Aurora – The first piece to what city officials envision as a state-of-the-art hotel and conference center near Denver International Airport was approved Monday night.
The City Council passed a resolution to create the Highpointe Urban Renewal Area, which could allow for the conference center and hotel near Tower Road and Peña Boulevard.
“If we can make this happen, it can be a terrific deal for the citizens of Aurora,” said Mayor Ed Tauer before Monday’s council meeting.
The hotel and conference center would be the anchor of the Highpointe development near DIA.
The development would include a 471-room hotel, a complex of office buildings, a shopping district, housing and an 18-hole golf course.
When finished, the development would be 1,800 acres.
The 35,000-square and conference center and hotel is being developed by Highpointe Conference Resort of Colorado Springs.
Still in the “conceptual stage,” Tauer said, the project must go through planning and zoning and public hearings before becoming a reality.
And there is not even a hotel chain under consideration at this point, Tauer said.
By classifying the area under urban renewal, the city could access up to $12 million from sales and lodging taxes to build roads and other infrastructure specifically for the site.
The city designated the 23 acres where the center would be built as blighted, which is allowed under Colorado law, even though it is not even developed.
Aside from giving the city a much-needed place where citizens can meet, and where smaller conferences could gather, the conference center and hotel would be one of the nearest facilities of its type to DIA.
It would also provide jobs for Aurora.
Councilman Larry Beer said the center is an important project for the city.
“It would be a four-star hotel, a significant amenity for the city,” Beer said.
The proposed development wouldn’t compete with the Colorado Convention Center in downtown Denver, which is about 2 million square feet.
It would be similar in scope to the Omni Interlocken Resort in Broomfield.
Staff writer Carlos Illescas can be reached at 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com.
