When designed, the school was strategically placed to take advantage of the local community of Eagle River and the nearby mountains.

Over 7000 workers and contractors from USKH Inc. and Davis Construction and Engineers began assembly of the 182,000 sq/ft building on July 31, 2003, beginning with the groundbreaking ceremony.

The floor plan has the same basic design as the 1,600-student Dimond High School but is about half the size, using one wing of classrooms instead of two.

The cost of the building was 54 million dollars, with 2% of that being paid for by the state of Alaska through the school debt reimbursement program.

Eagle River High School's classes range from advanced placement (AP) to special needs courses.