DENVER — After months of mitigation and repairs due to arson portions of the office tower of the Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center office tower will reopen to the public next week.
The building suffered significant damage on Jan. 2 of this year after a man broke into the building and set a fire on the seventh floor, according to Denver Police. Later that same month court administrator told lawmakers the fire caused sprinklers to run for hours, leading to substantial water damage on multiple floors and the repairs were expected to top $35 million.
There was ankle-deep water on one floor. Other damage resulted from efforts to fight the fire. Smoke also circulated throughout the entire building through the HVAC system, which required substantial industrial hygienic cleaning.=
Starting Tuesday, Oct. 8, the public will have access to floors one and two 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 eight to 12 will be available by appointment only.
Floors three to seven 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 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.”
The suspect, Brandon Olson is facing multiple charges including robbery, burglary and arson. His case is still making its way through the court system.
