It already has named for him. Now the University of Colorado Denver Business School is building a downtown event hall that will bear the name of local furniture tycoon Jake Jabs.
The university broke ground Tuesday on an addition to its building at 1475 Lawrence St. that will eventually house a 300-plus-seat event space, two large classrooms, a catering kitchen, business incubator space and a third-story auditorium. When it opens in late 2019, the will also serve as the new headquarters for the founder’seponymousentrepreneurship center.
The event center will cost $11 million to build, according to CU Denver. Jabs gave the university a $12 million gift. Half of it will go to construction costs and the remaining half will be invested into programs, research and scholarships at the entrepreneurship center.
“The gift impacts our students, faculty, and staff by providing the resources to strengthen academic offerings in entrepreneurship,”, said in a statement.
The event hall, designed by architects with , is being built on the site of a courtyard that faces the alley between Lawrence and Larimer streets. CU Denver intends to be part of the city’s “functional alley movement,” officials said in a news release. That same alley has been targeted by Larimer Square owner Jeff Hermanson and partners as the potential pedestal for one of two tall buildings along the historic downtown block.
Jabs, known for starring in TV commercials for his big-box furniture store chain alongside tigers, chimps and other exotic animals, has.
“With the growing interest in entrepreneurship education at this level, this new addition of the event center, auditorium and additional classrooms will make the Jake Jabs Center for Entrepreneurship and CU Denver Business School bigger and better than ever,” Jabs said in a statement.
Updated Oct. 4, 2018, at 7:21 p.m.Because of an error by a source, the total cost of the Jake Jabs Event Center was incorrect in the original version of this story.
