A lot has been happening behind the walls of the Alamosa School District’s Main Street building.
In 2024, the school district purchased the shuttered headquarters of the former Friday Health Plans for $2.3 million and has been remodeling the downtown property to serve as its administrative headquarters and a new school for Alamosa Alternative and Alamosa Online students.
“The final pieces are coming in,” says Adrian Ramirez, who has been overseeing the construction project as head of facilities for Alamosa Schools.
Ramirez and Assistant School Superintendent Luis Murillo provide updates to the project in the latest episode of the Alamosa School District podcast. Listen to the full episode here.
Tentative open house dates have been set for Feb. 23 for students and parents of the Alamosa Alternative and Alamosa Online schools, and Feb. 25 for a community-wide tour of the new offices and school space.
Those dates are contingent to the school district receiving a certificate of occupancy from building code inspectors. The new school headquarters is at 700 Main St.
Asbestos abatement has been a “huge obstacle” during the renovation, Ramirez said on the podcast.
Features for the school portion of the building include an open commons area, showers, a laundry room, and bigger classrooms.
“It’s going to be eye-opening for them,” Ramirez says of how students will react.
The Alamosa City Council approved a rezoning to allow for students to attend school downtown. The city placed a cap of 100 students on the downtown campus.
The building has a dedicated parking lot along San Juan Avenue for administrative staff, teachers and students.
Safety features include an on-site resource officer, security cameras for monitoring the parking lot, and secure building entrances.
“We’re excited to have our students be more of the downtown vibrancy,” said Murillo. ‘They’re going to be the workforce for downtown, the workforce for our small businesses. The hope is people downtown see these kids and want to employ them.”