Thank you so much for Jonathan Thompson’s column on May 12 about the Zoom Boom and the issue of affordable housing in Durango (“Housing prices are over the moon”).
Thompson is correct that if our city leaders do not make serious efforts to solve this problem it will be very difficult to recruit and retain good teachers for 9-R and assistant professors for Fort Lewis College.
But here’s an idea for a solution. Rather than sell the old high school building in its great location downtown, why not turn it into apartments and living units for incoming teachers and FLC faculty? If the building is sold, a developer will likely convert it into high end condo units and retail space.
Conversions of high school buildings into apartments have occurred across Colorado and the nation. Why not use that venerable structure, which is already on the National Register of Historic Places, for such a worthwhile purpose? If we are serious about helping young educators arrive and thrive in Durango, here’s one way to do it.
Andrew Gulliford
Durango
