In Denver’s historic Globeville neighborhood, decades of environmental injustice and housing instability created an urgent need for high-quality, affordable homes. Evergreen Real Estate Group, Rocky Mountain Communities, and the GES Coalition responded with a bold, community-led vision: a mixed-use development that combines high-quality affordable housing, a public library, and shared community spaces — delivered quickly, sustainably, and at scale.
Mass Timber as a Foundation for Community Renewal
To achieve this goal, the project team embraced mass timber as a core construction strategy, using prefabrication and digital coordination to meet ambitious environmental, schedule, and budget targets. Community engagement was central to the project’s design.
Guided by the GES Coalition, residents helped shape unit layouts, outdoor spaces, and shared amenities to reflect local needs and priorities. Townhome units with direct entries support multi-generational living, while shared courtyards and community spaces foster connection and well-being.
The Globeville development is a 250,000 sq. ft., 5-storey mass timber community hub, providing:
- 170 affordable units
- a new Denver Public Library branch
- a community café
- Exposed wood surfaces that enhance warmth and acoustic comfort
- More than 50,000 sq. ft. of landscaped green space.
The mass timber structure plays a central role in creating a healthy, biophilic environment, bringing natural materials into daily life while supporting long-term durability and operational efficiency.
Designing for Performance and Belonging
Element5 is supplying cross-laminated timber (CLT) floor, wall, and roof panels as well as project support through digital modelling, design-for-manufacture-and-assembly (DfMA) collaboration, and precision fabrication. This mass timber system enables modular layouts, long spans, and efficient installation—key advantages for a project of this scale and complexity.
Performance and durability are central to the project’s success. A 5-ply CLT floor system provides a cost-effective two-hour fire rating while meeting acoustic and vibration requirements. All-electric systems and near net-zero targets further support long-term environmental performance.
Globeville demonstrates how mass timber can drive housing justice, environmental leadership, and construction efficiency at scale. By combining prefabrication, community partnership, and high-performance design, the project sets a new benchmark for affordable housing in North America.
