A new five-story, 165-room hotel is proposed for a mid-block site along 16th Street between Central and Boulder streets in Lower Highland. Denver-based St. Charles Town Company is the developer. The Google Earth image below shows the approximate outline of the site.

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The new hotel will be operated by Starwood Hotel & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. and branded as a Tribute Portfolio property, Starwood’s newest hotel line that features independent boutique hotels in unique urban settings. The official name of the hotel will be released later in 2016.

Currently on the site are three small houses, two surface parking lots, and a 1970s building now used as offices but originally built as a sales center for mountain ski resort condominiums. One of the houses is vacant, another is occupied by Higdon’s Hair Studio (which will move to a new space around the block) and the third has been used by Amato’s Ale House. The entire site is zoned C-MX-5 (commercial mixed use, five-stories). The project’s 16th Street neighbors include a three-story 1920s-era apartment building at the Boulder Street corner and Amato’s at the Central Street corner. Here’s a view of the site:

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The new hotel building has not yet been designed, but a concept rendering of the development’s preliminary scale and form was prepared by the project architect, Semple Brown Design, for Starwood’s project announcement two weeks ago:

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This concept image shows a five-story building stepping down as it approaches Amato’s to provide a terrace offering great views of the downtown skyline, and a partial setback along 16th Street to create a forecourt for the main pedestrian entry, patio seating, and an engaging sidewalk presence. The project’s several underground parking levels will offer 117 vehicle parking spaces (more may be added as the building’s design evolves) accessed via an entry on 16th Street. As shown on the aerial photo above, the parcel is slightly L-shaped with a small section fronting Kensing Court. Due to the Hirshorn Park View Plane, the building will step down to about one-story high on the Kensing Court side. The hotel will feature a pool and rooftop lounge, as well as an event space, a restaurant, and a neighborhood market.

St. Charles Town Company hopes to break ground in late 2016 or early 2017 with an opening targeted for summer 2018.