Neenan Archistruction Breaks Ground on Liberty Common Junior High School
Neenan Archistruction, a leading design-build firm known for its innovative construction solutions, and Liberty Common School, a Fort Collins charter-public school focused on the Core Knowledge Curriculum and classically oriented education, are excited to announce the groundbreaking of a new campus for its junior-high students. Set to open in fall 2025, this adaptive reuse project will transform an office park at 1825 Sharp Point Drive into a 45,000-square-foot school building designed to serve seventh and eighth graders.
Liberty Common School Project Details
The project will expand Liberty Common School’s operations across four campuses — which currently includes two campuses for kindergarten through sixth grade, and another for seventh through twelfth grade. The new campus is a dedicated space for its junior-high students, allowing the school to better meet the needs of this age group.
The new campus will convert two existing buildings into classrooms connected with an added space housing a regulation-sized gymnasium and cafeteria. Connecting the buildings was critical to enhancing security and streamlining the campus layout. Surrounding the buildings, parking areas will be replaced with green spaces, offering outdoor areas for student use. Construction will unfold in two phases, with the first phase focused on the classrooms and administrative spaces, which are set to welcome students in August 2025.
While typical charter-school-construction projects take around 15 months to complete, Neenan will design, permit and build the new Liberty Common Junior High School in just 10 months — ensuring the initial school building is ready for the 2025–2026 school year. This accelerated timeline is a particularly remarkable achievement considering the project required several state and city approvals
“All of our partners on this project have been absolutely wonderful,” said Bill Pigg, president of Neenan Archistruction. “We’ve had the privilege of working with Liberty Common School once again, and their commitment to providing a classical education is truly inspiring. We also appreciate the collaborative efforts of Jeff Jensen, the building’s owner representative, and the City of Fort Collins, whose support was crucial in securing our permits.”
To determine the best building solution for Liberty Common School, Neenan worked closely with the school team to evaluate options for both adaptive reuse and new construction. The site was ultimately selected for its financial efficiency as well as its proximity to an existing campus and alignment with the school’s design goals. Created with long-term flexibility in mind, the campus will be able to adapt to the evolving needs of its students, ensuring its continued usefulness for years to come.
“Transforming an outdated office building into a fully-functional school campus takes a great deal of planning and coordination, and we are incredibly grateful for our partnership with Neenan and the City of Fort Collins in bringing this vision to life,” said Kathleen Kearney, Liberty Common Junior High School principal and project manager. “A student’s environment plays a vital role in their education and we can’t wait to welcome Liberty Common Junior High students to their new campus this fall.”
About Liberty Common: Liberty Common School is a public, tuition-free, classically-oriented school chartered by the Poudre School District in Fort Collins, Colorado. Liberty Common School provides a k–12 pathway to college, cultivating students to become critical thinkers educated in the “Great Tradition” and leaders who succeed in selective four-year colleges and beyond.
About Neenan Archistruction: Neenan Archistruction strengthens and builds communities across the country with an integrated and entrepreneurial approach to design, construction and development projects. Founded in 1966, the Colorado-based firm is a pioneer of the design-build model and specializes in creating commercial, education, health care and community facilities that generate economic vitality and inspire people to be well, to learn and to lead. More information is available at www.neenan.com.
