Residence One
Residence One
November 2024 through March 2025
- Work on the super structure of the 1st and 2nd floors continued with structural wall framing. Stair towers on the North, West, and Central cores along with the elevator shaft were completed through the 6th level.
- The 3rd level superstructure is underway with floor decking installation. After the concrete floor is installed structural wall framing will start.
- Underground Utilities installation continues with permanent electrical connection and pathway installation for communications.
- Exterior sheathing and brick will begin to appear in spring 2025.
August through October 2024
- Placement of the tower crane on site.
- Continued earthwork to raise the existing building footprint elevation to meet code.
- Installation of underground utilities connections for fire sprinkler systems/domestic water and temporary electrical.
- Installation of concrete structural columns , elevator shaft, and stair towers.
- Installation of the 24-inch-thick second-floor slab. (This work will run through the end of 2024, after which, work will begin on the third floor level).
July 2024
- Concrete foundation work will continue.
- Vertical concrete (walls and columns) work will begin and be evident above the fence lines
- Tower Crane Erection will be completed.
May 13, 2024
- The site has been cleared, removing all organic vegetation, three structures and an asphalt parking lot.
- The general contractor has mobilized on site.
- Utility and earth work have begun.
Nov. 7, 2023
- Residence One project approved by the University of Colorado Board of Regents.
Campus and the City of Boulder have determined that the following changes are essential to promote safety in this area while this construction is underway.
- Parking will be temporarily removed until Fall 2026 in the following spaces:
- The east side of 19th Street between Arapahoe Avenue and Athens Avenue
- The west side of 19th Street between Arapahoe Avenue and the first driveway south
- The west side of 19th Street between Athens Street and the drive into Athens North
- The north side of Athens Street between 17th Street and 19th Street
- The east side of 20th Street from Arapahoe Avenue to Marine Street
- New crosswalks will be added in the following spaces:
- 19th Street, north of Athens
- Athens Street, west of 19th Street
- 19th Street, south of Athens Street
- 9th Street at Marine Street
- Marine Street at 19th Street
- A stop sign will be added at the southbound corner of 19th Avenue and Athens Street
- The sidewalk will be closed on the east side of 19th Street at the job site.
- Preparation of the building site will mitigate floodplain impacts in accordance with local and federal requirements.
- The buildings will not be in the high hazard floodplain zone.
- The university will work with the city of Boulder and FEMA to obtain all necessary permits.
- Residence 1 is currently designed to be six stories, similar to portions of the Marine Court complex immediately east of the Residence 1 site.
- The added height also provides for ground floor amenities such as a UPS store and food service that will be open to anyone in the community.
- This building design will help ensure enough units on the site so that CU Boulder can provide on-campus housing at a price point competitive to what students could get off-campus, thus helping to address overall housing needs in the community.
- The steep grade change immediately to the south of Residence One toward the CU Boulder Main Campus diminishes the visual impact of the new building in relation to the buildings uphill from the site.
- Residence One is not being constructed to facilitate new growth but rather to increase on-campus housing options for non-first-year students. This is an early step toward our Campus Master Plan goal of adding 4,400 to 6,000 on-campus beds over the next 15 to 30 years.
- Initially, Residence One will ensure on-campus housing inventory does not decrease while aging Main Campus residence halls like Farrand, Libby and Cheyenne Arapaho are renovated, while in the long term diversifying inventory and providing increased on-campus housing that is more desirable for upper-division undergraduate and graduate students.
- Construction of the first building is scheduled to begin in 2024 and the second in 2025. On that timeline, the buildings would be targeted to open in 2026 and 2027, respectively.
- CU Boulder recognizes the housing pressures facing our students, employees and the broader Boulder community. The university is committed to addressing these needs through the development of additional on-campus housing options.
- Construction of these two buildings ultimately will help address demand for more on-campus student housing amid a tight Boulder housing market with increasing rents.
- Students who are unable to find housing in Boulder are less likely to participate in extracurricular activities offered by the university. According to a national study about campus housing, "on-campus students were more engaged—that is, they devoted more time and effort to studies and other learning activities—in their place of residence…students are more likely to engage in academic activities relative to their off-campus peers, and these activities in turn, affect retention rates, academic engagement, and feelings of belonging to the university community.” By housing students closer to campus, these buildings will allow upper division students to have a more engaging on-campus experience, thereby helping with retention rates.
- Residence One and Residence Two will also have all-electric food service facilities, the first of their kind at CU Boulder.
- Electric kitchen equipment includes items that are typically gas or steam-fired, such as an electric griddle, induction range cooktop, electric combi ovens, and electric dishwasher.
- Kitchens in student apartments are also all-electric.
- There will be no natural gas piped to the building.
- The CU Boulder plan for carbon neutrality includes the North Boulder Creek area in the strategy of providing heating through low-temperature hot water and cooling through chilled water.
- Chilled water cooling in the North Boulder Creek area will be all-electric from day one.
- Hot water will initially be provided through the existing connection between NBC and the campus steam system, and will transition to an electric source on the same timetable as the rest of Main Campus.
- There are no additional steam lines or steam producing equipment being installed on this project. The building will be served by lower temperature hot water from a steam to hot water heat exchanger in the Marine Court mechanical room. Hot water piping will run from this location to new building
- The Campus Master Plan anticipates a new parking structure that will serve the area north of Boulder Creek, with the typical users of the parking garage being residents of on-campus housing in this area.
- Residents will also have access to long-term parking permits within existing campus parking lots.
- Micromobility is expanding in Boulder. We’re working more with programs like Bcycle and Lime to provide more sustainable, affordable and reliable alternatives to driving.
- It has also become easier in recent years to get to the main campus from this area with the addition of two new pedestrian bridges that connect directly from Main Campus to the Boulder Creek Path.
- We are currently developing a more comprehensive campus transportation plan and exploring transportation options to serve the students in this area.
- CU Boulder students also receive transit passes that include RTD routes.
- Providing additional on-campus housing reduces the need for students to commute or bring vehicles to Boulder in the first place.
Residence One - Project Renderings
Residence One - November 2024 to March 2025 photos
Project Overview
| Construction start date: | April 2024 |
| Anticipated move-in: | August 2026 |
| Approved budget: | $124.4 million |
| Gross square footage: | 129,000 |
About the Project
CU Boulder is planning the addition of a new on-campus apartment-style residential building north of Boulder Creek that will house approximately 330 students and allow for existing residence halls to undergo renovations. The building will provide community spaces in addition to non-residential spaces that could include dining and/or retail space.