This project represents the 4th phase of the original master plan for this greenfield campus and added a new 76,000-square-foot (7,060 m²) three-story medical building that houses inpatient behavioral health patients, inpatient rehabilitation patients, Electroconvulsive therapy procedure rooms, and several clinics for Boulder Community Health. The project also included a 460-space parking garage with some mixed-use retail space. Both the building and garage are 55 feet tall (17m), thanks to an exemption from the Planning Board to the city’s 35-foot (11 m) limit.

The medical building has brought together services for patients that were previously in different locations, reducing the need for travel and therefore improving efficiency, safety and recovery. The facilities include an outpatient area, procedure rooms, behavioral health in-patient facilities and space for integrative care such as therapeutic massage, acupuncture and Reiki. These services are important resources for many patients, including those at the nearby Rocky Mountain Cancer Center.

WSP provided Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing services for the owner, Boulder Community Health, including work on the Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems.

City of Boulder codes require the building to operate 30% better than International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) 2012 requirements. These aggressive requirements meant the design team needed to study many different design approaches while always watching the overall project budget. Ultimately, the team, along with owner input, decided on a high-efficiency boiler and domestic hot water plant coupled with packaged rooftop equipment with DX cooling and evaporative condensing.

The building is designed to utilize tunable white lighting throughout all the patient care areas. The lighting system is designed to change the lighting color temperatures to mimic natural circadian rhythms to promote patient wellness, provide better healing outcomes, and increase staff satisfaction.