Three of Denver’s main cultural facilities will be receiving necessary maintenance and expansion as part of the Better Denver Program.
1G will allow the City to issue $60.5 million in bonds to invest in refurbishment and maintenance of the Denver Botanic Gardens, Boettcher Concert Hall, and Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
1H will allow the City to issue $70 million in bonds to completely renovate and rebuild Boettcher Concert Hall and construct a new science learning center at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.
Progress Report
New Greenhouse Complex Complete and open in September
Construction of the Denver Botanic Gardens’ new, $15 million, 15,000 square foot Greenhouse Complex is scheduled to be complete and open to the public by Labor Day weekend of 2010. Displays and educational programming throughout the facility will provide information about tropical ecosystems, their diversity, functions and importance. Funded by the citizens of Denver through the voter-approved Better Denver Bond Program, the greenhouse facility is located just to the west of the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory.
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New and Improved Phipps Special Exhibits Gallery at DMNS Complete
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science completed the total renovation of Phipps Special Exhibits Gallery in October, 2009, the Museum’s first large-scale project funded by the voter-approved Better Denver Bond Program. In order to bring Phipps Gallery up to contemporary museum standards, the space was completely gutted and re-built. Crews installed a new vapor barrier and new air handling units to control temperature and humidity levels inside the gallery. These improvements have made Phipps Gallery more comfortable for visitors and create a stable environment for rare and fragile artifacts featured in the finest traveling exhibitions.
The entrance to Phipps Gallery was reconfigured to include a vestibule, and the gallery’s exterior walls are covered in new wood paneling, giving the gallery a sophisticated look. Just outside the gallery is 7,500 square feet of new floor space, providing visitors a bright, spacious area in which to gather. A new, faster elevator was installed adjacent to Phipps Gallery, and two new stairways were built on the south end of the building, providing improved visitor access to the gallery and better emergency exits.
The renovation and expansion was done using sustainable construction practices. Crews used low-emitting materials in construction, and the gallery was designed to consume less power overall. In addition, 17,254 pounds of materials from the old gallery were reused in the new gallery, saving tons of trash from the landfill. The terrazzo floor covering outside the gallery includes 4,000 pounds of recycled crushed beer bottles.
The Denver-based firm klipp served as lead architect on the Phipps Gallery renovation project. Haselden Construction, LLC, served as the lead contractor. Other contractors on the project include CB Richard Ellis, BCER Engineering, Inc., Scanlon Szynskie Group, Inc., and Ambient Energy. The total project cost was approximately $11 million dollars.
Museum Education and Collections Facility
The remaining $30 million in Better Denver funding that the Museum will receive will be used toward the construction of an Education and Collections Facility on the south end of the Museum building. The new facility will include a Science Engagement Center to accommodate education programs for both visitors and school children, and the Rocky Mountain Science Collections Center, an underground storage area to house the 1.4 million objects in the Museum’s collections. The Museum is currently raising matching funds for this project
Denver Museum of Nature & Science Receives Largest Donation in its History
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science has received the largest donation in its 109-year history, an $8 million gift from the Morgridge Family Foundation for the construction of a new Science Engagement Center. The facility will be funded through private fundraising and funds from the Better Denver bonds.
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Denver Performing Art Complex / Boettcher Concert Hall
Bond funded work on Denver Performing Art Complex / Boettcher Concert Hall will be occurring in 2010 and 2011. The work addresses critical refurbishment and repair needs including repair work on the roof and plaster ceiling, repair of leaks in the Pavilion, replacement of damaged carpet, repair of the elevator hydraulic leak, and upgrades or improvements to the fire and sound systems.