Four Seasons Planned for Downtown Site

The 50-story building, called Four Seasons Private Residences Denver, would tie for the third-tallest building Downtown. It will be the first and only Four Seasons hotel in the city, and the first hotel to combine luxury condos in it.

If the historic Teatro, currently with 111 rooms, is incorporated into the new hotel, the new Four Seasons building scheduled to open in 2007 will have 120 hotel rooms. If the Teatro remains a stand-alone hotel, the Four Seasons could have about 180 hotel rooms.

Room rates haven't been set yet, but they would be the highest in the metro area, Selby says. If that is the case, the Four Seasons could be the first Denver hotel with average daily room rates at $300 per night.

The prices for the condominiums also haven't been set. But, those, too, will fetch the highest price per sf ever seen in the metro area, Selby says. That would put the asking price around $700 per sf. Units will range in size from 866 sf to a 7,500-sf, full-floor penthouse unit on the 50th floor.

Brenneman says the Four Seasons will provide the "ultimate lifestyle." He notes that many of its guests at the Teatro say they always stay in a Four Seasons when traveling in a city that has one. The hotel would be built on 67,000 sf at 14th, Arapahoe and Lawrence streets, across the street from the Teatro and catty-corner from the Denver Center for Performing Arts.

John Carney, principal of Carney Architects in Jackson Hole, WY, is the architect of design. Carney says his design for the Four Seasons pays homage to historic buildings Downtown, as well as landmarks such as the Chrysler Building in New York City. Dallas-based HKS Inc., is the architect of record. The company, founded in 1939, is the architect of record for Chicago's Park Tower, an 840,000-sf, 67-story high-rise hotel and condominium project that Selby says will be comparable to the Four Seasons in Denver.

Maverick Real Estate Corp., based in Vancouver, will market the condominium units. Bryan Woolley, president of Maverick, tells GlobeSt.com he thinks the demand for high-end units will outstrip thesupply.

"I don't think enough units like this are being built," Woolley says. "This gives an option to people who have a lot of income or wealth that they did not have before. Denver is ready for a five-star hotel and condo project such as this one. When I first came to Denver, I was surprised there wasn't a Four Seasons here already."

Selby says the land for the Four Seasons is under contract with Global Pacific and they will close on it just before they start construction. He says a European bank is the main lender. A confidentiality agreement prevents him from naming it, he tells GlobeSt.com.

During better times, Hines of Houston was going to buy the land and build an office building on the project, but that deal was scrapped. There will be room on the hotel site to build a second building on top of a planned three-story garage.