Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Fort Collins to Convert 1980s Office Park into Junior High School

  • By Matt Jones
  • 04/01/25

The Liberty Common School, a charter-public school in Fort Collins, Colo., recently broke ground on an adaptive reuse project that will convert an 1980s-era office park into a 45,000-square-foot junior high school for seventh- and eighth-grade students, according to a news release. The school currently has three campuses—two for K–6 students, and one for 7–12 students. The school is partnering with design-build firm Neenan Archistruction on the project, which is scheduled to open in fall 2025.

The work involves renovating two existing buildings into classrooms, connected by a new facility that will house the gymnasium and cafeteria, the news release reports. Creating a single facility will provide safety and security benefits and streamline campus navigation. Parking spaces around the facility will be converted into green, outdoor spaces for student use.

“All of our partners on this project have been absolutely wonderful,” said Bill Pigg, Neenan Archistruction president. “We’ve had the privilege of working with Liberty Common School once again, and their commitment to providing a classical education is truly inspiring. We also appreciate the collaborative efforts of Jeff Jensen, the building’s owner representative, and the City of Fort Collins, whose support was crucial in securing our permits.”

The full design-build process will take about ten months, compared to the average charter-school-construction time of about 15 months, the news release reports. Neenan partnered with the school to review both new construction and adaptive reuse options for the new junior high school. The office park was both financially efficient and close to an existing campus.

“Transforming an outdated office building into a fully functional school campus takes a great deal of planning and coordination, and we are incredibly grateful for our partnership with Neenan and the City of Fort Collins in bringing this vision to life,” said Kathleen Kearney, Liberty Common Junior High School principal and project manager. “A student’s environment plays a vital role in their education and we can’t wait to welcome Liberty Common Junior High students to their new campus this fall.”

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Agricultural Sciences Complex

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The College of Western Idaho's Agricultural Sciences Complex has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of New Construction.

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • school building with glowing circuit board patterns

    AI Is Coming to Schools — But Most School Buildings Still Run on Institutional Memory

    As school districts race to introduce AI into classrooms, administration, and curriculum planning, another conversation is happening behind the scenes: How prepared are school facilities themselves for the operational demands AI will create?

  • R.I. District Holds Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for New Elementary School

    Cranston Public Schools in Cranston, R.I., recently announced the completion of Gladstone Elementary School, according to a news release. The 100,000-square-foot facility serves as a replacement for the 1950s-era former building, and it consolidates the student, faculty, and staff populations of Gladstone and Arlington Elementary Schools.