The Metro State Hotel & Hospitality Learning Center on the Auraria Campus will break ground February 2011.

The proposed combination hotel/academic building is planned for the corner of Auraria Parkway and 12th Street where tennis courts are currently located. Here’s the site from Google Earth:

2010-12-15_hlc_aerial

The hotel portion will be branded as a Marriott SpringHill Suites and will contain 150 rooms, a conference facility with a 350-person capacity, and a fast-casual restaurant franchise. The hotel will be managed by Denver’s Sage Hospitality. The academic portion will include over 21,000 square feet of classrooms, laboratories, and faculty offices for Metro State’s Hospitality, Tourism & Events program.

Here are three images of the project, courtesy of RNL Design:

View of the northeastern side. The intersection in the foreground is eastbound Auraria Parkway (wide street in front) and 12th Street (narrow street heading off to the left):

2010-12-15_hlc

View of the southeastern side facing the athletic fields and Lawrence Street:

2010-12-15_hlc2

Internal courtyard:

2010-12-15_hlc3

If all goes as planned, the facility will open September 2012.