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DECEMBER 2016 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \ 121
A sign in front of the ever-chang-
ing urban infill project at Colo-
rado Boulevard and Interstate
25 reads: “A New Colorado Cen-
ter: Evolving 2016.”
That’s been the case more
years than not since Colorado Center’s
first stages of redevelopment in the
1980s. The last three decades have seen a
remarkable transformation from an in-
dustrial area to a transit-oriented office
and entertainment district anchored by
two towers and an entertainment center.
In the JE Dunn Construction trailer,
the DNA for the site’s next phase of evo-
lution of Colorado Center is on a white-
board. Project Manager Matt Ascherman
points to quadrants on the board labeled
“To Do,” “Doing” and “Done.” The “Done”
third is plastered with yellow Post-it
Notes, as the stragglers in “To Do” and
“Doing” migrate to the right. Ribbon cut-
ting is slated for early December.
Rewind a year and a half: The $60 mil-
lion project broke ground in June 2015.
Beyond ground-level retail and restau-
rant space, the first seven floors are
parking, the next eight are Class A office
space, and the 16th level offers a rooftop
terrace and enclosed event venue.
Nearly 300,000 square feet in all, the
building, while predominantly precast,
includes a significant amount of glass
curtain wall. After lots of coordination
on the front end, it’s a sprint to the finish
for the trades. “Once you get the struc-
ture complete, it’s a shotgun go for every-
body else,” says Ascherman.
That happened in late February. Since
WORDS: Eric Peterson