The Union Tower West project announced back in October 2014 has broken ground!

Union Tower West, located at the corner of 18th and Wewatta adjacent to the new Union Station Transit Center, is being developed by Portman Holdings and will feature 100,000 square feet of office space and a 180-room hotel. The ceremonial groundbreaking party was held on April 9.

The hotel will be operated by the InterContinental Hotels Group as part of their Hotel Indigo brand, according to this press release. The Hotel Indigo Denver will be the first Hotel Indigo location in Colorado, and represents the third upscale hotel brand to announce a first-in-Colorado location in Downtown Denver in the past few months. The rendering below, courtesy of project architect John Portman & Associates, hasn’t changed much since our October post, except the Hotel Indigo logo now appears on the side of the building.

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I stopped by the site today to see if any construction activity has started since the ceremonial groundbreaking six days ago and, indeed, found a bulldozer pushing around a pile of dirt while two construction workers nearby were setting up some equipment. It’s not much, but it’s a start!

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Union Tower West is scheduled to be complete late 2016.