Community College of Denver officials, students and project partners gathered on the Auraria Campus this week to celebrate a construction milestone at the Boulder Creek building, marking the topping out and placement of the final structural element for the expansion. The work targets roughly 60,000 square feet of labs and classrooms for a major modernization, pulling CCD’s health sciences programs into a single hub. Once complete, the reworked facility is slated to feature simulation-heavy training rooms, a dental clinic, a veterinary teaching hospital and a teaching kitchen, all aimed at strengthening Colorado’s health workforce.
As reported by Mile High CRE, the ceremony marked the final structural element for a 9,484-square-foot addition that is part of a broader 59,900-square-foot renovation of the nearly 50-year-old Boulder Creek building. Students, faculty and community members joined the event, which was documented in photos by Howell Construction. Howell Vice President Andrew Gilstrap told the outlet the firm was "proud to have taken part in CCD’s initiative to educate Colorado’s next generation of healthcare professionals."
According to Clark & Enersen, the redesigned building will include a nursing simulation hospital, updated classrooms and labs, a dental hygiene clinic equipped with advanced simulation technology, a veterinary teaching clinic and a nutrition teaching kitchen. The architect’s renderings show the new southeast addition holding faculty suites and a small student café, while a public plaza is planned to improve connections to the Auraria campus and nearby transit. The firm notes that the layout is intended to encourage cross-disciplinary learning and hands-on clinical training so students are better prepared for in-demand jobs.
Project documents and bidding notices list CBRE as the owner’s representative and Howell as the construction manager, reflecting a multi-partner delivery approach. The Auraria Higher Education Center’s project page cites an anticipated construction window that runs through December 2026 and warns that the Boulder Creek parking lot will be offline and portions of Champa Street will be closed during the work. Legislative filings show CCD requested supplemental cash funding to cover rising construction and technology costs as the project scope was finalized, a reminder of the budget pressures that often shadow public campus renovations.
Why This Topping Out Matters for Denver’s Health Workforce
College leaders say the consolidated Health Sciences center will allow CCD to expand student cohorts and offer team-based, simulation-focused learning that employers are asking for. Clark & Enersen note that the facility will also host community-facing clinics where students can earn practical experience while serving residents. With construction slated to wrap in late 2026, CCD expects to ramp up graduates in nursing, dental hygiene, and veterinary tech programs soon after the building opens.
