Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center Office Tower to Reopen After Extensive Reconstruction

October 3, 2024, Denver, CO—The Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center office tower, which suffered significant fire and water damage on Jan. 2, 2024, will reopen its doors to the public on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. After ten months of mitigation, repair, and cleaning, portions of the office tower are open for public access.

The reconstruction and safety mitigation work took place over several months following the break-in of the Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center in the early morning hours of January 2, 2024, which resulted in significant damage to the building’s tower unit. A fire was set on the seventh floor of the office building, and fire sprinklers ran for two hours, leaving ankle-deep water on one floor and damaging the floors below. Other damage resulted from fire extinguishing equipment, requiring significant water and materials mitigation and some complete rebuilds of significantly damaged floors. Smoke was recirculated throughout the entire building through the HVAC system, which required substantial industrial hygienic cleaning.

During the initial reopening phase, the public will have access to floors 1 and 2 of the office tower. These floors will be open during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Access to floors 8-12 will be available by appointment only.

Floors 3-7 will remain closed due to the extensive water damage sustained during the incident. The ongoing reconstruction efforts are focused on rebuilding these floors to allow occupancy of the tenants and access to visitors. The estimated completion time for the full reconstruction of the Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center is set for the summer of 2025.

“The Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center is an important symbol in our legal community- it is the hub of activity for a number of agencies critical to our judicial system. Its partial reopening marks a significant milestone in the recovery process from the devasting events that severely damaged the tower complex earlier this year,” said Chief Justice Monica M. Márquez. “A dedicated team has worked tirelessly for many months to ensure that employees can safely return to their workspaces.”

Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center visitors can expect a professional and secure environment. For more information about the Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center and its reopening, please visit coloradojudicial.gov.

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