DENVER—Colorado-based real-estate investor and developer McWHINNEY has broken ground on a new 226-room, LEED Silver Hyatt Place hotel at Denver’s Peña Station NEXT. The hotel is scheduled to open in late 2019.
Peña Station NEXT is a transit-oriented, mixed-use development adjacent to Denver International Airport and easily accessible by the University of Colorado A-Line Train. The development is modeled after “smart city” concepts around the world—such as Fujisawa, Japan—to deliver advanced technology, a sense of community, clean energy, and mobility. The 382-acre, $500 million project is slated to offer 1.5 million square feet of commercial space, 500,000 square feet for retail outlets, and 2,500 residences.
Amenities at the Hyatt Place Peña Station NEXT will include: 226 guestrooms with separate spaces to sleep, work, and play; a large bar with a revolving wall to open to exterior elements; a 24/7 Gallery Menu & Market serving freshly prepared meals anytime; a Gallery Kitchen Breakfast available daily; a full-service coffee bar located in lobby; a library and business center; a gaming area; a two-sided fireplace with seating; a 24-hour fitness center; an indoor pool; 3,500 square feet of meeting space; and free WiFi throughout hotel and guestrooms.
“McWHINNEY is excited to be joining the Peña Station NEXT community,” Dave Johnstone, chief investment officer, hospitality, at McWHINNEY, says. “This is a unique, sustainable new development in a prime location by Denver International Airport and we look forward to adding a Hyatt Place hotel into the mix.”
The hotel will be managed by Denver’s Sage Hospitality, a hotel and restaurant management company, real estate investor, and hospitality brand developer. Colorado’s Alliance Construction Solutions is serving as general contractor on the project and Denver architecture firm GKK Works is the designer. L.C. Fulenwider, Inc. is developing Peña Station NEXT in partnership with the Denver International Airport Division of Real Estate and Panasonic Enterprise Solutions Company.
“Peña Station NEXT will be a global showcase for how to develop innovation districts within the fabric of existing cities, changing the way development is done and setting a new standard for smart, sustainable, connected living,” Ferd Belz, president of Fulenwider, says. “The Hyatt Place hotel will be a great amenity for the Peña Station NEXT neighborhood.”
McWHINNEY’s existing hospitality portfolio includes a variety of lodging properties in the Western United States, including The Maven Hotel at Dairy Block in downtown Denver, the AC Hotel Portland in Ore., The Elizabeth Hotel in Fort Collins, and the Great Wolf Lodge in Garden Grove, Calif. The company also owns the 123-room Hyatt House Denver Airport Hotel and is currently developing a new Courtyard by Marriott at Centerra in Loveland, Colo. It is also developing a new 294-room Hyatt Place hotel in Boston’s Seaport District as well.
