Board approves $2.35 million renovation to house CSST Innovation High School at UCCS

The Colorado Springs School District 11 Board of Education voted to award contract C2025-1012 to AP Mountain States LLC, doing business as Adolphson & Peterson Construction, to renovate 7,300 square feet inside the University of Colorado Colorado Springs cybersecurity building for the district’s new Colorado Springs School of Technology (CSST) Innovation High School.

District leaders said the renovation will create classrooms, collaborative space and small kitchen/warming areas to support career- and technical-education programming, internships and concurrent-enrollment partnerships with UCCS. Chief presentation staff described the work as a design-build procurement chosen to meet a compressed schedule; the guaranteed maximum price in the motion is $2,350,000 and the period of performance listed in the motion is March 17, 2025, to Aug. 15, 2025.

Board members were told Adolphson & Peterson (AMP) submitted the top-ranked proposal after a competitive solicitation that produced five responsive proposals. The district said AMP offered the strongest technical approach, an organized plan to meet the tight timeline and a detailed line-item GMP intended to limit cost risk. The contract authorizes design and construction work to ready the space for staff and students in summer 2025.

Why it matters: The site places a new innovation high school on a college campus and next to local cybersecurity industry partners, district leaders said, allowing easier access to industry mentorship, job-shadowing and work-based learning. The project is intended to make the new school fully operational for the 2025–26 school year.

Board action and vote: Director Carey moved the contract award; the motion passed in roll call 6–1 (Directors Bankes, Carey, Haefeli, Jorgensen, Melpakam and Nelson voted yes; Director Ott voted no). The contracting officer will issue notice to proceed following completion of procurement documents and standard contract steps.

Implementation details and next steps: The district said some long-lead materials have already been ordered to keep the schedule on track. District staff also noted existing UCCS classroom space may be available as overflow if needed during construction. The board requested continued updates on schedule, enrollment and any cost or scope changes.

Provenance: The motion language, contractor name and dollar amount were read into the record as part of the motion (contract C2025-1012), and the roll-call vote and final announcement that the contract was awarded appear later in the meeting transcript. The board acknowledged the project’s visibility and asked staff to notify board members about any public celebration when the space is ready.

Ending: The board directed staff to proceed with contract finalization and to return with routine construction updates; the campus renovation remains on schedule for summer completion so the new CSST Innovation High School can open in August 2025.