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March 2018 \ BUILDING DIALOGUE \ 91 D enver’s River North neighborhood is a gritty mix of street art, galleries, craft brewers, tech startups, creative agencies and tight parking. It’s where you can get a craft cider, a Ducati superbike and commission a dining room table all in the same block. And now, it’s where America’s struggling health care systemmay be saved. Catalyst Health Tech Innovation, the first of its kind in the U.S., is the brainchild of Denver health tech en- trepreneur Mike Biselli. It’s part co-working space and part “health care innovation ecosystem.” Located at 35th and Brighton Boulevard, Catalyst HTI will house a diverse and complementary mix of startups, Fortune 500 health care companies, law firms, tech companies, restaurants, bars, financial ser- vices, event centers, fitness areas and, even a prima- ry care facility. The seven-story, 190,000-square-foot structure is slated to open in the second quarter and an additional 190,000-square-foot building will join it in Phase 2, slated to break ground soon. Legacy Families Join Forces to Save Health Care In 2011, longtime Denver developer Koelbel and Co. was a key player in creating INDUSTRY, a co-office space that opened at down the street at 3001 Brigh- ton Blvd. In the process, Dean Koelbel met Biselli and Larry Burgess, who had been buying property along Brighton Boulevard since 1968 in hopes that someday in the future his investments would pay off. The three hit it off and not long after, Biselli ap- proached Koelbel with a grand idea. “Mike had this thesis that we have now dubbed the industry integrator,” says Koelbel. “He wanted to bring all facets of one industry under one roof. Not just startups, but Fortune 500, nonprofit, academia, even patients themselves.” Biselli said that the project had to be in RiNo be- cause “millennials want to work and play all in the same area.” WORDS: Kevin Criss Catalyst HTI A Revolution in Health Care Hits RiNo