Coleman Center

On March 3, 2023, CA faculty, parents, students, and alumni gathered to celebrate the opening of the REDI Lab Aimee and Jonathan Coleman Center in the Mariposa District of Denver. This new home for REDI Lab marks the beginning of the next evolution of CA’s signature program, opening up its mission to the wider world, where the innovative thinking and creativity that are its hallmarks might flourish through authentic connection with the greater Denver community.

Fittingly, the Coleman Center sits at the intersection of innovation, creativity, and equitable growth and development that are reshaping Denver’s urban landscape. Named for a lead gift from CA parents Aimee and Jonathan Coleman, the new facility is the result of a partnership between CA and the Denver Housing Authority (DHA), whose redevelopment of the Mariposa District aims to bring together affordable housing, nonprofits, community groups, entrepreneurs, and the arts to support a vibrant, sustainable, transit-oriented community. 

“REDI Lab’s goal,” says REDI Lab Director Tom Thorpe, “is to build value by elevating students’ passions and interests and providing a platform for sharing their ideas. The Coleman Center mirrors that ambition.”

 

Once housed in a borrowed classroom in CA’s Ponzio Arts Center, REDI Lab now flows through three interconnected spaces in the Coleman Center, each designed with great intention. In a large open area, students can collaborate around a long conference table or use expansive whiteboard walls to brainstorm and build community. In another space equipped with mobile desks and whiteboards and comfortable furniture, students do research, hold interviews with subject-matter experts, and further develop their ideas in small groups or on their own. Finally, in an amphitheater-like zone with tiered seating and a massive display, they refine their “pitches,” in which they share their vision and receive feedback from peers. Wraparound windows provide a view of the neighborhood’s bustling streets.

Learn more about the Coleman Center and its grand opening.