Mortenson Selected for New Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center

Denver—Mortenson Construction is pleased to join with Metropolitan State College of Denver and project architect RNL to announce the start of construction of the new Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center (HLC) on the school’s campus.

The HLC, located at the corner of Auraria Parkway and Speer Boulevard, will feature a 150-room SpringHill Suites® by Marriott, 28,000-square-feet of academic space within the HLC and 5,000 square feet of meeting and conference space. Sage Hospitality will manage the hotel.  The nearly seamless melding of academic instruction, interactive laboratories and real-world experience within the hotel will allow the College to offer an experiential curriculum for its diverse undergraduate student population, as well as current professionals seeking continuing education.

“It’s an honor to be working on this very unique project, which will provide a ‘real life’ learning experience to students of Metro State’s outstanding Hospitality, Tourism and Events Department,” said Bob Hansen, vice president of Mortenson Construction.  “We’re looking forward to completing a building that will provide the college and students with an addition to the campus that they’ll be very proud of.”

 “The Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center at Metro State represents an innovative and successful public-private partnership both in the manner that the project is being funded as well as how the HLC will operate once it is complete,” said Richard Anderson, AIA, LEED AP, principal and project director at RNL.  “We are thrilled to design a structure that will help to educate the hospitality industry’s future leaders while growing the Metropolitan State College of Denver campus.”  

The project will be one of less than a dozen similar experiential programs known nationally.  It has been made possible through a private-public partnership—no taxpayer dollars will be used. A special purpose corporation (SPC) was formed for the HLC and provides for its financing, construction, operation and management. The operating proceeds will flow to the Metro State Foundation for scholarships and academic program support. Site preparation began in January 2011; the anticipated opening is planned for August 2012.

For the latest information and visuals about the program visit http://www.mscd.edu/metrostaterising/hlc/.