When CNM opened in 1965, classes were held for 150 students in the former University Heights Elementary School, as well as in buildings that once served as military barracks and some cottages on the corner of Coal Ave. and Buena Vista SE. This site, which became the CNM Main Campus, now encompasses about 60 acres. The former elementary school is now home to the President's Office and known as the Louis E. Saavedra Administration Building.
The Main Campus today has 14 buildings with classrooms and offices. A new state-of-the-art, 106,500-square-foot Student Resource Center, erected next to Jeannette Stromberg Hall and the Heights Community Center, opened in Fall 2010. Renovations and enhancements continue throughout the campus.