Date: 01/04/2007

Final
Auraria Higher Education Center FY 2007-08 Requests

COMMITTEE ON CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT

Votes: View--> Action Taken:
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03:56 PM -- Auraria Higher Education Center FY 2007-08 Capital Construction Requests

The committee returned from recess. Dr. Christine Johnson, President, Community College of Denver, Dr. Stephen Jordon, President, Metropolitan State College of Denver, Dr. M. Roy Wilson, Chancellor, CU-Health Sciences Center, and Mr. Dean Wolf, Executive Vice President for Administration for the Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC), presented three FY 2007-08 capital construction requests: (1) the Science Building Addition and Renovation project; (2) the South Classroom Addition and Renovation project; and (3) the Arts Building Renovation project. Mr. Wolf provided background on the activities of the joint campus and discussed the impact of increased enrollment on the need for capital improvements to the campus. Mr. Wolf provided an overview of the Science Building Addition and Renovation project, its planning history, and the need for the project.


04:07 PM

Dr. Johnson provided background on the Community College of Denver, its student body, and its curriculum. Mr. Wolf responded to questions regarding parking capacity at AHEC and efforts to make pedestrian access to the campus safer. Dr. Wolf and Dr. Jordan provided further detail regarding the need for the Science Building project, and the impact the project will have on the AHEC campus and its constituent institutions.


04:17 PM

Dr. Jordan continued to brief the committee on the impact of the Science Building project on academic programs on the AHEC campus. Discussion ensued regarding finding auxiliary funding sources for the project. Mr. Wolf responded to questions regarding the overall cost of the project.


04:27 PM

Discussion ensued regarding the potential impact of the loss of funding in future years on the project's future phases and the potential for entering into a lease-purchase agreement to fund the project. Dr. Jordan followed up with comments on the deteriorated state of the existing Science Building. Discussion followed regarding the relationship between the AHEC campus institutions and the downtown Denver community. Discussion returned to the potential for securing non-state funding for portions of the project, then turned to the impact the Science Building addition and renovation would have on the community.