The Academy at High Point, temporary charter school within the High Point at DIA subdivision, Aurora, Colorado

Size, description, scope:

The Academy at High Point is a 6.0-acre state charter school located in the heart of the High Point subdivision.  The Academy is a portion of the first phase of the larger future High Point at DIA Civic Center Complex.  The Academy is a 63,591 square foot building with a LEED level of Silver and which incorporates many aspects of sound design procedure.  J3’s scope for the project was site development including layout variations, utility design, parking layout and design, site circulation and drop-off lane design, drainage plans for interim and ultimate conditions, overlot grading, and engineering planning for the future Civic Center uses.

Design challenges/resolution:

The Academy is located on the jurisdictional boundary between the City of Aurora and the City and County of Denver. Due to this fact, coordination between the two entities was critical for the drainage component of this site. Additionally, the site is the first phase of the Civic Center Complex. Consideration and analysis of future uses and components were incorporated into the site design. Maintaining fire access to within 150 feet of all portions of the building was a challenge given the site programming and anticipated future school uses. This problem was solved by integrating the fire lane access into extra wide walkways and hard surface play areas such as the basketball court.

J3 Engineering Consultants, Inc. 3151 S. Vaughn Way, Suite 380 Aurora, Colorado 80014 USA

Phone: 303.368.5601