University of Colorado Puts South Denver Facility on the Market

The University of Colorado announced that it is partnering with commercial real estate firm JLL for the sale of the CU South Denver facility in Lone Tree, Colorado. CU South Denver is a three-story, 175,780-square-foot, mixed-use, Class A building that was completed in two phases in 2002 and 2009 and is located a little less than 20 miles south of downtown Denver.

The building features a meeting venue with a capacity of more than 1,000, a two-story atrium with foyer, a theater, commercial kitchen, classrooms, and outdoor space. The site covers 14.4 acres and includes an additional 4.4 acres with the potential for development. A press release emphasizes the opportunity for adaptive reuse as an educational, religious, commercial, or event facility. It also includes parking space for more than 440 vehicles.

CU Denver South facility

“As movement to the suburbs has accelerated, this offering presents a compelling opportunity to enter into the southeastern Denver suburban market, the largest market in the city and one of the top performing,” said JLL Executive Vice President Patrick Bolick. “In its current state, the site provides a unique environment to meet a user’s immediate requirements, boasting high-quality construction, excellent visibility and infrastructure consisting of a cafeteria, auditorium and high-volume multi-purpose space.”

The University of Colorado originally announced the sale of the facility in Sept. 2020, citing a lack of financial viability. “The CU South Denver teams have worked hard to explore new options, creative solutions and have pursued operational efficiencies and consolidations at the facility,” said Todd Saliman, senior vice president for strategy, government relations and CFO, at the time. “Unfortunately, the subsidies the university has provided and would have to continue to provide are unsustainable.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.

  • Virginia Tech Tops Out New College of Engineering Building

    Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of Mitchell Hall, which will soon stand as the largest College of Engineering building on campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with Skanska on the 285,500-square-foot facility, which has an expected completion date of winter 2028.

  • Children walking along bright school corridor with motion blur

    How Next-Gen Design Is Reshaping the Student Experience

    The environments where students learn play a crucial role in shaping their growth in and out of the classroom. By centering design on well-being, flexibility, and purpose, districts can ensure their facilities remain vibrant community assets for many years to come.