Rising on the former MSU Denver ballfield, the Auraria Mixed-Use development introduces a new chapter for the Auraria Campus: one centered on housing access, community integration, and material innovation. Designed by Shears Adkins Rockmore Architects, the mixed-use project brings together student housing, workforce residences, academic space, and ground-floor retail, as a cohesive hub at the edge of downtown Denver.
The tower pairs two levels of concrete with ten levels of mass timber, establishing a warm, resilient, and low-carbon framework for more than 550 students. It will also feature a dedicated Classroom-to-Career Hub, providing a bridge between academic life and professional employment opportunities.
Mercer Mass Timber joined as a design-assist partner, helping develop an efficient, constructible timber system tailored to Colorado’s codes and climate. MMT will supply 2,278 m³ of Douglas-fir cross-laminated timber and 799 m³ of Douglas-fir glulam for floors, walls, cores, and structural beams – each component precision-manufactured and delivered through an offsite-first strategy that shortens installation durations while enhancing safety and quality control.
Sustainably sourced and SFI-certified material reinforces the project’s environmental goals, positioning timber as both structural and ecological infrastructure. Across the tower, CLT floor plates, demising walls, and vertical cores form a cohesive system that reduces embodied carbon while contributing to rapid assembly. The natural grain and warmth of exposed timber introduce a biophilic counterpoint to the dense urban context, enriching residential corridors, shared spaces, and individual units.
