ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Homecourt advantage means a lot in the world of sports, but it means perhaps even more to a local charter school that just opened a brand-new gym after a long, five-year journey that included a roof collapse in 2024.
Explore Academy, a charter school in northeast Albuquerque, is celebrating the completion of its gym and adjoining black box theater at its middle and high school campus after overcoming significant setbacks along the way.
“Just all of them, I think, are overwhelmed,” said Head Administrator Jacob Kolander. “And I think there’s a stage to which they are still sort of capturing the fact that we actually have this now.”
School leaders had hoped they would have a gym in 2024, but on April 7 the roof collapsed.
Fortunately, no one was injured, but it represented a major setback for plans that were set in motion in 2021, when the gym was first conceived.
It turns out the previous contractors had failed a frame inspection on March 6, and the roof came down the following month, forcing Explore Academy leaders to begin again.
“We had a different design for the roof, a different material that was pulled in. So, it was essentially a redesign from three-quarters of the roof up. And on top of that we had an engineering team that came in and sort of helped supervise all the components,” said Kolander.
This time, new contractors and crews made sure everything was safe and up to code.
“We wanted to take the care because, you know, maybe we took an extra week or two to get it all wrapped up, but the idea was, if we cut corners, you’re gonna see that for years,” said Mick Rich, president of Mick Rich Contractors.
His firm was hired to create a new structure that students and staff could feel safe in and be proud to call their own.
“You know, the idea, as the saying goes, is ‘We want it just like it was, only better.’ So, that’s what we did,” said Rich.
The new school year at Explore began on July 21, and the work was done just in time for the start of that new year.
With the gym now safe, crews were also able to complete work on a black box theater for student productions that shares a wall with the gym.
Combined with a brand-new outdoor turf field for soccer, flag football, and more, these latest developments represent a fresh start and hope for a bright future at Explore Academy.
“There was a lot of doubt as to whether it would be done in time. We kept getting a promise that it would be ready in time, and they fulfilled their promise,” said Kolander.
