Colorado UpLift has traded cramped office space for something much bigger, buying a former Aurora church and turning it into a neighborhood-style campus for its youth programs. The nonprofit paid $6 million for the roughly 70,000-square-foot complex on more than six acres, and its first staffers started working out of the building this week. Leaders say the extra room will finally let them roll out gym and wellness options that were never possible in their old digs.
The new campus sits at 1500 S. Dayton Street in Aurora, an address the group now lists on its website. UpLift says the larger footprint will let it pull together classroom instruction, after-school mentoring, and adventure trips under one roof. The organization’s program pages describe in-school classes, after-school mentoring, adventure experiences, and college-and-career support that officials say will be easier to coordinate and deliver from a permanent home base. According to Colorado UpLift, the site will also be a central hub for contact details and program information for partners and volunteers.
As reported by BusinessDen, Colorado UpLift bought the former Rising Star Missionary Baptist Church earlier this month for about $6 million and expects to invest roughly another $6 million over the next couple of years to finish out the campus. The Bank of Colorado supplied a three-year, $3 million loan to help fund the purchase, and the seller agreed to cut the sale price in half in exchange for an affordable leaseback of part of the property. “This [purchase] provides some substantiation to our organization,” CEO Brian Stamer told BusinessDen, adding that UpLift aims to have most of the initial construction wrapped up by the end of the summer.
From small office to full campus
Until now, UpLift operated out of about 17,000 square feet in an office building near the I-70 and I-25 interchange in Globeville, a setup that cramped indoor athletics and made large gatherings tricky. The Aurora property changes that, with room for a full gym, a basketball court, and shared spaces that complementary nonprofits can use at no cost. Local coverage of UpLift’s former office site is available through Mile High CRE.
What it could mean for kids
Colorado UpLift works with roughly 4,000 students each school year and says more than 100,000 people have taken part in its programs since the group launched in 1982. The nonprofit reported nearly $6 million in annual contributions in its 2024 tax filing and employs about 43 full-time staffers. Leaders say those resources will go further with a campus that can host classes, trips, and community events in one place. Those figures and the details of the expansion were outlined by BusinessDen…