With today’s official groundbreaking ceremony, the CU Denver Wellness Center is under construction!

Utility relocation work occurred at the development site at the corner of Speer Boulevard and Auraria Parkway earlier in the summer in preparation for construction. For the past month or so, the project site—formerly a surface parking lot—has been fenced off awaiting today’s start of construction. Here’s a photo I took of the site a few weeks ago:

According to the University’s webpage dedicated to the new facility, the new CU Denver Wellness Center will offer a variety of amenities including:

  • Commuter lounge featuring a student kitchen, coffee shop, wellness information desk, lockers, study rooms, game rooms, and a lounge areas
  • Wellness suite with consultation, conference and reflection rooms
  • Fitness center that includes a three-court gymnasium, a six-lane lap pool, a 10,000-square foot cardio and weight room, three-story rock-climbing wall, two group fitness studios, and locker rooms
  • Outdoor amenities featuring social spaces and a bike repair shop

The CU Denver Wellness Center will cost about $42 million and is being paid for primarily by student fees approved by CU Denver students in a 2015 election.

We have some new renderings to share with you, courtesy of CU Denver. The project was designed by Anderson Mason Dale and SmithGroupJJR.

12th Street elevation looking east:

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Aerial view looking southwest, with the Speer Boulevard/Auraria Parkway intersection at center foreground and the recently completed CU Denver Commons building on the left and the MSU Hospitality Center and Marriott SpringHill Suites hotel on the right:

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Sidewalk-level view of the center’s Speer/Auraria corner at night with the rock-climbing wall on display:

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The new CU Denver Wellness Center should be completed in time to open for the Spring 2018 semester.