of Texas board regents back in August.
"(Wilson) talked about deferred maintenance and a part of it was a slide, which she really did not discuss," Vierra said during his presentation.
"There are nine core historic buildings slated for demolition on campus, and there's been no public discussion about this whatsoever, and we're talking about the heritage and the legacy of this university."
During his presentation, Vierra discussed the history of the campus buildings.
"None of these core heritage buildings, 19 of them, since 1951, none of them have ever been demolished," he added. "This would be the first time one of those buildings would be demolished, and I'm concerned that we haven't had a conversation about that."
Dr. Vierra adds although he is a member of the UTEP Heritage commission, he does not speak for the commission as a whole.
