Colleen Walker, chief executive officer of the Auraria Higher Education Center (AHEC), told the Denver City Council Budget & Policy Committee on Jan. 6 that the Auraria Campus is moving forward with a new framework plan and near-term projects intended to strengthen campus identity and revenue while addressing a persistent operating shortfall.

The framework plan, approved in June, lays out a long-range vision for a denser, more integrated campus with six strategic ideas — a centralized academic core, transit-oriented higher-density edges, stronger east‑west pedestrian connections, vertical growth, honoring historic resources, and new collaborative project review procedures — and identifies new auxiliary revenue as a priority to backfill ongoing gaps in the general fund.

AHEC officials said the campus currently operates with roughly $37 million in annual general-fund costs while receiving about $31 million in reappropriated funds from the three institutions on the campus, leaving a roughly $6 million shortfall the campus covers in part with auxiliary revenues such as parking and student fees. “We have a $6,000,000 shortfall that exists,” said Zach Hermsen, chief financial officer for the Auraria Campus, describing the funding structure and why auxiliary revenue is central to the plan.

Campus finances and operations

Zach Hermsen outlined three primary operating funds: a general fund for operations and maintenance (facilities, custodial, campus police and business services); a student revenue-bond fund that supports the Tivoli Student Union and related debt service paid in part by student fees; and a parking enterprise that manages more than 6,000 parking spaces across 14 surface lots and three garages. Hermsen said the general fund supports about 225 full‑time equivalent employees and that the institution-provided reappropriation is allocated based on institutional square footage and student head count.

“We do not receive any money directly from the state of Colorado,” Hermsen said, describing how the Department of Higher Education appropriates funds to the institutions, which then reappropriate portions to the Auraria Campus. He noted the campus also carries about $2 million in deferred-maintenance coverage in the reappropriated funds and pointed to the risks of relying heavily on parking revenue, citing the COVID-era drop in parking receipts as an example of exposure.

Framework plan and development approach

Carl Meeser, deputy chief of campus planning and sustainability, summarized the framework that resulted from more than 80 community engagements. The plan focuses academic uses in the core of campus and envisions mixed-use, higher-density development on the perimeter near transit stations to create a more cohesive campus identity and generate alternative revenue streams, including public‑private partnerships (P3s). Meeser said the campus has modified its internal project timeline so institutions bring concepts to the campus-level review earlier, enabling co‑location and shared developments across institutions.

Ball field redevelopment and housing

Officials described a two-acre parcel that formerly hosted MSU Denver’s baseball field as a first proof-of-concept redevelopment. Colleen Walker and Meeser said the project will include two mixed-use towers around the Tivoli Quad: an east building focused on a "classroom-to-career hub" co‑serving CCD and MSU Denver, and a west tower that will relocate the campus early learning center and include residential floors. Walker said the student-housing component will add about 550 beds and the project will provide roughly 330 affordable housing units targeted at 60% to 120% area median income for faculty, staff and community members. Ivan Anaya, president for Columbia Ventures’ Rocky Mountain region, and Ben Diaz were named as the principal developer and project manager for the early projects.

Child care and early learning center

AHEC said the existing early learning center has about $2.5 million in deferred maintenance and no longer meets current codes. Walker said the redevelopment will increase child-care capacity by about 30% and place a new, updated early learning facility on the ground floor of the west tower to serve campus families and off‑campus community members.

Cultural and community engagement

Lulu Lansy, chief activation officer, described recent cultural programming and community engagement wins, including the "Displaced but Not Erased" mural on Ninth Street, a Peace Garden design phase now under way, and the historic flying of five tribal flags in the campus atrium. Lansy said AHEC has established a Historic Community Committee and is partnering with displaced neighborhood residents; she emphasized a goal of weaving accurate history of the land back into campus displays and programming.

Governance, statutory authority and university relationships

Skip Spear, AHEC chief administrative officer and general counsel, outlined the governance structure: a nine‑member governing board (three governor appointees and six members tied to the three partner institutions’ governing boards). Spear and Walker referenced the campus’ statutory framework in Title 23, Article 70 of the Colorado Revised Statutes and noted that AHEC has broad P3 authority under state law that allows the campus to enter revenue-generating partnerships provided the revenue returns to the campus.

Walker and others confirmed that student- and faculty-advisory committees (SACAB and FACAB) currently serve as non‑voting advisory bodies; AHEC officials said the idea of pursuing voting representation for student and faculty members is under review and would require legislative change.

Questions from council members

Committee members asked about project sequencing, land use for future academic and housing projects, how P3 revenue flows back to campus, resilience of the funding model, and the tension between reducing single‑occupancy vehicle trips and reliance on parking revenue. Council members also raised historic-preservation issues for St. Cajetan’s and the neighborhood, and urged AHEC to continue engagement with displaced residents. Walker and Meeser described transit nodes (Colfax and Auraria West stations) and said the campus is considering transit‑oriented development at those locations.

No formal council action or vote was recorded during the presentation. AHEC officials said more detailed design documents and outreach materials (including a virtual‑reality demonstration) will be provided in subsequent updates.

Ending

AHEC officials said the framework plan is intended as a long-range guide for development and finance that will unfold over decades; near-term items highlighted by presenters include final design work for the ball field parcel, permitting and financing conversations for mixed-use towers at the Tivoli Quad, and continued community outreach on the Peace Garden and historic preservation projects. Committee members asked to receive follow-up materials and links to the framework‑plan engagement record.