Design-Build Firm Leads Five K–12 Projects in Colorado

Design-build firm The Neenan Company recently announced progress on five education projects in the state of Colorado, according to a news release. The renovations and replacements are intended to help each individual school achieve programming goals and provide students with spaces that promote opportunity, wellness, and safety.

“We are in the business of strengthening communities, and schools are fundamental to each community. It is our honor to use our expertise to enhance the safety, wellbeing and opportunities for the students of each of our projects,” said Neenan Senior Architect David Kurtz. “We believe that it is critical to build with our hearts, taking the time to view each of these communities as an extension of our own. With this, we find holistic solutions that are both efficient and help each school operate at their highest potential.”

The five projects include:

  • Peetz Plateau School District: Neenan led 75,000 square feet of renovations and additions to the district’s only preK–12 school. The space was designed to serve the community at large while also making student safety a priority. The facility’s previous complex system of hallways was replaced with a simpler layout which allows staff members to look down into each wing from the center of the building. The project is also aiming for a CHPS certification.
  • Dove Creek School District: Neenan broke ground on a 30,000-square-foot replacement for the district’s elementary school, which serves 118 students. The new elementary school will become a preK–12 campus that also houses district administration offices. Neenan also worked with the district to apply for—and win—a BEST grant.
  • Colorado Early Colleges: Neenan completed its third building on the Colorado Springs CEC campus, which serves students in elementary school through high school. The 51,000-square-foot renovated space plays home to students from the CEC Everest Point Homeschool Academy.
  • Greeley Key Explorers: A 5,100-square-foot adaptive reuse project transformed a retail space into a preschool in Greeley, Colo. The standalone building includes six classrooms, five single-use restrooms, and a warming kitchen, and it offers ADA accessibility.
  • Weldon Valley School District: Neenan previously added a middle/high-school wing and an elementary school wing to the historic structure. BEST grant funding will allow for the next phase of renovations: a full-size, wheelchair-accessible gym; an updated kitchen; and a vocational education workshop.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • abstract illustration of school gym

    How the Gymnasium Can Serve as a Model for Learning Space Design

    Multipurpose gyms work because flexibility was built into the brief from the start, not retrofitted later. The same logic applies to academic spaces.

  • KWK Architects Announces Full Transition to Lawrence Group Branding

    KWK Architects recently announced that it will complete its transition to the Lawrence Group brand effective July 1, according to a news release. The merger marks the end of a three-year strategic integration process that began in March 2023 to unite the firms.

  • St. John Fisher University

    Classroom Revitalization – Basil Hall Room 216

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. St. John Fisher University's Basil Hall Room 216 Classroom Revitalization has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of Spaces.

  • Philadelphia Middle School Facility Earns LEED Gold Certification

    The Alternative Middle Years (AMY) at James Martin Middle School in Philadelphia, Penn., recently received a LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, according to a news release. The School District of Pennsylvania partnered with KSS Architects on the project.