Old firehouse to be incorporated into hotel

Focus Property Group has broken ground on the new Hilton Garden Inn at 1999 Chestnut St. near Denver Union Station.

A 12-story L-shaped tower will wrap around the historic Denver Hose Company No. 1, which will be restored as part of the development. The hotel will have 223 guest rooms, banquet and meeting rooms, a fitness center and other hotel amenities.

"It is easy to take for granted the amount of development that is taking place in our center city," says Tami Door, president and CEO or Downtown Denver Partnership. "Yet every project has the power to transform neighborhoods and drive economic development. This is no exception. Taking into account the history of the Hose Company No. 1 building, the integration into this vibrant neighborhood and the support of our tourism industry, this project is an impactful and meaningful addition to the landscape."

Built in 1882 for Denver's Volunteer Fire Department, the 3,224-square-foot building served the neighborhood known as the Bottoms, which today is part of the Central Platte Valley. By 1922, it had been converted into a print shop and later a welding shop, a purpose it continued to serve until at least the 1980s.

The building's architecture is representative of 19th century industrial construction and has only been slightly modified. Most of its significant exterior features are intact. 

Denver architecture firm Johnson Nathan Strohe is working with BOSS Architecture to redesign Hose Company No. 1 into a restaurant, pending the approval of the Denver Landmark Preservation Commission.

Contact Confluence Denver Development News Editor Margaret Jackson with tips and leads for future stories at margaret@confluence-denver.com.
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Margaret is a veteran Denver real estate reporter and can be contacted here.
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