Work is set to begin by early summer on the construction of a long-awaited new high school in Grand Junction, Colorado.
District school officials for years have been wanting to replace the current high school, located at 1400 N 5th Street, just to the north of downtown Grand Junction.
That two-story brick facility was built in 1955 and has been challenged by a few structural issues, including the cracking and sinking of its foundation.
Late last year Mesa County Valley School District 51 voters gave their approval to a $115 million bond that, along with an additional $10 million coming from the state’s Building Excellent Schools Today grant, will pay for construction of the new building.
Additional funding for the project is coming from just under $20 million approved in a 2017 bond measure.
New details regarding the project say the school will measure around 250,000 square feet and will go up just to the right of the existing school, with that facility slated to be demolished once the new building is completed.
A new sports field and parking lot will then be built on the land where the old school once stood.
The planned structure will be three stories in height, with a commons area devoted to both athletics and the performing arts.
Designer for the project is the Grand Junction-based Blythe Group.
If all goes well, it is expected that work on the new facility will be completed by the late summer of 2024, in time for that fall’s semester.
By Garry Boulard
