Greenwood Village developer John Madden is blending his passion for art with his zeal for real estate in the $100 million speculative office building he’s developing at Greenwood Plaza.
Madden said he wants to establish a Museum of Borrowed Art in the lobby of the 300,000-square-foot Palazzo Verdi.
“I’m lining myself up with people who have art and are willing to loan it for public viewing,” said Madden, who has collected art for decades. “I’d like to work with a museum or somebody that’s more recognized.”
The lobby will be a 60- by 60- by 60-foot domed cube. It will include a replica of the prayer labyrinth in France’s Cathedral of Chartres.
Madden plans to make the lobby available for events.
“It will be a friendly space that opens up onto a nice green area with a fabulous fountain,” he said. “Finding a hall when you want to invite 150 people is hard. This building will serve a … purpose in this community.”
Madden has spent nearly 40 years developing commercial real estate at Greenwood Plaza, building more than 6 million square feet of space that includes the Fiddlers Green Amphitheatre (now known as Coors Amphitheatre) and Greenwood Athletic Club.
Palazzo Verdi is slated for completion by the middle of next year.
It is adjacent to a 180-room Marriott Renaissance Hotel being developed by Charlie Biederman, oilman Steve Roitman and Walter Isenberg, president and chief executive of Sage Hospitality.
With its large concentration of office space and high-end luxury homes, the south Denver metro area is ripe for a five-star hotel.
The project’s 12,000 square feet of meeting space will include an 8,000-square-foot ballroom.
“They really don’t have a first-class venue for weddings and large events,” Biederman said.
The $65 million hotel is expected to open by late July 2008.
Staff writer Margaret Jackson can be reached at 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com.
