Glenwood Springs City Council unanimously approved the construction of a new hotel in Glenwood Meadows during their Thursday regular meeting. 

The project, proposed by LK Architecture and Home2 Suites by Hilton, will consist of a four-story, 96,000 square-foot hotel with 150 rooms in Glenwood Meadows’s hospitality zoning district. 

The hotel would border two existing hotels: Courtyard Glenwood Springs and Residence Inn Glenwood Springs, located along Wulfsohn Road and Midland Avenue. 

“(We) believe this will be a great project for the community that will add a nice place for business or vacationing travelers to rest as they stay or play, or pass through, and we are excited to bring it to the city of Glenwood Springs,” Dave Dresher said on behalf of LK Architecture. 

The Home2 Suites will provide king and double queen rooms with one-bedroom and two-bedroom suite options, along with several amenities including an outdoor pool, a picnic space for guests, small meeting rooms, a fitness center and a guest room at ground level for ages 21 and older, according to a July 18 staff report. 

“It’s the suites,” Councilor Erin Zalinski said. “We recognize that people coming into the community really like to have those amenities of a place to cook breakfast, a place to hang out; it addresses our STR concerns within the community and it also adds to our accommodation inventory … there’s a lot of boxes that this checks that really have meaning to our community.” 

The project entails subdividing the Glenwood Meadows lot into two parcels: The larger parcel (Lot 10C) would contain the hotel, while the smaller parcel (Lot 10D) would include a landscaped parking area and community amenity space in the form of a garden open to the public. 

City Planner Emery Ellingson said the applicant’s plan for a portion of the 10D parcel is to reserve it for a future restaurant site with a potential drive-thru lane. 

During their June 25 regular meeting, Planning and Zoning Commission passed a unanimous recommendation of approval for the project with two variances: 

The first variance allows the building to exceed the maximum building height as limited by the Glenwood Meadows-specific C-4 Hospitality Zone. The zone’s current height limit is 45 feet, though Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously to allow the building to be constructed at a height of 54 feet at its highest point, which is closer to the 60-foot limit found in other RE Resort Zoning Districts in Glenwood Springs. 

Both hotels neighboring the construction site were also approved for height variances, and only a section of the Home2 roofline would reach 54 feet. 

The second variance was passed by a 5-2 vote and allows the site to adhere to the maximum illumination limits for Lighting District one as opposed to Lighting District two (where the hotel will be located), according to Ellingson. Currently illumination plans for the project exceed limits for district two, but will be allowed under the requirements of district one. 

Ellingson said a portion of the Midland Trail cuts through the property, though an existing easement means the trail would not be affected by the major construction. 

In the last two years, the city has converted two West Glenwood hotels (a Caravan Inn and a Rodeway Inn) into long-term affordable housing projects as part of its housing goals. According to Economic and Community Development Director Hannah Klausman, the two smaller hotels were roughly 80 units each. Mayor Pro Tem Marco Dehm noted that approving the Homes2 project would help “make up” for a similar amount of lost hotel rooms. 

The project applicant has yet to disclose when construction is anticipated to begin.