The new south entrance of the renovated and expanded building for the Leeds School of Business will feature a dramatic, four-story atrium that is beginning to take shape. (Photo/Casey A. Cass)

The interior is now only be concrete, metal and plywood, but visitors can see tiered classrooms beginning to take shape, team rooms starting to develop, and an atrium rising skyward. The expansion and renovation of the building that will house the Leeds School of Business is on schedule and showing promise.

The expanded and renovated building will improve educational facilities for Leeds School students and improved work spaces for faculty and staff. The building is also designed to have a greater impact on the local business community by providing an inviting environment for the external community to become more involved with CU and the Leeds School.

Scheduled for completion by August 1, the building will be named, pending Board of Regents approval, to honor the Koelbel family, leaders in the Colorado real estate community and major supporters of CU and the school of business.

The need for the expansion and renovation was driven by the popularity of Leeds School programs. Designed for 1,500 students when it opened in the 1970s, the building housed 3,600 students before the expansion began. The $38-million project renovates the existing 100,000-square-foot building and integrates it with a 65,000-square-foot, four-story addition.

The expanded and renovated building will provide:

• Classrooms designed to foster group discussion and provide technology to immediately access information on the day’s lesson
• Team rooms where students can work collaboratively on projects
• Commons areas that encourage informal exchanges and mentoring
• Interview rooms for corporate recruiters.

The project has received outstanding campus support including $17.5 million committed by the students through an increase in student fees.

Find out more about Leeds School’s renovated and expanded building including a time lapse video of construction on this website.