ALAMOSA — Executive staff and board members with the Alamosa School District (ASD) met with Alamosa City Council members and city staff Wednesday night. 

The work session, which lasted several hours, was held to determine how ASD goes forward with purchasing property downtown to use as a site for two schools and administrative offices.  

ASD currently has under contract a property known locally as the “Friday building,” named for the health insurance company that used to occupy the space. The 22,000 square foot facility is located at 700 Main St., right in the middle of Alamosa’s Central Business District. With the exception of a handful of Friday staff still occasionally onsite, the building has been vacant since the company went bankrupt in 2023.  

The district is in desperate and immediate need of space for administrative offices, as the lease where they are currently situated runs out in November. Also, two separate high schools in the district — the Alamosa Alternative School and the Alamosa Online School – are in significant need of a larger space to accommodate their student populations.  

ASD constructing a new building to meet both classroom and office space is cost prohibitive, which made their decision to buy the Friday building a sensible next step. They now have the building under contract for $2.3 million.  

As Superintendent Diana Jones explained to council, at the time they signed a contract to buy the building, they were unaware of two existing code restrictions that could prevent the purchase from going forward. 

First, Alamosa’s building code does not allow educational use of a building located in the Central Business District.  

Last week, the district took their case before Alamosa’s Planning Commission, who indicated they were okay with agreeing to a variance on the code as a conditional use. With that recommendation, the Planning Commission forwarded the request to city council, who has the ultimate authority to make the change or not.  

Should city council approve the variance, the project itself will return to the commission, at which time, members of the commission may require certain conditions to be agreed to before approving the variance and returning to council for a second and final vote. 

The second topic relates to the sale of liquor.  

There is no existing ordinance in Alamosa’s governance that prohibits liquor from being sold within a certain proximity of a school. But there is an ordinance disallowing council from issuing a liquor license to any business – such as a bar, restaurant or hotel – located within 400 feet.  

A change in the ordinance would have no impact on existing businesses already operating with a liquor license in the Central Business District. But, changing the code to allow a school while also having an ordinance that prohibits issuing a liquor license within 400 feet of that school could have major implications on future business opportunities downtown.  

The school district is clear that they do not want the city to limit its own growth potential and are asking city council to eliminate the 400-foot barrier.  

Both of those ordinances – no educational buildings in the Central Business District and no issuing liquor licenses within 400 feet of a school - will be up for first reading on the agenda for Alamosa City Council’s next meeting. 

There is another issue for consideration, as was obvious during the public comment of the work session. 

Since its creation, Alamosa’s Downtown Design Plan has been, essentially, a blueprint for much, if not all, major decisions made by the city related to downtown projects. The goal is to make Alamosa’s downtown business district dynamic, vibrant and increasingly attractive to shoppers and tourists, resulting in a thriving downtown economy. 

The Main Street Advisory Committee, comprised of downtown business owners, community leaders and office holders, was created to advise city council on the implementation of the downtown plan.  Given their make-up, they also provide a deliberative review of any changes to the plan with a strong focus on the impact to businesses. 

The downtown plan has always placed a priority on using space downtown for retail outlets. Given its location, that would be especially true in deciding future owners and occupants of the Friday building. 

With that in mind, Supt. Jones told the council that ASD plans to put a small retail outlet on the first floor of the building where Alamosa “Mean Moose” swag will be sold. 

During public comment, students attending Alamosa Alternative Schools were passionate in their request for a new school. Comments from members of the Main Street Advisory Committee were more mixed.  

All agreed that education is a priority for the future and a new school was important for the students, but some felt locating it elsewhere would serve downtown – and implementation of the downtown plan – in a better way. Yet, others on the committee expressed full support for the relocation. 

When asked about what stand the committee is taking, City Manager Heather Sanchez said that no vote had been taken. 

But she shared that, while all assumed the downtown plan would not recommend a building used for educational purposes downtown, city staff found a clause in the plan that says that use could actually be beneficial but it’s a decision to be carefully considered. 

At this point, no decision has been made and negotiations are ongoing. When asked for her take on the status of the conversation, Sanchez simply said, “The city and school district have great respect for each other.”