When school lets out this summer, crews could begin the work to take down the 1949 academic building at Alamo Heights High School.
But during a hearing in Alamo Heights City Council chambers on Tuesday, a panel charged with reviewing the school district’s request to demolish the building hit an impasse.
The architectural review board (ARB) voted not to recommend approval or denial of a request to raze the school building at 6900 Broadway St. In its place, the district wants to construct a new academic building that would open in 2026.
Instead, the board agreed to disagree, leaving the council to decide if the district can proceed with its plans.
The case is scheduled to be considered by the City Council in February.
The district is looking to replace the main academic building with a new 148,350-square-foot structure that will feature larger classrooms, more outdoor space and a secure vestibule. The new building will be 30,000 square feet larger than the existing one and take its place among half a dozen buildings on the campus.
During construction, students would attend classes in portable buildings installed on the school’s practice field.
The cost for the project is estimated at $116 million. Voters approved the 2023 bond project in May, though the bond language did not specify that the building would be demolished.
“We’re excited about bringing it up to the standard that a lot of our schools and students need or the way that they learn today,” said Cory Smith, principal of Alamo Heights High School.
The new building is being designed to reflect the look of the demolished building, maintaining “that traditional civic presence along Broadway,” she added.
One significant difference between the buildings is an increase in height, from two stories to three. The third floor will be set back from the main facade, according to documents submitted by architecture firm, LPA Design Studios.
Site plans also show that all but about nine of the existing 28 trees surrounding the building will remain on the site and solar panels on the building will be removed and reinstalled.
Texas Education Agency standards call for classroom size to be at least 750 square feet, about 100 square feet larger than the high school’s current classrooms.
The new classrooms are planned as 800-square-foot spaces, with others even larger to provide collaborative and multipurpose rooms. There also will be some outdoor learning environments, Smith said.
Demolition of the Bartlett Cocke-designed building was found to be the best solution to increasing classroom sizes due to columns within the existing building’s design, said Mike Hagar, the district’s bond construction manager. “You couldn’t lay out new classrooms without columns being within the classrooms themselves.”
Putting an addition on the building and doing renovations also does not resolve the space limitations, Hagar said.
“Adding on just compounded the issue of [having] a lack of space on the campus itself and the way that the old building was sort of taking up space — it’s not an efficient way to use the property that the high school is on,” he said.
At least two ARB members questioned that decision, saying they felt the existing building could be renovated or the facade saved.
Sara Flowers, studio director in the San Antonio office of LPA Design Studios, said structural assessments and a cost analysis were conducted and considered.
“We did an extensive study at the school board’s direction to understand what it would take to maintain the existing facility, the existing facade, and it was determined that the best path forward for our learners that we’re trying to accommodate on this property was to demolish and begin again,” Flowers said.
Construction also would take longer — until 2030, she said.
A list of items in the school that the district wants to be salvaged before demolition has been started, Flowers added.
“We understand that this is a generational community and we’re trying to be as respectful as we can while addressing the concerns of a more modern learner,” she said.
Some Alamo Heights residents questioned the need for a new building and the expense, and at least one said he did not know about the plans to demolish the school building.
“The bond that we voted for — I can’t remember it saying that this building would be razed,” said Robert Walker, who said he is a 1959 graduate of the school.
A promotional flier and presentation slides with an overview of the bond projects do not mention demolition, but state plans for “new academic and admin buildings” at the high school.
Hagar told the San Antonio Report that he spoke about the demolition at a number of community meetings before the bond election and answered questions from the public.
The ARB also previewed preliminary designs for a new academic building, mostly complimenting the renderings that showed a modern structure with an entry doorway similar to the current one and wide stairways leading to courtyards.
“Notwithstanding the demolition of the other building, this building, I think, fits the bill for our neighborhood and for our students,” said ARB Chairman John Gaines.
But as the board returned to the issue of “signficance” in determining whether the building was worth saving, and if they could approve the request to demolish, the group was split 3-3. It eventually voted to submit the case to the council without any recommendation.
District officials will present design renderings to the public at 6 p.m. on Jan. 24, at Woodridge Elementary School.
Ahead of any demolition, Smith said the district is planning a “farewell tour” of the building for the school’s alumni, staff and members of the community. The tour is scheduled for April 10.
This article has been updated to correctly state the time of the Jan. 24 meeting at Woodridge Elementary School.
