At least two developers will submit proposals to the city today to try to win the right to develop the much-delayed terminal hotel at Denver International Airport.
DIA issued a request for proposals in April for a $185 million, 499-room luxury hotel to be built at the southeast corner of the Jeppesen Terminal.
The submission deadline is 5 p.m. today.
New York-based Starwood Hotels & Resorts confirmed Thursday that it would offer up plans for a 500-room Westin Hotel at the site.
“Starwood is excited about the opportunity to fly its renowned Westin brand flag, providing travelers with a sanctuary for personal renewal at Denver International Airport,” the company said in a statement.
Corporex Colorado, which developed an Embassy Suites near the airport, said it also would make a bid but declined to name the hotel brand it is proposing.
“We have a couple of unique ways of looking at this that we think the city and the airport will find very promising,” said Corporex president and chief operating officer Kim Koehn.
Denver hotel developer Charlie Biederman, who is currently spending $75 million on the downtown Ritz-Carlton Denver, may be another contender.
“If we do go in, we would certainly go in with a luxury product,” he said. “The image of the airport is so impressive nationally that the product that goes in there should rival and compliment its prestige.”
Nearly 150 groups requested information packets for the project, but no proposals had been submitted as of Thursday afternoon, according to DIA spokesman Chuck Cannon.
“We do expect a strong response,” he said.
In 1998, Westin committed to building a $125 million DIA terminal hotel, but in 2003, the city shelved plans to sell bonds to finance the project after United Airlines’ bankruptcy and the economic downturn.
The city would like construction to begin on the hotel in January and have it completed by early 2010, according to the request for proposals.
A deadline has not been set for naming a developer, said Michael Sullivan of Denver’s HVS Capital Corp., which is managing the selection process for the city.
“There is no particular pressure to get it done quickly, but we definitely want to keep the process moving,” he said. “It’s a good hotel market out there, and it’s a good time to get this built.”
Staff writer Julie Dunn can be reached at 303-954-1592 or jdunn@denverpost.com.
