Built in 1930, Tammen Hall once served as a dormitory for nurses at nearby Children’s Hospital Colorado. The building had sat vacant for the past decade, so the owner decided a design-build delivery was the best option to renovate it and provide 49 affordable and independent-living apartments for seniors.  The redevelopment accomplished two important goals. It preserved the building’s historic integrity and helped to address the city’s affordable-housing crisis. 

The team restored several original spaces within Tammen Hall, including the historic entry and foyer, the theater and the corridors. New amenities include a community room as well as areas for residents to enjoy the outdoors. The team used laser scanning to help create a model with accurate as-builts, using 360-degree cameras throughout the process to capture its progress. The team was also challenged in conforming to National Park Service and city of Denver standards for historic landmarks and meeting affordable-housing requirements. The decision to leave mechanical systems exposed maintained the design aesthetic and helped to meet cost pressures and the requirements for tax credits, critical for funding the project. Constraints of the original layout and the building’s existing footprint further reduced space available for apartments. Designers worked around existing corridors to create apartments with efficient layouts and appropriate square footage.

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