Eagle County School District breaks ground on Gypsum Early Learning Center and employee housing

This article originally appeared in Vail Daily on August 31.

 

Early learning center can host 320 children, employee housing includes 20-unit apartment building.

 

Eagle County School District held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Gypsum Early Learning Center and accompanying employee housing on Thursday, Aug. 29.

Employees and board members of the Eagle County School District, as well as representatives of the construction companies RA Nelson and Haselden Construction Company, gathered on the cleared site that will soon become homes and an educational facility to kick off the journey. The early learning center and housing site already belong to the Eagle County School District, located in Gypsum near Gypsum Creek Middle School and Red Hill Elementary School.

“There is a need for expanded early childhood education and care services,” said Dan Reynolds, president of the Eagle County School District board. “And, for years, district employees have identified housing as one of the biggest challenges living and working in Eagle County. So we are excited for the many benefits this project will provide.”

When completed, the two-story, 50,000 square-foot Gypsum Early Learning Center will have space for 320 children, ranging in age from infants to pre-kindergarteners.

The employee housing will include a 20-unit apartment building with one-, two- and three-bedroom rental units available at an affordable rate to school district staff members. A potential additional apartment building, already designed, may be built in a subsequent phase.

Construction on both the early learning center and the 20-unit apartment building is expected to be completed in December 2025.

Both projects are funded through ballot question 5B, which was passed by voters in the 2023 election, allowing the school district to take out a $100 million bond. The ballot question earmarked the bond’s $100 million for projects including building more employee housing and, specifically, building the Gypsum Early Learning Center, in addition to financing school safety improvements, updating playgrounds and other issues. Thus far, the school district has designated over $48 million to go to site work and construction of the early learning center and housing projects.

“Gaining the support of our community to begin the work on these two projects is terrific,” said Superintendent Phil Qualman in an Eagle County School District press release about the groundbreaking. “Passing the bond in 2023 and partnering with all these organizations is what is bringing this to fruition and we couldn’t be happier to see the work get underway.”