Students, alumni and various community members were presented a series of conceptual designs Monday evening in the Palmer High School auditorium during an update on the planning for the school’s renovations.

The drafts are the first to be presented to the public and reflect the feedback that designers had gathered to date since work began on designing $100 million in renovations into Colorado Springs’ oldest high school.

A bridge connecting the current campuses, rooftop tennis courts, repurposed building space and an expanded athletic field were some of the proposed ideas. None of the ideas have been confirmed or finalized and, rather, were presented to garner additional feedback from the public and inspire future designs.

“Tonight is about possibilities, tonight is about exploring ideas, tonight is thinking of the future…of the students here at Palmer,” said Chris Leiber with N.E.S. Landscape Architects. “It’s a chance to reflect on what’s important about the existing school and existing campus, but also to think big and think broadly with us.”

The presentation was part of the second town hall planned to engage with Palmer the community and gather feedback. School staff, members of the school district’s board of education and various stakeholders were also among roughly 100 people in attendance.

Attendees were asked to participate in interactive surveys and questionnaires throughout the evening to for the presenters to record their initial impressions of the renderings.

Among the general consensus from public input to date is improving classroom conditions, outdoor amenities and preserving the rich history of Palmer.

With these and other considerations in mind, three separate designs were presented with some similar features like increased outdoor lighting, new construction to add-on to existing buildings, preserving key characteristics like its 1930s architecture, courtyard, clocktower and quad and expanding Erps field.

“If we were to ask Erps Field, ‘What do you want to do? What do you want to be?’ I think it would say, ‘I want to be a regulation sized field,'” Lead Designer Omar Calderon told the crowd.

Features unique to each design included the re-purposing of the school’s auditorium into the school’s library and dining space, constructing an atrium for the courtyard, a pedestrian bridge connecting the two existing buildings and a new plaza entry into the school located along East Boulder Street.

Following the presentations, a workshop session was held where people discussed each design and answered four questions regarding what ideas the preferred and why.

Among the most popular options was the courtyard atrium, while some people raised various questions and concerns regarding parking, impacting downtown traffic and more specifics on the exact size, scope and intent of some of the new additions like its athletic facilities.

The representatives with the contracted architects said it was still too early in the process to provide an answer.

“The analogy we’re using is we’re gathering the ingredients of the cake,” Leiber said.

According to the presenters, they have conducted nearly 20,000 interactions to date to gather feedback through workshops, digital communication, surveys, staff and student sessions and community discussions.

The team has also visited with current students and staff at Palmer and have been present at district events this fall like student council meetings, board of education meetings and the annual Palmer alumni hall of fame breakfast.

Going forward, additional public feedback with be gathered through a newly formed steering committee on behalf of the district and design team. The committee is comprised of current students, alumni and other community members to further help guide the process and prioritize features of the new Palmer.

Public engagement will continue through the committee into December before the renovation design is finalized next spring. Updates on the project’s progress can be found on the Colorado Springs School District 11 website.