The 2014 fall semester has been in full swing for weeks, but Colorado School of Mines students moved into the Elm Hall Residence just last weekend.
That’s because the building on 18th Street between Maple and Elm streets in Golden is brand new. Now complete, it adds 207 beds and a 500-seat dining hall to the campus, bringing the school closer to its goal of housing 50-60 percent of its student population on campus.
“Before, there were some freshmen living (in Mines Park) and now all freshmen will be living on campus,” said Chris Cocallas, the school’s director of capital planning and construction. Mines Park is school-owned housing directly south of the main campus at the southwest corner of the intersection of West Sixth Avenue and 19th Street.
The new residence and dining hall are part of a wave of projects in either the planning, design or construction phase for the school — — that is seeing increasing enrollment every year and
The school additionally just recently received state funding for a new, 95,000-square-foot academic and research facility that will replace the existing Meyer Hall at 15th and Arapahoe streets. That will add to its list of active projects that includes a $21 million athletic complex expected to be complete by summer 2015, and , office of student diversity, public relations department and alumni association offices.
Cocallas pointed to areas on campus currently used for parking as potential sites to meet that goal.
Mary Elliot, associate director of student life, said there is an overall excitement among students about the changing campus.
“It’s like a neighborhood when you live on campus,” she said.
But there are other neighborhoods in Golden, and they have not always been so keen on the campus’ new additions.
The school is not required to go to the city for approval on such projects, but it does present plans and considers public input, as it did for the athletic complex, Cocallas said. The school made some compromises on the design after hearing concerns about the height and size of the athletic center.
“Obviously we don’t always have the same goals in any of these processes and we’re liable to have friction,” said Golden’s public works director Dan Hartman, also saying that there are residents in the nearby neighborhood who are “poorly satisfied” with the athletic complex.
Hartman agrees with Cocallas, though, that the school has made a commitment to at least consider the needs of its neighbors and pointed out that everyone has been on the same page with . The school put up $1 million toward the project to improve the intersection, which stands between the main campus and student housing.
Brent Waller, Mines’ director of housing and resident life, said that as the student body grows, the school stays committed to making sure students are involved with the community. He sees the athletic complex as an opportunity to bring the two together.
“I would say they’re welcoming a variety of folks to come to those events to be a part of the Mines community,” he said.
Josie Klemaier: 303-954-2465, jklemaier@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JosieKlemaier
