MSU Denver Students Build New 70,000-Square-Foot Health Institute

The Gina and Frank Day Health Institute is rising on the Auraria campus with student labor on site.

Construction began before the 2025 academic year. The project is a five-story, 70,000-square-foot facility. It will house nursing skills labs, classrooms, and a hospitality demonstration kitchen. The university plans to finish construction in July 2027. The building is scheduled to open for the fall 2027 semester.

River Jackson, a construction project management senior, works on the site five days a week. He arrives at 6:30 a.m. and leaves by 11:30 a.m. The site is a 10-minute walk from his dorm. Jackson also plays second base for the MSU Denver baseball team. He attends his classes and practices after his work shift.

Jackson started with basic tasks during the summer. He now manages inspection scheduling and guides inspectors through the site. Superintendent Garrett Vidal said the team initially gave Jackson difficult tasks to test his capability. Vidal said Jackson has done a great job with those responsibilities. Jackson said the trust from his team made the work enjoyable. He noted that helping build a structure that will remain on campus for years feels like a big deal.

Program director Carolyn McGary said the internship schedule aligns with the university class timetable. Students can attend lectures in the afternoon after working in the morning. McGary said this structure removes the commute barrier that often stops students from gaining real work experience while enrolled full time. The program integrates job site experience as a core component of the degree rather than an add-on.

The facility will serve nursing and hospitality programs. Students in those fields will learn inside the building their construction peers helped build. The ground floor includes a hospitality demonstration kitchen. Upper floors contain general classrooms and specialized nursing labs. The university designed the space to train the next generation of Colorado nurses and hospitality professionals.

Colorado’s construction sector added 1,900 jobs in September 2026. The Associated General Contractors of America reported that this was the second-largest single-month gain in the nation. McGary said the high demand validates the program. She said the strong local job market helps recruit students into the field.

The construction team continues work on the structural elements of the building. Inspections are scheduled weekly. Jackson remains on site through the completion phase in July 2027. The university will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony before the fall 2027 semester begins. Students in the construction program will receive a certificate of participation for their work on the project.