In 1994, a group of parents founded Stargate School in Thornton, Colo., 10 miles northeast of Denver. And for more than two decades, Stargate has served gifted and talented students from kindergarten through 8th grade.
Last year, Stargate rented space from a nearby church in order to expand its educational services to 9th graders. But that move betrayed Stargate’s need for a much bigger facility to realize its goal of becoming a K-12 learning center.
On August 23, Stargate opened a new $51 million charter school located on a 43-acre campus near the intersection of Interstate 25 and 144th Avenue. (Stargate sold its old building to the Archdiocese of Denver, which plans to continue using it as a school).
The project, which broke ground in May 2015, is the largest charter school project in Colorado, and the second-largest to be completed in the nation. It includes two academic buildings (K-6th grade gets 75,000 sf; 7th-12th 55,000 sf), a 25,000-sf field house and weight room; and an amphitheater. The site design incorporates a quad-style campus, and each academic building includes breakout spaces and a learning commons/makerspace for kids to pursue “passion projects.”
Stargate added a 10th grade for this school year, when enrollment is 1,175. Stargate will add 11th and 12th grades in 2017 and 2018, respectively, bringing Stargate's projected total enrollment to 1,600.
The school is chartered by Adams 12 Five Star School District. It was designed by the Denver studio of Hord|Coplan|Macht, and built by JHL Constructors. Inline Management is the owner’s rep. “The campus design and the variety of learning spaces we created reflect the innovative educational vision of the school leadership and board members that we worked with from the beginning. They were an inspiration to the design team,” says Adele Willson, principal, Hord|Coplan|Macht.
The project was developed through a public-private partnership that includes Stargate, the City of Thornton, the landowner, investors, and the AEC team. It was financed with bonds through a company called Colorado Bond Shares. The school will pay back the bonds out of operating funds.
The new Stargate School is part of a 70-acre mixed-used development in Thornton, where five acres of retail and commercial space are planned adjacent to the educational facility. The Denver Business Journal reported that the other 22 acres are earmarked for future development, although for what has yet to be disclosed.
The new school will add an 11th and 12th grade class in the next two school years, bringing its enrollment to around 1,600. Image: Courtesy of Stargate School.
Related Stories
| May 17, 2013
University labs double as K-12 learning environments
Increasingly, college and university research buildings are doing double duty as homes for K-12 STEM programs. Here’s how to create facilities that captivate budding scientists while keeping faculty happy.
| May 15, 2013
Center for Green Schools, Architecture for Humanity release new tool for green schools
The 70-page guide demystifies the processes of identifying building improvement opportunities and finance and implementation strategies.
| May 1, 2013
Groups urge Congress: Keep energy conservation requirements for government buildings
More than 350 companies urge rejection of special interest efforts to gut key parts of Energy Independence and Security Act
| Apr 30, 2013
Tips for designing with fire rated glass - AIA/CES course
Kate Steel of Steel Consulting Services offers tips and advice for choosing the correct code-compliant glazing product for every fire-rated application. This BD+C University class is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.
| Apr 30, 2013
First look: North America's tallest wooden building
The Wood Innovation Design Center (WIDC), Prince George, British Columbia, will exhibit wood as a sustainable building material widely availablearound the globe, and aims to improve the local lumber economy while standing as a testament to new construction possibilities.
| Apr 25, 2013
Colorado State University, DLR Group team to study 12 high-performance schools
DLR Group and the Institute for the Built Environment at Colorado State University have collaborated on a research project to evaluate the effect of green school design on occupants and long-term building performance.
| Apr 24, 2013
North Carolina bill would ban green rating systems that put state lumber industry at disadvantage
North Carolina lawmakers have introduced state legislation that would restrict the use of national green building rating programs, including LEED, on public projects.
| Apr 24, 2013
Los Angeles may add cool roofs to its building code
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants cool roofs added to the city’s building code. He is also asking the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to create incentives that make it financially attractive for homeowners to install cool roofs.
| Apr 22, 2013
Top 10 green building projects for 2013 [slideshow]
The AIA's Committee on the Environment selected its top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment.
| Apr 19, 2013
7 hip high-rise developments on the drawing board
Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill's whimsical Dancing Dragons tower in Seoul is among the compelling high-rise projects in the works across the globe.
