A Request for Proposals has been issued by the Albuquerque Public Schools system asking for the design of a new school that will go up within the borders of the Kirtland Air Force Base on the southeast side of the city.
APS officials have frequently talked about replacing the two-story Sandia Base Elementary School, whose official address is 21001 Wyoming SE, and is regarded as outdated.
The school serves as the home to nearly 500 students made up of the children of families living on the base as well as those from the surrounding neighborhood.
The RFP is asking for an architectural vision of what the new school might look like, offering a schematic design and design development, among other documents.
The school was a part of the original Sandia Base, providing instruction for thousands of students in the post-World War II decades, before that base was merged with Kirtland in 1971.
An extensive renovation of the facility, which also saw the construction of several new classrooms, was undertaken in the early 1990s at a cost of $718,000.
APS hopes to eventually secure up to $22.5 million in funding from the Department of Defense for the new school in a multiple award construction contract.
The submission deadline for the RFP is May 8.
By Garry Boulard
