Colorado Real Estate Journal - September 2, 2015
A new hub for the arts in southern Colorado is coming. A groundbreaking ceremony recently was held for the $60 million University of Colorado Colorado Springs Ent Center for the Arts – to be the fifth largest building at UCCS – which will serve the campus and the Colorado Springs community. The 92,000-square-foot building, located on North Nevada Avenue, just north of the UCCS Lane Center for Academic Health Science and across from the University Village Colorado Shopping Center, was built on the site of three former softball fields and parking lots. It is designed to encourage and support working relationships with community cultural organizations and to provide direct public access to performances, exhibits and classes. Site work, including roads, utilities and related infrastructure began in spring and continues. By summer 2016, passersby should see the framework for the UCCS Ent Center for the Arts. The project is scheduled for completion in early 2018. “As UCCS celebrates its 50th birthday, we will begin construction of a new, vibrant hub for the arts in southern Colorado," said UCCS Chancellor Pam Shockley-Zalabak. “In a single location on the revitalized and vibrant North Nevada corridor, people from throughout this region will soon be able to enjoy both professional and still-developing visual and performing arts in a spectacular setting.” “It took a lot of people to make this project – a dream for this campus – possible,” added Susan Szpyrka, vice chancellor, administration and finance. As one of the first of several major buildings to be located on the University's North Campus, the new center will unify the Department of Visual and Performing Arts, currently spread out over six locations across the campus. The UCCS Ent Center for the Arts will include the Dusty Loo Bon Vivant Theatre and the Osborne Studio Theatre with supporting space for the UCCS Music Program, Theatre and Dance Program, Theatreworks, the 240-seat Chapman Foundations Recital Hall, a 750-seat performance space and a new campus home for the Galleries of Contemporary Art. Additional learning and rehearsal spaces, a large lobby for public receptions and student engagement spaces are also planned. Bryan Construction is the general contractor overseeing the design-build of the infrastructure improvements. JE Dunn Construction will serve as the general contractor for the building. Design of the UCCS Ent Center for the Arts is led by H3 Hardy Collaboration Architecture as design architect with Semple Brown Design serving as the architect of record. The design-build team also includes Auerbach Pollock Friedlander, theater consultant; Jaffe Holden, acoustical consultant; Martin/Martin, structural engineer; M.E. Group, mechanical, electrical, plumbing engineer; Tapis Associates, landscape architect; Wilson & Co., civil engineer; Group14, sustainability consultant; and George Sexton Design, lighting design. In March, UCCS announced a 15-year marketing and operating agreement with Ent Federal Credit Union valued at $12.6 million. The Colorado General Assembly approved $27.6 million in funds for the project, the University of Colorado Office of the President pledged $10 million and $10 million has been provided by private donors. The University of Colorado Colorado Springs, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in Colorado Springs, is one of the fastest growing universities in Colorado.