ST. CLOUD – Rows of lockers remain in the hallways of the former Technical High School. But gone are the skyways, the entire western building of classrooms and the library that served the 104-year-old building.
"We're looking forward to moving in," said Dave Kleis, St. Cloud's mayor. "We've already started labeling furniture in the old building to come over here. We're three months away."
In March, the St. Cloud City Council approved the $10.37 million project renovating the historic 1917 and 1938 sections of Technical High School for use as City Hall. The St. Cloud school district vacated the building in 2019 after it built a new high school on the far south side of town.
The western building — two stories of classrooms built in 1962 with a third floor added in 1967 — were razed this spring. That space will become a parking lot.
The first floor will house economic development, planning and media departments, as well as the finance and inspections departments, which frequently are used by the public. The former school's library — previously a gymnasium — will be used as the council chambers and feature the original wood flooring.
The second floor will house offices for the mayor and city administrator, as well as IT, human resources and legal departments.
There is a dedicated space for public services, fire, police and public works departments, which operate out of separate buildings. Tech's theater will remain intact. For now, the third floor will remain unused, except for storage.
The city took responsibility to redevelop the former school to ensure it was done in a way fitting with the historic neighborhood surrounding the property. The city courted private developers to turn the former school into housing, but the only company to respond backed out because the anticipated costs were too high.
