City officials, Denver Public Schools board of education members and administrators, and students joined a large contingent of the Shoemaker family to celebrate the official opening of the new Joe Shoemaker Elementary School in southeast Denver. Students began attending the school in August. Formerly known as Hampden Heights ECE-5 School, the 80,000-sq-ft building was designed by AndersonMasonDale Architects and built by GH Phipps Construction Cos. as a series of pods.

Classrooms are clustered so that programs for early-childhood education students and elementary school students are separated by a gymnasium as well as by courtyards. The $19.7-million school also includes a library, offices, a music room that backs up to a performance platform and cafetorium, and a new parking lot. A roof deck will allow students to work on a roof garden, and several learning spaces are available for flexibility as the school grows. Future expansion can occur to the south. The school was funded by Denver voters through the 2012 bond.  

W.E. O’Neil Construction Co. of Colorado, working with ai Design Group and owner Sonic Automotive Inc., broke ground in late July on the new Mercedes-Benz of Denver dealership at 940 S. Colorado Blvd. in Glendale, Colo. The site will be home to a two-story, 93,464-sq-ft vehicle repair and sales facility, complete with a third-story display mezzanine. The groundbreaking also launched demolition on an existing structure and the start of additional sitework to prepare for the new dealership. The facility also will feature a sales floor, reception and waiting area, individual offices and maintenance bays. A car-size elevator will transport vehicles to and from the third-floor display mezzanine.