2025 Mountain States Best Projects
Best K-12 Education: Montbello High School

Montbello High School
Denver
BEST PROJECT
Submitted by Adolfson & Peterson Construction
Owner Denver Public Schools
Lead Design Firm Eppstein Uhen Architects
General Contractor Adolfson & Peterson Construction
Civil/Structural Engineer JVA
MEP Engineer The Ballard Group
Associate Architect Eidos Architects
Representing a transformational investment in one of Denver’s most historically underserved neighborhoods, this project is also the largest capital investment in Denver Public Schools’ history.
The original Montbello High School was closed in 2015, but after the school board committed to reopening the campus following an 85% voter approved $795-million bond in 2020, it was reopened in 2022—and construction kicked off on the new 277,629-sq-ft school in November of that same year.
A phased 30-month schedule allowed portions of the original school to remain open during construction. New systems were built around existing ones while crews navigated parallel utilities and reactivated life safety systems.
A curved building footprint serves as more than just an architectural feature, purposefully created to wrap around the original building, which temporarily housed students during construction. But this shape also resulted in multiple constructibility challenges, including complex layout transitions, structural tie-ins and envelope detailing, which were resolved in the field.
First, the team converted a decommissioned portion of the building into a temporary facility, then crews rebuilt half the campus while preserving four legacy structures: two gyms, a pool and an auditorium. Once the new facility was complete, students transitioned into the new space before the remaining original structures were demolished.


