AURORA | The fate of the Western-themed Gaylord hotel and conference center project will be decided at an Economic Development Commission meeting at 1:30 p.m. on Friday.
The $824 million project is contingent on about $85 million in state tourism incentives from the Regional Tourism Act, and the state’s economic officials will decide at the meeting which of the six projects will receive the incentives.
Ken Lund, the executive director of the EDC, is recommending that the Gaylord project receive only about $49 million, according to the Denver Post.
Gaylord officials have said they won’t move forward with the project unless they receive all of the requested funds. The city of Aurora has also agreed to give up to $300 million worth of tax rebates for the project.
Wendy Mitchell, president of the Aurora Economic Development Council, said she hasn’t yet heard about those recommendations, but is patiently awaiting the final decision on Friday.
Mitchell and Gaylord officials have been touting the project’s benefits for months since Nashville, Tenn.-based Gaylord Entertainment announced its intentions last summer to develop the project in Aurora near the Denver International Airport.
“I think at this point we’ve presented a really good case,” Mitchell said. “I think we’ve done a good job in presenting the facts and proving that we meet every qualification under the (Regional Tourism Act) and from that standpoint I feel good about it. But it’s not up to us.”
Aurora City Councilman Bob LeGare said he’s optimistic that the EDC will award the tourism incentives to the Gaylord project, despite some studies that suggest the hotel would “cannibalize” the existing hotel market in the Denver metro area.
“There have been arguments from our neighboring hospitality interests about Gaylord hurting Denver’s convention and hotel business,” he said in an email. “However, when one looks at the size and scope of Gaylord’s economic benefit to Colorado, I don’t see why the selection panel would reject the Gaylord proposal.”
Councilman Bob Roth said he’s “waiting on pins and needles” for the announcement.
The hotel is expected to feature 1,500 rooms and more than 400,000 square feet of exhibition and conference space. According to the city’s finance department, the city would receive $16.8 million annually in projected new revenue and $15.6 million annually in projected new costs.
Lund’s suggestion to only award Gaylord part of the incentives is likely to influence the nine-member board’s decision, according to the Post. The EDC’s spokeswoman confirmed that Lund made suggestions to the EDC Wednesday, but not what those recommendations were.
“The Commission has the ultimate decision-making authority and will discuss and vote on the applications in tomorrow’s public meeting,” said Kathy Green, spokeswoman for the EDC. “In order to protect the integrity of the process, Ken’s recommendations will be made public following the EDC vote tomorrow.”
Other projects vying for state funds are:
Pueblo
Pueblo wants to build a convention center and exhibit hall, an extended Historic Arkansas Riverwalk channel, a regional aquatic facility and indoor water park. The project hopes to attract more than $50 million in private development, including a movie theater, hotel and moderate-income residential housing, according to Pueblo’s RTA application. If the project is approved, it’s estimated to generate about $23.5 million worth of state sales tax revenue, which would be retained for the development of the project and related infrastructure. It would generate about 280 construction jobs and about 2,400 permanent jobs.
Glendale
Glendale would like to construct an outdoor riverwalk. It would include a 4,000-seat, 40,000-square foot outside-air sloped amphitheater on Cherry Creek, and is expected to boost the Denver and Colorado economy by bringing in sales tax dollars from new, out-of-town visitors, according to Glendale’s financial analysis. During the first two years of construction, the number of indirect and induced jobs in the state will amount to about 3,400. The project is estimated to bring about 1,850 full-time jobs to the state by year nine of its existence, and it would also bring in an extra $55 million in annual revenue for the state, according to the analysis.
Estes Park
The town of Estes Park plans to use the state funds to revamp its Elkhorn Lodge and build a year-round adventure park. The lodge would be renovated into a 24-room hotel with grand lobby, restaurant and bar, and banquet facilities maintaining the historic footprint of the original building design, according to The Elkhorn Project’s website.
The money would also be used to develop the 40-acre mountainside next to Old Man Mountain into a ski resort that will offer hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding and zip lines in the summer. A Cultural Heritage Museum and Performing Arts Center will also be constructed. The project would cost about $50 million, and once complete, is estimated to attract about 503,900 visitors. About 260 new jobs would be created.
Douglas County
If Douglas County receives state tourism incentives, it would use the money to build a Colorado Sports and Prehistoric Park project. The archaeological preserve would feature bones of about 30 mammoths that lived in the county more than 9,000 years ago, according to the county’s RTA application. The archaeological preserve is expected to attract about 260,000 visitors each year. And the Sports Village is likely to attract over 930,000 visitors each year, according to the application.
The construction cost of the 38,000-square-foot archaeological preserve is about $10.7 million. The construction cost of the 500,000-square-foot Sports Village is projected to be about $76.1 million. The project will generate additional retail sales tax revenue for Douglas County of $1.2 million each year upon project build-out, according to the RTA application.
Montrose County
Montrose County wants to score state funding to help create about 140 various tourist attractions and commercial projects. The projects include: improvements to existing attractions, trails and campgrounds and RV parks. The county hopes to become a major tourist destination with the potential to generate between $98 million and $226 million in state sales tax revenues from new tourist-based economic activity within the next 30 to 40 years, according to the county’s RTA application. The county, if it were to become a developed tourist destination, would bring more than 2 million out-of-state visitors, according to the application.
Reach reporter Sara Castellanos at 720-449-9036 or sara@aurorasentinel.com.