Aspen, Colo. (February 3, 2023) – Aspen Hospitality and the University of Colorado Boulder are pleased to announce that construction is beginning for the on-campus Limelight Hotel Boulder. The landmark conference center hotel property is slated to open in the summer of 2025. This groundbreaking is the culmination of years of collaboration between the City of Boulder, CU Boulder and numerous other stakeholders. Plans for a topping-off ceremony and celebration will be announced as construction progresses.
The project website includes renderings and FAQs, and will provide ongoing updates on construction.
As Boulder’s largest meeting and events facility of its kind, the conference center hotel has long been viewed as an important project for the community that will create economic vitality and play a key role in revitalization of the University Hill business district.
“This irreplaceable project, at the intersection of Broadway and University, will provide a cornerstone to the university’s campus and catalyze the University Hill neighborhood, becoming a landmark in the area,” Aspen Hospitality CEO Alinio Azevedo said. “Our firm is focused on expanding the Limelight portfolio in the best locations within the best markets, and this project will reinforce the high-quality, sustainable approach to development for which the brand is known. We look forward to creating a focal point for the community, and are excited about our commitment to Boulder for generations to come.”
The Limelight Hotel Boulder will include 250 rooms, along with a ground floor restaurant and an outdoor plaza that are both envisioned to be public gathering spots for the local community. The conference facilities offer a 15,000-square-foot ballroom, along with another 10,000 square feet of meeting space, capable of hosting everything from prominent academic and research conferences to small community gatherings, keeping local organizations from needing to leave town to host larger events.
Additionally, the city will create a fund out of the accommodations tax generated by the hotel to provide financial support for use of the conference facilities by local not-for-profit organizations and civic group uses.
“We are excited to see construction begin on a facility that has been anxiously anticipated by so many in our community for so long,” CU Boulder Chancellor Philip P. DiStefano said. “The innovation and leadership occurring in Boulder and on our campus are world-class, and the Limelight Hotel Boulder will provide a new stage for highlighting the groundbreaking work taking place in our community.”
The project will achieve a LEED Gold certification for green building construction, in line with all major construction projects on the CU Boulder campus and the aggressive, innovative sustainability goals of Aspen Hospitality. Further, the conference center hotel is designed to be powered only by electricity, reducing the carbon footprint of the facility over time as the utility grid incorporates a greater mix of renewable energy.
“The development of a conference center and hotel at CU Boulder is an important step in the revitalization of the University Hill business district in Boulder,” City of Boulder Mayor Aaron Brockett said. “We appreciate our partnership with the university and Limelight Hotels in the effort. We look forward to the completion of this project and the increased vitality it will bring to the area, as well as the much-needed meeting and conference space it will provide.”
