Wearing t-shirts showing the year they’ll graduate, future students turned shovels of dirt to celebrate construction on the district’s third high school on July 21, 2016.

Site work is already underway at the 70-acre site. Heavy equipment rolled through the site even during ceremonies, stressing the large amount of work to be done before the school’s opening, planned for the fall of 2018. The new school is the beneficiary of Brighton School District 27J’s successful $248 million 2015 bond election. The desperately needed school will alleviate overcrowding at the district’s other two high schools which are operating on split schedules to accommodate students.

The school will be located on the site’s highest point, providing a full 360 degree view of the metro area and of the mountains.

Last week’s groundbreaking was attended by City Council members, District personnel, School Board members, the design team, and contractors. The 2030 shirts on the youngest students give a strong sense of the school’s long-term role in the community.

Site Features

Design Concepts worked with DLR Group and the CM/GC, Saunders Construction, to design state-of-the-art athletic facilities. The district’s needs included providing an athletics stadium with grandstands, pressbox, 8-lane 400m track, and football/soccer/lacrosse field with striping inlaid into a synthetic turf field. There are also natural turf fields for game and practice play. The school will have three ballfields for softball and baseball programs, and their tennis program will have post-tensioned courts.

Water Saving Solutions

To conserve water usage, this site has minimal irrigated turf outside of the athletic fields, as well as native and xeric plantings to limit the total amount of irrigation. Student gathering areas are located at both the north and south main entries.

Design Concepts is excited to be a part of 27J’s future and to see this new educational facility take shape!