Old school is the new school at APS

SAVE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS BY RE- OPENING SOME OF ITS OLDEST SCHOOLS -- EVEN THOUGH THEY'VE BEEN ...  More »

SAVE MILLIONS OF DOLLARS BY RE- OPENING SOME OF ITS OLDEST SCHOOLS -- EVEN THOUGH THEY'VE BEEN CLOSED FOR DECADES MOST OF THE OLD SCHOOLS HAVE BEEN TURNED INTO OFFICE SPACE. BUT NOW A-P-S OFFICIALS SAY IT HAS GOOD REASON TO FIX THEM UP. IRON WITH TONIGHT'S TOP STORY. JEFF. CORONADO ELEMENTARY WAS BUILT HERE IN 19-37 AS PART OF PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT'S NEW DEAL. APS CLOSED IT IN THE EARLY 70'S AND HAS USED IT OFFICE SPACE EVER SINCE. BUT NOW THERE'S AN EIGHT MILLION DOLLAR PROJECT UNDERWAY TO TURN IT BACK INTO A MODERN SCHOOL. THIS GROUP - MANY OF WHOM ARE EDUCATORS FROM OTHER STATES, ARE LEARNING HOW A-P-S IS SAVING DOUGH BY BRUSHING OFF THE COBWEBS IN ITS OLD SCHOOLS -- AND MAKING THEM NEW AGAIN. THE VISITORS ARE IN TOWN FOR THE NATIONAL SMART GROWTH CONFERENCE AT THE CONVENTION CENTER. 'we talked a little bit about the historical significance of Coronado Elementary school, built in 1937, WPA money, 127,000 dollars it cost to build in 1937, and today we're doing an 8.5 million restoration of the facility' A-P-S IS SPENDING MONEY TO SAVE MONEY IN THE LONG RUN. RENOVATING AN OLD SCHOOL LIKE CORONADO ELEMENTARY IS CHEAPER THAN BUILDING A NEW ONE, AND THE DOWNTOWN AREA IS PRIME REAL ESTATE. AND THE OLD SCHOOLS DON'T NEED TO BE USED AS OFFICE SPACE ANYMORE -- A-P-S HAS PLENTY OF THAT EVER SINCE BUYING THE CITY CENTER NEAR I-40 AND LOUISIANA. 'the use of the property is intriguing and interesting in an urban setting' CORONADO WAS NOT THE ONLY STOP. THE GROUP WAS THEN BUSED OVER TO LEW WALLACE ELEMENTARY NEAR 7TH AND ROMA. IT WAS BUILT IN 1895 -- BURNED DOWN IN 1933, WAS REBUILT, THEN SHUT DOWN IN 1975. AFTER A THREE MILLION DOLLAR FACELIFT -- IT RE- OPENED AS A SCHOOL IN 1992. A-P-S OFFICIALS SAY SAVING MONEY IS NOT THE ONLY REASON FOR THE RENOVATIONS. 'because if families are to move back downtown, you need schools, you need grocery stores, you need all the aspects that a family needs to be able to live in a neighborhood, and that's what the school is all about' CORONADO ELEMENTARY SHOULD RE-OPEN THIS FALL. IT WILL HAVE ROOM FOR 300 STUDENTS. LIVE IN SOUTHWEST ALBUQUERQUE. JEFF MAHER. EYEWITNESS NEWS FOUR. A-P-S IS ALSO PLANNING ON SAVING MONEY IN THE FUTURE BY GOING GREEN. NEWER SCHOOLS ARE BEING FITTED WITH NATURAL CLASSROOM LIGHTING, ARTIFICIAL TURF ON FOOTBALL FIELDS, AND GROUND SOURCE HEAT PUMPS -- WHICH USE THE EARTH'S SOIL AS A FORM OF NATURAL HEATING AND COOLING. CURRENTLY THE DISTRICT IS PAYING A UTILITY BILL OF 15- MILLION DOLLARS PER YEAR. THE GREEN INITIATIVES SHOULD REDUCE ITS EXPENSES BY AT  « Less