Back in 1996, Charles Shaw and his wife Lisa bought an abandoned vacant high school in Durango, Colorado. Though the 45,000 square-foot building was in rough shape, Charles saw great potential in it.

Ever since he was a child, Charles had dreamed of turning a large building into a mixed-use space that could become a vibrant community, and he saw right away that this abandoned high school could make his dream a reality.

Charles and Lisa have since transformed the high school into the Smiley Building, an energy-saving community that currently has 53 tenants covering various different interests, including art studios, community groups and local nonprofits. When Charles saw that monthly utility bills cost him $5,000, he cut costs by switching the lighting over to LED and controlling ventilation through motion sensors.

These days, all of the building’s electricity comes from solar panels, and utility bills are only $300 per month! Charles still lives in the Smiley Building with Lisa and their young son, and the building has become a landmark in the community of Durango.

“That building is a gem for Durango,” said Tim Walsworth, executive director of the Durango Business Improvement District. “They’ve invested a lot of money to make a really cool community hub that is one of if not the most environmentally friendly buildings that we have in this town. We’re pretty lucky to have the Shaws make the investment in that building to get it where it is today.”

Lisa gave credit to the tenants for helping them to make this happen.

“Without these people, it would be a beautiful building, but it wouldn’t have the life that it has,” she said. “I’m so grateful that people continue to come and support it.”

Though the Shaws are proud of all that they’ve accomplished, they have more dreams for the Smiley Building in the future.

“I think we’ve shown that we pulled it off,” Lisa added. “I am just so proud that we really have done what we said we would do. And we’re not finished.”

Find out more in the video below!