Luxury hotel under construction at fairgrounds

By JoAn Bjarko
North Forty News

Larimer County is getting a long-awaited hotel and convention center at its fairgrounds east of Interstate 25 in Loveland.

Hotel and resort developer John Q. Hammons, along with county and Loveland officials, celebrated the start of construction on Aug. 14 at the Budweiser Events Center, where fourth-level windows overlook the site of the future eight-story, 263-suite Embassy Suites-Loveland Hotel and Spa. An 80,000-square-foot convention center also is part of Hammons' project. It is expected to open in March 2009.

The hotel and convention center will reside on 20 acres at I-25 and Crossroads Boulevard, but the land is still owned by Larimer County as part of its fairgrounds and events complex. Hammons has a 55-year ground lease with the county, and projections indicate the lease and related revenues will return $62.7 million to county coffers, about the same amount taxpayers anted up to build the fairgrounds and events center.

"There's a synergy there that makes both of us stronger than either one standing alone," said Frank Lancaster, county manager. This is the first building at the fairgrounds that the county does not own, and it wants to develop more partnerships with the private sector.

County Commissioner Kathay Rennels called the fairgrounds an "amazing success" that has become one of the top venues of its size in the country.

Loveland City Manager Don Williams added that the hotel and convention center are exactly what Loveland wants. He noted that Hammons is building the hotel and convention center with no tax incentives from either the city or the county.

"It's OK to do it yourself," he said about the common practice of commercial developers to seek numerous financial incentives from local governments.

Hammons, who also built the Hilton Fort Collins near Colorado State University, said the hotel at the fairgrounds is his 198th project.

"We never build unless there is a market," he advised the crowd. "We never build unless we have the best site. We never build until we've done our homework."

The 88-year-old Hammons will own the Loveland hotel, which will be managed by the Springfield, Mo.-based John Q. Hammons Hotels and Resorts.

Local leaders anticipate that the hotel and convention center will bring more high-profile events and meetings to the community.

Hammons' "investment is often a catalyst for additional development, so we're pleased that this project has come to fruition," Rennels said.