Eight-story hotel planned for Automobile Alley mix
Add a hotel to the development mix along Automobile Alley with the sale Monday of a prime stretch of longvacant land along NW 6 just east of Broadway.
Sirius Hotels LLC paid $1.24 million to two entities led by developer Jonathan Russell for the vacant land at 12 NW 6.
A representative of the buyer who asked not be identified said Monday that plans call for building an eight-story TownePlace Suites by Marriott with between 130 and 160 rooms. TownePlace is an extended-stay hotel with more than 300 locations nationwide.
Construction is expected to start in early 2019.
The hoteliers were attracted to the site for its location along the future streetcar system, proximity to the hospitals and office park east of Interstate 235, downtown and St. Anthony Hospital.
They also believe the hotel is a good fit with the area’s “local flair” that includes restaurants, shops and headquarters for several creative firms.
The development coincides with a flurry of development along NW 6. Nicholas Preftakes is building the five-story, $15 million high-end Broadway Condominiums across the street from the hotel.
The former switching station and warehouse for Pioneer Telephone at 7 NE 6 and 11 NE 6, built in 1909 and 1911, are to be redeveloped later this year by Tribune Capital into a mix of commercial and office space.
Dozens of homes are being built and are in planning stages for NW 6 between Hudson Avenue
and Classen Boulevard.
Russell, meanwhile, still owns land at NE 6 and Oklahoma Avenue and at NW 6 and Broadway.
“There is a ton of activity now,” Russell said. “It’s one of the hottest areas going. The Sixth Street corridor from Classen to I-235 is something you won’t recognize in three years.”
Russell said he agreed to the hotel sale to ensure the area is developed in a way that is best for downtown and Automobile Alley.
“It was a good price,” Russell said. “And we have other holdings in the area so we are were all for it.
“This land has been vacant for a long time.”