City of Durango staff members are temporarily vacating the Carnegie Building at 1188 East Second Ave. for HVAC improvements in a small step in the city’s larger plans for a new joint city hall and police station.
The Carnegie Building is the headquarters for Durango’s Parking Division, Information Technology Services and Public Information Office.
City spokesman Tom Sluis said asbestos remediation is being looked into, although it remains unclear if it will be necessary.
Overall, the HVAC work and potential asbestos remediation is expected to take about six months, he said.
In the meantime, some staff have migrated across the street where they have joined the Community Development and Engineering departments at 215 E. 12th St. in what was formerly known as the Big Picture High School building.
Durango School District temporarily relocated Big Picture High School to the Durango Tech Center in 2023, and the high school will move again to a permanent location at 281 Sawyer Drive later this year.
The former Big Picture building is scheduled to be demolished in August as construction begins on the joint city hall and police department project, Sluis said.
That’s one month sooner than project partners with the city forecast at an Engage Durango forum on Feb. 26.
Durango Police Department originally planned to move into the former Big Picture building. An underground parking garage was planned to be constructed for off-street staff parking.
Because of structural requirements in the International Building Code, the parking garage would be considerably more expensive to construct than initially thought, according to project partner Artaic Group. Now, the city’s plan is to demolish the former Big Picture building and construct a new building for DPD behind the historic former high school at 201 E. 12th St. next door.
cburney@durangoherald.com
