Project Use Type: Medical: Inpatient Hospital
Client: Adeptus Health / UCHealth
Location: Broomfield, CO
Property Size: Approximately 5 Acres
Building Square Footage: 86,000 SF
Services Provided:
– Civil Engineering Design
– Infrastructure Planning Services
– Geotechnical Soil Analysis
– Utility Coordination Management
– ADA-Compliant Site Design
– Foundation Engineering Solutions
Unique Solution:
Developed a value-engineered four-foot-tall crawl space foundation to mitigate catastrophic risks from expansive Colorado soils without the high cost of deep drilled piers.
Case Study: Building Stability and Savings in Expansive Colorado Soils
Context & Services
In partnership with Adeptus Health, we provided comprehensive civil engineering and infrastructure planning for the 86,000 SF UCHealth Broomfield Hospital. Our team managed the full life cycle of the project’s requirements, including geotechnical and soil analysis, utility coordination, and ADA-compliant site design. We recognized that in healthcare development, every latent site condition represents a potential risk to the long-term integrity of the facility.
The Unique Solution
The Broomfield site presented a significant geological challenge: highly expansive soils that are prone to dramatic heaving when wet, resulting in foundation movement. This instability poses potential catastrophic financial and operational risks for any building; in the healthcare setting, it can also disrupt sensitive medical equipment and compromise patient care.
Rather than defaulting to the expensive industry practice of using deep drilled piers and grade beams, our team engineered a more elegant, value-focused solution. We designed the hospital foundation with a four-foot-tall crawl space, providing a critical buffer that allows the soil to expand during rainy seasons without impacting the structure. The solution protected the client’s budget and ensured a 50-to-100-year lifespan for the facility.
Success & Impact
This strategic design choice saved the client significant capital by allowing the use of traditional foundation methods. The result is a stable, future-proofed medical campus that opened on schedule, providing the Broomfield community with 22 inpatient beds and 24/7 emergency services without excessive soft-cost overruns.
