AdventHealth Aurora Highlands construction goes vertical

AdventHealth Aurora Highlands has reached an important milestone. Construction on the freestanding emergency room has officially gone vertical.

Work has shifted focus from foundations to the structural frame.

This $81 million, 88,290-square-foot building is being constructed right off E-470, just south of The Aurora Highlands Parkway exit.

The first floor will be home to the emergency room and an outpatient imaging center while the second floor will be designed as clinic space. The third floor will be shelled for future clinic space. The program manager for the project is ADAMS Management Services, the architect is HKS, and Mortenson is the general contractor.

One unique aspect of AdventHealth Aurora Highlands is that it will be served by geothermal energy, helping reduce carbon emissions and energy consumption.

Crews have been busy digging individual wells and are in the process of connecting each of them to a larger network that will bring heat and cool air to the building.

AdventHealth Aurora Highlands is already being recognized for its innovative design. In April, the project received the 2025 Colorado Association of Healthcare Engineers and Directors Silver Award.

The award recognizes projects grounded in purpose and delivered with excellence by the project team, which includes AdventHealth, WSP, Mortenson, HKS and Kimley-Horn.

By August, the steel frame of the building should be complete. Construction is on track for AdventHealth Aurora Highlands ER to welcome its first patient in September 2026. When it opens, it will be considered a department of AdventHealth Parker.

The long-term goal is for AdventHealth Aurora Highlands to expand into a Level III trauma hospital as the neighborhood continues to grow.

This expansion is part of AdventHealth’s commitment to caring for the communities that it belongs to. The organization looks forward to Extending the Healing Ministry of Christ to the northeast Denver metro area.