New hotel coming to Powers corridor

Powers Boulevard, between Platte Avenue and Woodmen Road on Colorado Springs’ east side, arguably has become the city’s No. 1 retail destination over the last 10 to 12 years, with shopping centers, restaurants, groceries, big-box retailers and entertainment venues dominating the corridor.

Now the central portion of Powers is getting one of the things it’s lacked: a brand-name hotel.

An $8.5 million, 82-room Holiday Inn Express will be built as part of the massive First & Main Town Center retail complex, southeast of Powers and North Carefree Circle, according to plans announced Tuesday by RHW Management Inc. of Overland Park, Kan., and Nor’wood Development Group of Colorado Springs.

The hotel will be built just north of the Cinemark movie theater complex at First & Main; it’s scheduled to open in spring 2013 and will employ about 25 people. Its amenities will include a complimentary breakfast bar for guests, free high-speed Internet, an indoor pool and a business center. A Holiday Inn Express typically caters to business people or guests staying for a few days.

Several hotels have been built along Powers south of Platte and near the Colorado Springs Airport on the city’s southeast side. The Holiday Inn Express at First & Main, however, will be the first along the stretch of Powers that’s become a retail hotbed in recent years. 

Business people who don’t want to stay near the airport or travelers visiting family members in nearby neighborhoods will be able to stay at a hotel within walking distance of shopping, restaurants, movies and the Springs Ranch Golf Club, said Fred Veitch, a Nor’wood vice president. Nor’wood developed First & Main and other retail centers along Powers, and is one of the Springs’ largest real estate companies.

“If you’re a business traveler coming in to Colorado Springs for two or three days, most likely you’re renting a car,” Veitch said. “You’re leaving the airport and you’re driving up to First & Main to see a movie, to have dinner, to hit some golf balls at the golf course. Why wouldn’t you prefer to stay at a hotel on site? We think it’s an absolute terrific fit for the business traveler and for the in-town person who wishes to put up out-of-town guests.”

RHW is a nearly 30-year-old company that specializes in the development, construction, and management of hotels in the United States and Mexico. It operates 15 hotels and 1,800 rooms in seven states and has developed and operates six Marriott-branded hotels in the Springs — a Courtyard by Marriott, a Fairfield Inn, two Residence Inns, a SpringHill Suites and a TownePlace Suites.

Chandler Thayer, RHW’s chief operating officer, said the company was attracted to First & Main because it had amenities that would appeal to guests. RHW also was impressed by Nor’wood’s experience in the market, she said.

“It probably would not have been any location that we would have been willing to build on in Colorado Springs because of the depth of our involvement there already,” Thayer said. “But we have been pleased with their experience there, and this is a terrific development that already had so many of the services that we need for a hotel in place.” 
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