busy university of denver announces ambitious campus upgrading plans

As part of a larger effort to grow and redefine the historic campus of the University of Denver, plans have been announced for construction to begin on three new facilities later this summer.

The $72.5 million Community Commons will see the construction of new classroom, study, and collaborative space.

A new dorm will house some 500 beds and will cost $55.5 million to build; while a third facility, the $50 million Career Achievement and Global Alumni, will be dedicated to helping students network, and will including office and meeting space.

Chancellor Rebecca Chopp said the new buildings are part of a larger effort to transform the school’s 125-acre campus, a project that could ultimately take up to 20 years to fully complete.

“The needs of our campus and neighboring communities continue to evolve,” Chopp said in a statement.

“We thought long and hard about what it means to plan for the future, while keeping our core university values at the forefront,” Chopp continued.

Ultimately, University of Denver officials would like to see the school’s campus become more integrated to the neighborhoods that surround it, while adding new hospitality, restaurant, and retail space.

Chopp added that the school, located 5 mile south of downtown Denver, especially hopes to focus on the development of more green space on the campus, while also finding ways to “make more affordable housing options available to our students, faculty, and staff.”

The four-year University of Denver, with an enrollment in excess of 11,500 students, is no stranger to facility work, having seen the construction or renovation of some 75 percent of its total current campus structures over the last two decades.

By Garry Boulard