AURORA | The Gaylord hotel and conference center project should qualify for about $81 million worth of state tourism incentives, according to a recommendation made May 16 by the state’s economic development chief to eight other members of the Colorado Economic Development Commission.
The entire board is set to vote today at 1:30 on which of the six tourism projects submitted to the state best qualifies for tourism subsidies under the Regional Tourism Act.
But the recommended amount is less than what was originally requested, and Gaylord officials have previously said they will not be able to move forward without the total amount.
Aurora and Gaylord officials had originally applied for $153.4 million worth of state tourism subsidies, about $72 million more than it would receive under Lund’s recommendations.
“The project is truly a “large-scale” project likely to draw tourism to the state of Colorado,” the report says.
But the report acknowledges that opponents of the project have said that the Aurora-based hotel would business from downtown Denver.
“While we recognize the public’s collective concern, our recommendation is based solely on the statutory requirements,” the the report says.
The 1,500 Western-themed hotel will be located on about 85 acres of land in Aurora territory near the Denver International Airport. It is expected to have more than 406,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space including two ballrooms. The total cost of the project is more than $800 million, and is scheduled to open in 2016.
The report says the project is estimated to create about 2,500 jobs, most of which will likely be filled by workers in the Denver metro area, according to the state’s third party analyst.