Sustainability Spotlight - August 2026 - Lutheran Campus: Sustainable Deconstruction

Have you noticed that the former Lutheran Hospital campus between W 32nd and W 38th Avenues is undergoing some changes? The Colorado-based developer E5x has started redeveloping the 100-acre site, starting with deconstructing it.

Construction and demolition materials are a significant source of waste in the United States. When buildings are torn down, the process typically generates about 90% of the overall generation of waste in the construction cycle, meaning that old buildings usually end up in the landfill.

But the former Lutheran Hospital campus is getting recycled. We talked to Chris Elliott, the president of E5x, about the process and the results. So far, the diversion rate from landfills is at 74%, with more than 70,000 tons of concrete and asphalt repurposed for roads and other paved materials on site. E5x estimates the deconstruction will be complete next year, so there is still work to be done.

Wheat Ridge’s Sustainability Action Plan dedicates an entire section to Solid Waste and Recycling. The main goals are to reduce negative impacts of waste management on city infrastructure and the local environment and to improve waste management behavior by residents, businesses, and institutions. Since the Legacy development is so substantial, the way E5x and the other developers who will eventually work on the property deal with waste will have a considerable impact on Wheat Ridge.

Read more about the process and how this effort could help set an example for other developers in Wheat Ridge in Sustainable Wheat Ridge’s article in the Neighborhood Gazette.

https://ngazette.com/a-new-life-for-old-materials-the-sustainable-deconstruction-of-the-lut/