Music blared and fireworks popped Thursday morning as the support beam for a 10,000 pound, four-story-tall, light- emitting beacon was placed on top of the Hyatt Regency Denver. The $355 million hotel at 650 15th St. is slated to open in December.
The beam represents the final piece of steel framing for the hotel, a project marked by false starts and contentious debate among Denver politicians and developers.
“This is truly a great moment,’ Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper told the crowd of several hundred spectators, many of whom craned their necks as the beam was raised 450 feet above the ground. “We took the right risk, and we will get the right reward.’
Several Denver dignitaries attended the 50-minute ceremony, including former Mayor Wellington Webb and a handful of Denver City Council members.
The event offered a momentary break for some of the 600 construction workers currently finishing the project.
“We are that much closer to the boss buying us a beer,’ said glass installer Bernie Walker, 31, of Arvada.
The hotel already has 55 groups booked for 2006, accounting for at least 115,000 definite room nights.
The hotel has groups booked through 2013.
StorageTek, the Louisville-based maker of tape and disk drives that store computer data, formally agreed Thursday to be the first major company to hold a conference there. It will bring more than 1,200 people to a sales meeting in January.
Denver officials said they hope the hotel will attract more businesses to the recently expanded Colorado Convention Center, while acting as an economic engine for the metro area.
“It will spur more opportunities for business to come here, as well as more opportunities for businesses that are already here,’ said Tami Door, chief executive of the Downtown Denver Partnership.
But some industry watchers warned that the Hyatt and other planned hotels could siphon business away from existing hotels – at least initially.
“These new hotels will take some business away from existing hotels, but they will also bring in new business,’ said Robert Benton, publisher of the Rocky Mountain Lodging Report. “It may take some time for the hotel and the convention center to ramp up.’
Staff writer Will Shanley can be reached at 303-820-1473 or wshanley@denverpost.com.
