NMSU Board of Regents reviewing proposal to demolish old antenna towers near ‘A’ Mountain in Las Cruces

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico (KVIA) -- The NMSU Board of Regents is "reviewing a proposal to demolish the tower structures on NMSU property west of 'A' Mountain," according to an NMSU spokesperson.

ABC-7 spoke with Las Cruces residents Tuesday who say the towers and nearby abandoned buildings need to be demolished due to safety and vagrancy concerns.

According to a report from the Defense Technical Information Center, the towers were once part of an antenna range, built by the Physical Science Laboratory (PSL) at NMSU back in the 1960s.

Now, nearby residents say the towers and nearby structures on the site in their current state are an eyesore, and could be dangerous.

“They need to tear ‘em all down," said Joe Mcclarin, who lives just down the street from the structures.

He told ABC-7 Monday that he can see a large graffiti tag on one of the abandoned buildings from his own home.

He’s also concerned that the towers, constructed of wood, are now rotting and falling apart, and he’s worried someone could get seriously hurt if they attempt to climb them.

“If [kids] crawl up on those towers, something’s gonna break, and they’re gonna fall down and die," he said.

Mcclarin says fences have been put up around the property since the last time he visited the property a week ago, but believes they’re simply a "Band-Aid" to a larger problem.

“Any kid with a pickup and a chain can come tear them right down, and obviously they spend a lot of time over here with all the [graffiti] tags," he added.

NMSU says the proposal to demolish the buildings will be discussed during a Board of Regents meeting on December 12th.

Stay tuned both on-air and online at KVIA.com for their decision.