Clayworks

AC Development is undertaking a long-horizon transformation of Clayworks, a historic ceramics manufacturing site in the heart of downtown Golden, Colorado. Once a cornerstone of the region’s industrial heritage, the mixed-use site is evolving into one of the Front Range’s most sustainable and wellness-centered districts. The redevelopment reflects a belief that strong financial performance can be achieved by creating exceptional places that deliver lasting positive social and environmental impact. To advance this vision, the team established rigorous sustainability goals for the high-profile Clayworks master site, treating sustainability as a core business strategy rather than an added feature. Envisioned as a long-term model for resilient, responsible redevelopment, Clayworks uses third-party certifications to translate, verify, and strategically implement its bold sustainability strategy. Stok is guiding LEED and WELL certification across the development at both the building and district scale to bring the vision to life in support of AC Development’s sustainability leadership.

At a Glance

Client:AC Development

Location:Golden, CO

Industry:Mixed-Use

Size:1.25M SF

Project Team:AC Development (Client)Holder Construction (General Contractor) Provident Construction (General Contractor)Tryba Architects (Architect) Lamar Johnson Collaborative (Architect)Hord Coplan Macht (Architect)

Certifications:LEED ND SilverLEED NC v4 Gold (targeting)WELL Community (targeting)WELL v2 Platinum (targeting)

Solutions:

WELL Consulting
WELL Community Consulting
LEED Consulting
LEED Neighborhood Development
LEED Zero

The Challenge

As one of the largest construction projects in Golden, Clayworks carries significant visibility and opportunity. The redevelopment transforms a former industrial site into a 1.25 million square foot mixed-use campus with office, mixed-income residential, retail, hospitality, and community spaces. Delivering this vision required balancing the opportunities and constraints of adaptive reuse, including environmental remediation and thoughtfully incorporating parts of the original structure into a high-performance modern development while maintaining performance and resilience goals. At the same time, the team needed to maintain strong support from community and City stakeholders over a multiphase, long-term redevelopment.

To build alignment and accountability, AC Development established a custom planned unit development (PUD) for the master site, embedding performance criteria directly into the project framework. Third-party certifications served as a critical tool for translating these commitments into clear standards, measurable outcomes, and coordinated implementation across multiple buildings and development phases.

Sarah Marvez

Director of Commercial Development, AC Development

“Stok has been an invaluable partner in helping us deliver on Clayworks’ ambitious sustainability vision. Their team consistently distills complex sustainability requirements into clear, streamlined, actionable steps that keep our project moving forward with confidence. They’ve helped us coordinate across multiple certifications and stakeholders while staying focused on long-term performance outcomes. Working with Stok has made an inherently complex process feel structured, collaborative, and achievable.”

The Solution

ALIGNMENT ACROSS MULTIPLE CERTIFICATIONS

The project team is using third-party certifications as structured frameworks to track, verify, and advance building performance. To navigate the complexity of multiple rating systems and development phases, the developer is leading a coordinated certification approach across the master site, with Stok supporting alignment of strategies and implementation across project teams, operating as a central sustainability hub. While there is overlap among rating systems, many requirements remain distinct, particularly between community-scale and building-scale programs, requiring careful coordination to maintain clarity without oversimplification.

BALANCING RIGOR AND EFFICIENCY ACROSS LEED AND WELL

With certification efforts advancing on different schedules, the team developed site-wide operations, purchasing, and waste management policies that apply across all buildings and the master site, satisfying both LEED and WELL requirements simultaneously. By applying shared policies where appropriate and maintaining distinct strategies where standards diverge, the project reduces redundancy while preserving the rigor and intent of each certification system.

Stok supported biophilic design strategies that strengthen connections to nature and enhance occupant well-being and air quality, as well as translated a comprehensive onsite and offsite renewables program into a pathway toward LEED Zero certification. Stok also helped the team quantify cooling water savings associated with the project’s ground-source heat pump system, contributing to whole-project water use reduction. By grounding certification efforts in measurable outcomes like water performance, resilience, and occupant experience, the project demonstrates progress toward its sustainability commitments while maintaining flexibility as phased development continues.

LONG-TERM PARTNERSHIP FOR A PHASED REDEVELOPMENT

Still in the early phases of the redevelopment, Stok’s role evolves alongside the project, providing continuity across phases and guiding early decisions that support long-term certification success. By helping apply sustainability strategies at the project and district scale, Stok supports a clear, coordinated path forward as the Clayworks vision continues to come to life.

Learn more about Clayworks.