In the Summer of 2016, the advisory group Urban Land Institute gave suggestions, after having visited the campus, on how to help DU, “become more welcoming to the Denver community, to increase mobility and alternative transportation use on campus and to improve its physical spaces to better recruit and serve students, faculty and staff.” The group had a long list of suggestions to accomplish this goal, many of which mirrored the university’s DU Impact 2025 proposal.
In a brief description of the plan, Chancellor Chopp outlines what students, staff and the Denver community could expect in the next upcoming years whilst reassuring that there will be a focus on areas like: housing, learning spaces, mobility, community spaces, sustainability and way finding. In the briefing, it is also announced that DU will be partnering with architecture firm Ayers Saint Gross (ASG) who, the proposal notes, have worked with other universities including University of Virginia, Emory University and John Hopkins University.
The most detailed description of these upcoming projects can be found in a piece by the Denver Business Journal which coins the project to be, “Denver’s next Union Station.” The article reveals that the first three determined construction projects will amount to be a $143 million project.
Arguably, the most invasive project of the three is the $72.5 million community commons which will take the place of the current Driscoll Student Center (DSC)—a time-saving route for many students who need to cross Evans.
The new community commons is expected to include new dining options. “The concept we are looking at here for the new dining facilities is sort of multiple smaller options,“ said DSC director John Nichols who also mentions the main goal for the commons as a place “to bring all the university community together.” Students can expect the new building to be a, “sort of like the counterpart of the academic commons,” said Nichols. Regarding the construction process, Nichols says that the plan is to demolish the north end of the bridge while maintaining the south end enabling space for the resources offered at the DSC to be rearranged which will be one of the main challenges during the transition process.
The other two projects in DU’s Impact 2025 slate includes a new first year residence hall which will amount to be about $55.5 million and a career achievement and global alumni center for $15 million. In a FAQ page about the progress of this construction plan, it says that the residence hall will be paid for by room and board charges and the other 2 buildings, “will be paid for, in part, by philanthropy and partnerships of approximately $45 million.” When the construction is complete the FAQ states that, “all undergraduate and graduate students will pay a new fee of $6.50 per credit hour to support the Commons.”
Construction for the community commons is expected to begin during the summer of 2018, and the three projects are intended to be complete before fall 2020. Students and DU community members interested in updates on this project can RSVP to attend the Community Engagement & Service Learning (CCESL) Grand Challenge Launch Event where they will address the issues of living, working and participating at DU.
