Aloft is finally taking flight in metro Denver.
Centennial-based Stonebridge Cos. plans to build a 140-room Aloft hotel at Arista in Broomfield, a new development anchored by the $45 million Broomfield Event Center.
Aloft is the new urban hotel brand from Starwood Hotels & Resorts. It is being promoted as a less expensive version of Starwood’s trendy, upscale W Hotels division.
“While (Arista Place) is a suburban location, it is designed as an urban, high-density site,” said Navin Dimond, president of Stonebridge. “With the sports arena and all the office and commercial traffic on the U.S. 36 corridor, I think there will be plenty of demand.”
Denver is one of the first U.S. metro areas to get the contemporary Aloft brand, which was first unveiled in September 2005. At the time, White Plains, N.Y.- based Starwood said it had identified Denver’s upscale Cherry Creek area as the “ideal location for the brand.”
Starwood said Friday that it is exploring other metro Denver sites for additional Aloft outposts.
The boutique hotel will go into the first phase of the Broomfield development, known as Arista Place. It will feature amenities such as a lounge, an indoor swimming pool and loftlike rooms with high-tech features.
Aloft’s room prices will range from roughly $105 to $149 a night, said Dimond.
Local hotel consultant Robert Benton said he believes Broomfield is a good fit for the brand.
“Aloft is really positioned to compete against a Hilton Garden Inn or Courtyard by Marriott-level hotel,” he said. “There are a lot of high-tech companies in that area, which should draw a lot of younger travelers” interested in that price point.
The official groundbreaking for Arista Place will take place Tuesday at 11 a.m. It is scheduled to be completed by spring 2008.
The project also will feature three office buildings with 50,000 square feet of ground-floor retail, plus three residential buildings offering rental apartments and townhomes.
Stonebridge, which has 16 hotels in the metro area, is also building a 221-room, $35 million Hilton Garden Inn at 14th and Welton streets in Denver. The 12-story hotel is scheduled to open this summer.
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-954-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
