El Paso High School to get $20 million in improvements, architectural historic survey

The El Paso Independent School District will pay $456,200 to a firm to conduct an architectural historic survey of El Paso High School, the district's oldest school.

Trustees unanimously approved the lump payment to Nine Degrees Architecture & Design, a firm based in Sunland Park, during a board meeting Feb. 20. Nine Degrees will consult with Gensler, an architecture firm based in San Francisco, on the project.

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"It’s something we should’ve done a long time ago. We recognize it’s probably the most historic building in the county or region," said Carlos Gallinar, EPISD's executive director for planning and innovative school construction. "We have to take steps to start to look at how we preserve that building."

Nine Degrees and Gensler will be tasked with completing a historic structures report, rendering base drawings for the school, evaluating the building's exterior, analysis and tests of the brick and mortar, and attending project meetings.

El Paso High is one of the Borderland's most recognizable landmarks. The school was established in 1916 and designed by famed architect Henry Trost. The school was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Marcel Quimby, a Dallas-based historic preservation specialist for Gensler, said that in addition to examining and analyzing the exterior, she also will look at El Paso High's original drawings and gather information from the district to learn more about the building.

"There’s going to be a lot of manpower to take a look and evaluate the conditions of everything," Quimby said. "You never know what you’re going to find. There’s always some surprises."

Funding for the survey will come from the EPISD's general budget. El Paso High also is slated to receive about $19.5 million in bond funds for a new fine arts addition, fine arts renovations, building system updates and facade maintenance.

Anna Mares, a member of the El Paso High School Alumni Association, said she believes the survey is necessary but hopes the district can allocate more bond money towards the building's facade maintenance.

"Maintenance is required for every building, and El Paso High School has been neglected," Mares said. "There hasn’t been a lot of upkeep or maintenance."

About $500,000 of El Paso High's $19.5 million bond allocation will go towards facade maintenance, Gallinar said. A large chunk of funding will go toward the new fine arts addition.

Gallinar said the district would have to look at subsequent funding if it turns out the $500,000 is not enough to cover facade maintenance, but added it's too early to tell whether that funding would come from the bond or elsewhere.

"We’ve said it’s going to be a multipronged approach and want to make sure we take our time with it," Gallinar said.

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Mares and Gallinar both said El Paso High has never undergone a historic survey. This survey, Gallinar said, would be able to give the district more insight on things like the rate of deterioration of the building.

Gallinar said the survey would take about 10 months to 12 months to complete and will not include any type of construction.

Sara Sanchez can be reached at 546-6147; ssanchez@elpasotimes.com; @siempresarita on Twitter.