By Lindsey Coulter

AURORA, Colo. — Aurora Public Schools has officially broken ground on a new P-8 school in the Horizon Uptown community, marking one of the first major projects funded by the district’s historic $1 billion bond program.

Parents, students, staff and community members gathered to celebrate the start of construction on the 124,000-square-foot building, which will replace the current Clyde Miller P-8. The original school opened in 1981 as an elementary school and later transitioned to a P-8, but district officials said the building lacks the instructional spaces and amenities of a modern facility and is in need of significant repairs.

Karla Gonzalez-Morales, whose children will attend the new school, addressed the crowd during the ribbon cutting, sharing her excitement about the future.

“When a community comes together like this, it sends a powerful message to our children that their education is a priority worth celebrating,” Gonzalez-Morales said.

The new school will serve both Clyde Miller families and students in the growing Horizon Uptown neighborhood. The three-story design by local architecture firm Anderson Mason Dale includes abundant windows for natural light, exploratory labs on each floor, and dedicated art and music rooms for vocal and instrumental programs. A full-size gym and expanded athletics offerings will also be available for middle school students.

APS Superintendent Michael Giles, Jr. praised the collaboration between architects, construction management teams and developers.

Before the ceremony concluded, attendees were invited to sign a structural beam with names, handprints and messages. The beam will be temporarily displayed at Clyde Miller P-8 before being installed in the new building, which is scheduled to open in August 2026.

The P-8 school is one of many projects supported by Aurora voters’ approval of the 2024 bond and accompanying $30 million annual capital mill levy. The $1 billion bond — the largest in Colorado history — funds new construction, renovations and technology upgrades across the district.

Every project falls under one of four community-driven themes: enhanced health, safety and security; equitable future planning; innovative learning opportunities; and state-of-the-art technology.

In addition to the Horizon Uptown P-8, the bond will finance construction of a new Health Science High School, a new building for Laredo Elementary School, and two other new P-8 schools. Major renovations are also planned for Gateway High School, Pickens Technical College and Aurora West College Preparatory Academy. Career and technical education spaces at the high school level and learning and support spaces districtwide will also be upgraded.

District leaders said the projects aim to improve both student learning environments and staff working conditions while preparing schools for future growth.

“As we look ahead, these investments are about more than just buildings,” Giles said. “They’re about ensuring our students have the opportunities, spaces and resources to thrive.”

Aurora Public Schools expects the Horizon Uptown P-8 to welcome its first students at the start of the 2026-27 school year.

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AURORA, Colo. —  ZGF, in partnership with Anderson Mason Dale, is designing The Anschutz Health Sciences Building at the University of Colorado to be an integral and dynamic focal point of the campus, emboldening the campus as a leading medical care, research and educational facility.

Ground broke on the seven-story, 390,914-square-foot interdisciplinary building January 2019, serving as a beacon for the campus, and marking an entry point to the campus via the “artwalk” – a path connecting many campus buildings.

Key design elements include: facilities for computational research and clinical trials, a simulation education hub, mental health clinics, a data center, faculty offices, and other educational and amenity spaces to be shared by the campus.

Integration of exterior and interiors spaces with ledges and terraces that offer both spaces for collaboration and access to the outdoors.

Occupant wellness and biophilia strategies, including connection to outdoors and daylighting.

And lastly, a sky-lit atrium which serves as a central gathering space, promoting connection and collaboration across the multiple floors.

The facility supports multiple users, including researchers, faculty and staff, students and patients, and includes facilities for computational research and clinical trials, an educational medicalsimulation hub, mental/behavioral health research clinics, faculty offices, and other educational and amenity spaces to be shared by the campus.

The building’s structure takes its cues from the carved mass of the surrounding mountains and canyons in ode to Colorado’s regional identity and is expressed as a rich layering of plateaus and faces in the crystalline exterior palette of metal and glass.

The exterior architecture vernacular extends into the interior spaces, creating moments for occupants to interact between the interior and exterior environments with ledges and terraces that allow access to the outdoors and Colorado landscape views. 

Designers used parametric modeling to analyze the building envelope, daylighting and glazing performance and inform a rich compositional design approach that combines performance and beauty into a truly integrated design solution. A highly efficient heat recovery system will support the University’s energy goals, resulting in an approximate 60 percent energy reduction versus existing buildings, and 20 percent energy cost savings against current energy code.

The project is targeting LEED Gold v4 and is scheduled for completion in 2021.

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