San Juan Village cited over the summer

San Juan Village was cited by the City of Portales over the summer for not having the proper permits to complete minor renovations of their apartments.

One of the main forms of student housing for both Eastern New Mexico University and Clovis Community College students, San Juan Village has apartments located next to ENMU.

According to the website for the apartment complex, the new renovations included new plumbing fixtures, lighting and new furnishings such as queen size beds.

“They were doing some renovations to the rooms there at San Juan, and they didn’t go through the proper procedures with the city. They simply didn’t notify anyone that they were doing this work to the building,” said Vice-President of Student Affairs Jeff Long.

Although it only provides housing to college students, San Juan Village is not part of ENMU but is a privately-operated entity owned by Port Equity LLC, which does not have to go through university officials to conduct renovations.

“It used to be owned and operated by the university, which was before I started working here. The building was sold to a private company, and then it was sold again to another private company about a year or so ago, who operate it now. They have their own management team over there,” said Long.

In order to get the proper permits, businesses must go through both the City of Portales, as well as the New Mexico Licensing Department, before any type of construction can begin. This is to ensure construction is being done correctly and safely and that everything is up to code, according to the City of Portales website.

San Juan Village acquired the necessary permits from the City of Portales and completed all renovations before students began moving in on Aug. 10.

Officials at Port Equity LLC did not respond to requests for comment.