Nathan graduated with his journalism degree from Auburn University in 2017. After growing up in the flatlands of rural Alabama with his parents and older sister, Nathan enjoys Western Colorado's natural resources and recreational opportunities. He currently covers education and business for The Daily Sentinel.
The Mesa County Valley School District 51 Board of Education recently got its first real peek into the future of Central High School.
During an early August board meeting, Dynamic Program Management's Micah Adams presented a slideshow, compiled by construction entities Blythe Group + Co. and DLR Group, detailing current plans for Central renovations.
In November 2024, Mesa County voters passed bond measures approving improvements across D51. The most sizable project approved was $68 million for Central, solving the building's ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) shortcomings, providing a more secure entrance and building new and improved classroom spaces across campus.
Recently completed work on the project includes a schematic design and estimate, testing helical piers and a shear wave velocity test. Work in progress includes design development, design advisory group meetings, user group meetings, weekly owner-architect-contractor (OAC) meetings and construction phasing and planning.
Upcoming work includes a Sept. 10 community open house, design document completion by mid-October and construction beginning in the summer of 2026.
The first areas that have been marked for demolition include the existing locker rooms and weight room in the south center of campus, the south side of Fetter Hall (which houses the library and classes), the original 1959 original two-story building on the northwest corner of campus.
"In order to build the two-story classroom addition, those two lower red areas will need to be demolished, so those are two of the first areas to be demolished," Adams said. "We're working with (Central Principal) Zeb (Hayward) to work on plans for where those classrooms will be relocated to temporarily with a mix of modulars and finding some use within the existing building."
The southwest corner of campus, which is currently the main entrance and administrative office area, will be converted into the new locker room, wrestling room and weight room space. During this renovation, Adams said, a modular or two will be placed out front for administration.
"The goal is to get the locker rooms and the weight room and wrestling room constructed as soon as possible and starting there so that, because of the weight room and locker room demolition over on the east side, we can get those areas of the building opened back up over on the west side and ready for use before the rest of the building turns over," Adams said.
The new administration area and primary entrance, including the new vestibule, will be built atop the demolished old locker rooms and weight room, east of the basketball courts.
Other changes Adams listed included counseling moving from the northwest corner to the center of campus, the existing wrestling room becoming the school's ROTC space, and Fetter Hall being renovated for more special education classrooms.
In one of the new buildings that will serve as the new main entrance, there will be a second floor, accessible by stairs or elevator. The left side of the second-floor hallway will feature science classrooms, and the right side will feature general education classrooms as well as a teachers' lounge.
In order for planned work, Adams said, the baseball field will be implemented as a construction access point, meaning for two years, the Central High School baseball team will need to practice elsewhere, such as Canyon View Park.
"That will need to be offline for two seasons, as that's where construction access will primarily need to come through. Students will still be in class at Fetter Hall and the 300 building during construction, so for access to Fetter Hall, you'll go through the courtyard into the west end of the building, and then part of the work scheduled for next summer will be to do some renovations in there, get it ready and poke a hole through the side of the building so students can access the 300 building from that northside," Adams said.
"Since students are going that way to get to class, construction really will have to be accessed off the bus loop, so they'll need a chunk of the field for their offices or laydown areas, everything like that."
Adams added that FCI will provided a fenced, roofed walkway for students between Fetter Hall and the 300 building.
He noted about the general design of the school: "It will be nice having all the main entry and the admin there in the southeast corner, but then being able to separate the building nicely where there's a lot of after-hours events that can use the entry on the west side like athletics and the theater. You can kind of split the school into two zones and control where people are going after hours instead of just giving them free range for the whole school."