Consultants present redevelopment options, costs for district's former junior high

Consultants from Ayers and a state redevelopment partnership presented draft findings to the Platte County School District #1 board on a plan for the district's former junior high, outlining environmental, structural and financial factors and asking the board for priorities to guide a final report.

The consultants summarized the building's history and current use, reported results from two asbestos surveys and gave order-of-magnitude cost estimates that the board could use to compare demolition, land sale, adaptive reuse and redevelopment scenarios.

Ayers and Associates representative (Speaker 2) said the building, which was built in 1927 with later additions, still houses functions including a daycare, gym space and storage. "We estimate the environmental cleanup cost to be about $1,100,000, and the demolition just under $400,000," the presenter said, adding that the state has offered roughly $1,300,000 in funding for demolition and abatement. The consultant also reported that a 2023 asbestos survey took 72 samples and 10 returned positive results in materials such as floor tile, pipe insulation and plaster tape.

Consultants noted the site is not fully vacant: their rough calculations showed about 61% of the first floor and about 47.5% of the whole building remain in use. They estimated roughly 18,000 square feet of active space (gym, storage, daycare) that would be displaced if the building were demolished; replacing that off-site could cost in the neighborhood of $300,000, they said.

A range of options were discussed. The simplest, lowest-cost path is demolition and sale of subdivided lots, which would reduce maintenance costs but risks losing the historic character and may leave the district holding vacant land. Adaptive reuse scenarios described by the consultants included a community kitchen, artists' and makerspace, expanded childcare and multi-tenant office or nonprofit space; consultants cited the Laramie Civic Center as a local example of a former school converted to theater, artist and office space.

Several board members and residents emphasized two priorities: creating an in-town recreation center to address a persistent local shortage of gym space, or pursuing housing (including possible teacher housing) on or using the existing structure. One board member proposed preserving the 1927 front façade and building a new rec center behind it; consultants agreed to assess whether partial demolition and façade retention would be structurally feasible.

Consultants said the grant funding that supported the draft report cannot pay for full engineering or construction drawings but can fund conceptual drawings and community outreach; they offered to produce conceptual boards to aid grant applications and to help the district solicit developers or partners. Board members also noted they are awaiting a state study that a state official told the board should begin "within the next two months," which will clarify allowable uses of state funds.

Next steps: consultants will circulate a revised draft for comment, run feasibility numbers on the rec-center and housing scenarios the board prioritized, and (if requested) arrange a structural engineer to assess whether partial retention is practicable. The board did not take formal action tonight; consultants asked community members to submit feedback before the next draft.