Developer hopes to buy former school site in D-11 for retail, brownstones

The former site of an alternative high school could house a coffee shop/deli, rental offices and a community room if the Colorado Springs School District 11 board approves the proposed sale.

The district wants to sell the former Bijou School site at 730 N. Walnut St. to real estate developer Eddie Bishop for $281,500. The district listed the property for $450,000 in July, when it issued a request for proposals on the Walnut Street property and two other schools.

According to information included with the agenda for this week’s D-11 board meeting, Bishop plans a small retail facility in the existing 5,600-square-foot building. When the real estate market improves, he plans to build single brownstone homes on the site. It’s not clear whether the brownstones would replace the retail center, and Bishop could not be reached Monday for comment.

The deal would not close until May or June, and is contingent on rezoning and financing approval.

This is the first proposal the board will consider to sell one of the properties shut down in May when Colorado Springs School District 11 closed nine schools. Some of the buildings have been converted to other uses and one was traded to the city, but the fate of others remains uncertain.

The district also put Irving Middle School and Ivywild Elementary School up for sale or lease in July.

No information has been released on Ivywild proposals and contracting director Kris Odom could not be reached Monday.

Only one proposal was received for Irving, and district officials said recently that it did not meet the requirements of the request for proposals. It came from the Irving Village Community, which proposed a partnership with the district to create an intergenerational center that could also house a vocational school.

While the specific proposal was rejected, the district is developing a concept for a career/tech center that could be housed at Irving.

At a breakfast gathering Monday organized by board member Bob Null, one Colorado Springs woman told members of the Irving Village group and D-11 Superintendent Nicholas Gledich about a partnership in Pueblo  that could serve as a model for a vocational school at Irving. Penny Whitney said Whitney Electric and a Pueblo middle school have teamed up to build a grant-funded integrated solar/wind demonstration project at the school.

Whitney said businesses are looking for communities with a trained workforce and are willing to partner with schools to make that happen.

She noted the “new energy economy” is hot now, and companies need skilled workers such as welders.

“This is a unique opportunity at this time and moment in this community,” Whitney said. “This is not a D-11 issue, it’s a community issue.”

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Call the writer at 636-0251.