News Release
April 27, 2005
North High School And Valdez Elementary School Master Planning Committee Roll Out Redesign Plans At Community Meeting May 16
The master planning committee leading the redesign of the North High School-Valdez Elementary School campus will host a community meeting at 7 p.m. Monday, May 16 at North High School.
The architects will present the plan and gather input from the community about the plan to redevelop both schools and surrounding athletic fields and playgrounds.
The committee of community members, district staff, and city and state agency representatives has been working for almost a year studying the site and meeting with the community to gather input. Its charge is to develop a master plan to make the campus a model of school reform and facility design for the 21st century.
"This is the first such master plan that the district has undertaken and everyone is very excited about the ability to develop this master plan in concert with many city and state agencies," said Larry Williams, Manager of Facilities Planning, Denver Public Schools Department of Facility Management.
The 35-acre parcel is home to North High School, Valdez Elementary School and a building that formerly housed the Denver Arts & Technology Academy charter school. The site is adjacent to Viking Park and the Ashland Recreation Center and stretches from Federal Blvd. on the west to Zuni St. on the east. It borders W. 29th Ave. and Speer Blvd. on the south and W. 32nd Ave. and Dunkeld Place on the north. Thousands of motorists pass the land - dominated by the classic Beaux-Arts style structure of North High School - every day.
Participants in the planning effort include the City and County of Denver Planning Department, the Landmark Preservation Commission, Denver Parks and Recreation, and Denver Public Schools faculty, administrators and staff.
The 2003 General Obligation Bond approved by voters includes approximately $5 millions dollars to fund the project's master plan and the first phase of redevelopment. This funding is supplemented by a $29,510 grant from the State Historic Fund for a Historic Structures Assessment for North High School (to evaluate the condition of the existing building and estimate the costs required to preserve and restore the historic structure.) The balance of the funding required to realize the master plan would come from a future General Obligation Bond.
North High School is located at 2960 N. Speer Blvd. For information, call Larry Williams, 720-423-4122.