River North’s something-for-everyone ambience — shops, restaurants, breweries, galleries, apartments — is adding a hotel to the mix.
A team led by veteran RiNo developers Mickey and Kyle Zeppelin will break ground next month on a 100-room hotel next to the popular Source culinary complex.
The Source Hotel, 3330 Brighton Blvd., will be managed by the operators of the St. Julien Hotel in Boulder.
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When it opens in early 2017, the $41 million hotel will have a courtyard connecting it to the Source and will include 25,000 square feet of retail space with food and artisanal tenants similar to those operating at the adjacent Source. Hotel plans call for a 300-space parking garage that also will serve the Source.
“The Source was ahead of its time, and it has worked really well,” said Kyle Zeppelin. “Our goal is to create a 24-hour experience that puts the (hotel) guests in a one-of-a-kind setting, rooted in the culture of the Source and enhanced by an expanded market hall.”
Zeppelin describes the 10-story hotel’s primary target as “urban destination travelers.”
“It’s a portion of the market that didn’t really exist five to 10 years ago,” he said. “They don’t want the typical corporate hotel experience. They want to be surrounded by an environment that they feel appealing.”
Zeppelin Development was one of RiNo’s redevelopment pioneers with the Taxi mixed-use project on the site of the former Yellow Cab terminal along the South Platte River. Zeppelin opened the Source in 2013 in a 130-year-old former iron foundry.
Co-developers of the hotel include members of Boulder-based St. Julien Partners LLC and River North Investment Partners LLC, a Denver firm focused on downtown and RiNo projects. The design is being handled by Dynia Architects.
Bruce Porcelli, managing member of St. Julien Partners, said room rates will start in the low-$200s.
The hotel will have one of the signature features at Taxi — operable, glass garage doors in place of traditional windows. Beds will face out toward mountain or city views.
Denver hotel consultant John Montgomery said developing a hotel in a transitional neighborhood carries inherent challenges in developing a core clientele and maintaining occupancy.
“I love the idea,” said Montgomery, managing director of Horwath HTL. “A few years ago, there would not have been much need for a hotel of this type in RiNo. Today, it is still a bit of a stretch, but it should be a dynamic addition to that neighborhood.”
He said the hotel is the latest in a series of projects near primarily residential neighborhoods, including The Art, adjacent to the Denver Art Museum, and new boutique lodges in Lakewood, Parker and Arvada.
Steve Raabe: 303-954-1948, sraabe@denverpost.com or twitter.com/steveraabedp
