Junior Achievement USA, a nonprofit based in Colorado Springs, has sold its headquarters property to the Colorado Eye Institute as both organizations move into new phases of furthering their missions.

The 35,000-square-foot building at 1 Education Way on Colorado Springs’ south side has served as a headquarters for Junior Achievement — which seeks to prepare young people for business and financial success — for more than 30 years.

Junior Achievement’s board voted in March 2021 to sell the building, which was larger than the organization’s needs, The Gazette previously reported. With roughly 40 full-time employees in Colorado Springs, Junior Achievement plans to maintain its headquarters by leasing space at the Oracle building in northern Colorado Springs at 12320 Oracle Blvd.

“This will give us an opportunity for folks to be able to connect,” said Ed Grocholski, the organization’s chief marketing officer. “We’re going to use a hybrid work schedule, but we will provide opportunities for people to meet in person.”

In July, Junior Achievement sold its property to the Colorado Eye Institute for $5.6 million, according to El Paso County land records.

The following month, Junior Achievement received a $38.8 million donation from MacKenzie Scott, former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

“When we sold the building we made the commitment to maintain the headquarters in Colorado Springs and we’re pleased that we’ve been able to do that,” Grocholski said. “And just looking forward to continuing our work out of the Colorado Springs community.”

Colorado Eye Institute, which specializes in various eye surgeries with seven optometrists and opthalmologists, aims to remodel the interior of the Junior Achievement property to make it suitable for a surgery center.

The institute plans to hire more optometrists and opthalmologists to expand local services in addition to its two established offices in Colorado Springs and four rural satellite offices.

“We want to be able to better serve southern Colorado Springs with the surgery center, the clinic and having different specialists there in ophthalmology so they don’t have to come all the way up here,” said Meghan Schmitz, marketing and business development manager for the institute.

Schmitz said doctors with the institute will rotate schedules at the various offices and satellite locations to provide for needs of the Colorado Springs community and surrounding rural areas.

“We are excited to see what we envisioned 16 years ago continue to thrive and flourish,” CEO Gwen Cordero said.

“We have grown exponentially by adding caring and compassionate doctors as well as helping to train and educate our staff and other professionals within the industry.”