Hotel Sells 14 Floors for Student Housing

Walter Isenberg, president of locally based Sage Hospitality, says he knows of no other project like it in the country. The hotel is owned by Lennar Properties through an entity called LNR Executive Tower Inn. LNR is selling floors 17 to 30 to the Auraria Foundation, which will spend $16 million renovating them.

LNR will continue to own and Sage will remain the operator of the hotel when it opens, with American Campus Communities separately owning and operating the student apartments.

Mayor John Hickenlooper applauds the announcement. "The Executive Tower Hotel is currently a targeted renovation property that is strategically placed both Downtown and close to the Auraria campus," Hickenlooper says. " Its renovation and conversion will play a key role in the continued revitalization of the Silver Triangle along 14th Street. The student housing component is especially important, as it will provide agreat opportunity for students to both live and study in Downtown Denver."

When complete, students will enter their apartments from a separate and secure entrance from 14th Street, while hotel guests will continue to enter from Curtis Street. There will be no shared space between students and hotel guests.

By providing housing for students as well as rooms for visitors in a Downtown setting adjacent to the Auraria campus, it is expected the project will be popular for both students and their visiting families and friends. All 439 students will have their own room within the 125 apartment units located on the top 14 floors of the building. Units will provide for a shared dining room and kitchen, and there will be one bathroom (with two sinks) for every two students. All units will be furnished and will be available at less than market rate for qualifying Auraria students.