Mile High United Way Tamara M. Sparks Early Learning Center

Mile High United Way (MHUW) partnered with Mortenson to convert the first floor of its facility into the Tamara M. Sparks Early Learning Center, an Early Childcare Education (ECE) preschool. This 6,000-square-foot space is designed to support young children’s developmental needs, featuring infant rooms, toddler rooms, a preschool room, teacher planning rooms, mothers’ rooms, flex rooms, a boardroom, and an outdoor playground.

As the general contractor, Mortenson faced the challenge of transforming the existing space, including converting a parking lot into a playground. The playground was constructed on a pedestal paver system to meet drainage requirements, ensuring a safe and functional outdoor environment.

This transformation turns a significant portion of MHUW’s office building into a licensed childcare center and workforce development facility. With at least 70% of the 60 program openings dedicated to families eligible for the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program, the project was delivered on time and within budget. Mortenson’s efforts earned client satisfaction and statewide recognition for advancing at-work childcare programs.

Disruption Avoidance

Mortenson managed construction in an occupied, active building, involving the first-floor construction conference center, parking garage, exterior plaza, first-floor reprogramming space, and fire alarm upgrades throughout the building. To minimize disruption, we created and distributed avoidance plans, incorporating shift work to prevent noise during peak hours. By integrating the MHUW event schedule into our activities, we informed them of potential high-risk activities during key events. Mitigation strategies included phasing work, providing backup generators during outages, and isolating work areas from the public. We also enhanced construction zones to avoid a typical construction site appearance.

This project underscores Mortenson’s commitment to advancing early childhood education and workforce development, reinforcing MHUW’s mission to support the community and its youngest members. The center is the new hub of for MHUW’s United for Families program, providing high-quality early education for children, workforce development training for teachers and wraparound support for families.