Ski-Hi building comes down with a crash

MONTE VISTA - Thursday morning the final part of the main Ski-Hi building came down with a crashing thunder and a cloud of dust. The one story recreational building was built in 1960 and for years has housed many 4-H projects, Ag conferences, Crane Festival vendors and more. Nine years later the swimming pool building was added by the City of Monte Vista in 1969. Over this last week the main building and the pool have been demolished to make way for the construction of the new Ski-Hi complex.


Over this next week Alcon Construction, who is managing the project, will be continuing to haul debris from the demolition in preparation for dirt work. President and owner of Alcon, Brian Cook, told Valley Publishing that construction is expected to start as soon as the old building and its foundations are completely removed in two to three weeks.


Cook also sharing, “We anticipate having the main events portion of the building complete by March 1, 2021. The conference center and remainder of the project should be done by June 2021.”


Before the demolition of the buildings took place, all hazardous materials were tested for and abated by a certified contractor and inspected by CDPHE prior to the buildings coming down.


For many seeing the old Ski-Hi building and pool coming down is a bittersweet moment. The building has been a fixture in the community for 60 years. It has held a special place for many good memories that have been made there. But there is also excitement for the new building hopefully completed next spring.


The building will be state of the art and feature a multi-use event center and conference center to serve the entire San Luis Valley for years to come. The new facility also promises lots of fun and will have courts for volleyball, pickleball, basketball, wrestling, badminton, roller derby and more. The project has been the result of many years of hard work put in by local community members and stakeholders. The life expectancy of the new building is 100+ years according to the Friends of Ski-Hi’s website. Standing strong for years to come to hold lifetimes of new memories. A motto on the Friends of Ski-Hi website puts it well saying, “This project embodies our past, serves our present and builds our future!” More information about the new Ski-Hi complex and details about the project can be found on the Friends of Ski-Hi’s website: https://www.friendsofskihi.org/summary-of-the-project.html

There you can also make a donation to the project.