Developer's goal of breaking ground on Longmont boutique hotel by year's end 'achievable'

Matthew Bennett, Daily Times-Call, Longmont, Colo.
·2 min read

Aug. 4—Construction should begin on a new boutique hotel in downtown Longmont by the end of the year, developer Ike Thrash confirmed in an interview Thursday.

"The plans are probably ... 80% to 90% finished," Thrash, the founding partner and managing director of The Thrash Group, said.

Based out of Hattiesburg, Miss., the Thrash Group developed the official hotel of Red Rocks Amphitheatre — Origin Red Rocks — as well as a 125-room hotel in Westminster called Origin Westminster.

The company also has hotels in Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas and West Virginia.

If all goes according to plan, the forthcoming boutique hotel in Longmont could open for business by late 2024.

The five-story hotel, which will go up at the corner of Kimbark Street and Third Avenue, is expected to have roughly 85 rooms along with a rooftop restaurant and bar with mountain views.

"Every hotel we've ever done, somebody talks about putting in (a) ... rooftop restaurant and bar," Thrash said. "People have tried to talk me into it 50 times. This is the first time we've ever actually done it."

An accompanying two-floor parking garage with roughly 60 spaces for hotel guests and 60 spots for the general public will be constructed on site, too.

Whether or not the parking garage will be free for the general public to use remains in question.

"We're in the hotel business but we spend 90 percent of our time talking about restaurants and parking," Thrash said. "That's always the hard part."

Thrash made clear that the specific number of hotel rooms and parking spots could change as the project nears construction.

While the hotel won't have a pool, it will offer space for small conferences, weddings and other events.

Thrash thought the hotel would have roughly 50 permanent employees once it opens for business.

As far as the hotel's official name goes, Thrash said it still changes day to day.

"It's either going to be Origin or Hotel Longmont, one of the two," Thrash said. "I'm fine with either."

The hotel could generate more than $6 million in tax and utility revenues over a 10-year period, according to previous estimates from the Longmont Economic Development Partnership.

The project does not need to seek approval from the Planning and Zoning Commission or City Council unless it requests a major variance from city codes, Glen Van Nimwegen, Longmont planning director, said in an email Thursday.

"The project is progressing ... and the developer's goal of breaking ground later this year is achievable," Nimwegen said.