Marriott signs on with Fitzsimons area development

Marriott International Inc. has signed on to fly its flag over a planned hotel and conference center at a proposed development called Block 21 adjacent to the University of Colorado's Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora.

Waveland Ventures LLC on March 27 announced plans for a $160 million mixed-use development, including 200 hotel rooms and 30,000 square feet of conference space.

“The proposed location, within the Fitzsimons Army Medical Center redevelopment project, is very compelling and represents a great future location for a Marriott hotel,” said Christopher Rose, a senior vice president with Marriott.

Corporex Colorado LLC already has opened a 153-room SpringHill Suites by Marriott hotel at its 32-acre Fitzsimons Village at East Colfax Avenue and Xanadu Street, along with a 170,000-square-foot, six-story office building called The Fitz 100, and a pedestrian bridge across Colfax to the sprawling medical campus.

Rose was not immediately available Friday to comment on the close proximity of the proposed hotel with an existing Marriott.

The Anschutz Medical Campus, on the grounds of the old Fitzsimons hospital, is home to the University of Colorado Hospital, the CU Medical School and the School of Pharmacy, in addition to Children’s Hospital Colorado and a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital now under construction.

“We’re very excited to be working with Marriott to provide consumers with a full-service hotel at Block 21,” said Rick Hayes, CEO of Waveland. “Marriott’s commitment to providing excellent hospitality, as well as its worldwide brand recognition and loyal customer base, makes it the perfect partner for us in this highly-anticipated development.”

Corporex — a unit of Corporex Cos. Inc. of Covington, Ky. — has filed plans with Aurora for another hotel at Fitzsimons Village.

Block 21 — a tribute to the old Army Hospital 21 that stood at the nearby Fitzsimons Army Medical Center — could include, in addition to the Marriott, a four-story, 100-unit apartment complex, parking structures, stores, restaurants and an urban park.

Milwaukee-based Jackson Street Holdings LLC, a hotel developer, with which it’s built two hotels in Wisconsin, is a partner on the project along with Arrival Partners LLC.

Thursday, it was announced that Marriott will operate a proposed 1,500-room hotel in north Aurora near Denver International Airport.

Reported by:  Denver Business Journal