Colorado Real Estate Journal - March 18, 2015
A $50 million adaptive reuse rescued one of downtown Denver’s most treasured and artistic landmarks. Opened in May 2014 in the 1915 Colorado National Bank building, the hotel features 230 guestrooms, 6,000 square feet of meeting space; a fitness center; and Range, a concept restaurant and bar serving local cuisine. Sixteen murals from famed western artist Allen Tupper True have been carefully conserved as part of the grand, colonnaded bank lobby repurposed for the hotel. Vacant since 2007, the building was a badly vandalized eyesore. The project involved removal of hazardous materials while cutting a “doughnut hole” in the existing structure to create a two-story addition. Three of the five original vaults have been repurposed into meeting space. Owner/Developer: Stonebridge Companies Architect: GKK Works Structural Engineer: Monroe & Newell Debt/Equity Participants: US Bank, FirstBank, Denver Urban Renewal Authority, Greenline Ventures, Historic Preservation Tax Credits. General Contractor: Alliance Construction Interior Design: Design Force Wow factor: The 33-inch-thick, 60,000-pound steel safe doors permanently propped open in two meeting rooms.