sweeping university of colorado at denver master plan launched

A new residence hall that could house up to 500 beds is being seen as one of the cornerstones of a new Facilities Master Plan announced for the University of Colorado at Denver.

That hall would be built especially for first-year students at the school, with construction planned for a site on the northeast side of the campus between the existing North Classroom building and the Student Commons building.

The larger plan, to be executed in two phases over a ten-year period, is calling for the construction of a new Engineering and Physical Sciences building; a new Business School with a 125-seat auditorium; and an annex tower at the corner of 14th and Larimer streets.

The total costs for the various facility projects is estimated at just under $850 million, a figure that university officials are hoping would be largely met through a vigorous donor outreach program.
The possibility of public/private partnerships to take on certain aspects of the plan is also being considered.

The Facilities Master Plan was approved by the school’s Board of Regents last November and is partly designed in response to forecasts that the University of Colorado/Denver will see its enrollment jump from just over the 15,000 it has today to some 25,000 students in the next seven years.

By Garry Boulard

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