THE
THE
ETROPOLITAN METROPOLITAN
April 7, 2011, Vol. 33, Issue 27
Serving Auraria for 31 years
Online >> http://themet.metrostudentmedia.com
Digging in, hotel to check in Second exclusively Metro building in 4 months breaks ground By Ramsey Scott and Cody Lemon Metro broke ground on the Hotel Learning Center – only the 10th of its kind in the country – in a March 31 celebration at the site, on the southwest corner of Speer Boulevard and Auraria Parkway. The 76,000 square foot HLC, will feature a 150-room Marriott SpringHill Suites operated by Sage Hospitality, 25,000 square feet of academic space and 7,500 square feet of conference space. It will cost $48 million to build. “There are not many opportunities to blend theory and practice together in a single location in the middle of an urban environment like we have here,” said Metro President Stephen Jordan. The ceremony drew more than 250 people, including Jordan, Denver Mayor Bill Vidal and former state Sen. Al White, now the head of the state’s Tourism Office. Jordan’s excitement was apparent in his opening remarks to the crowd. “I’m going to be a little politically incorrect … Welcome to Metropolitan State College of Denver, soon to be Denver State University,” Jordan said. The HLC will provide students of Metro’s Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Events a real-life work environment in which to apply classroom knowledge, according to HTE Chairman John Dienhart. There are more than 600 students enrolled in the department this year, almost double the number the program had five years ago. “We are going to have a facility with a faculty that will truly be able to teach and conduct research in regards to hospitality management,” Dienhart said. Once the HLC opens in August 2012, the plan is for upperclassman to step in as assistants to managers employed by Sage Hospitality. As part of a degree from the HTE department, students must complete 1200 hours of work in their field, said Dienhart. “The hope is that the facility is run primarily by students,” Dienhart said. He described the HTE program as a management department that focuses on hospitality. Walter Isenberg, owner of Denver-based
FROM LEFT: Walter Isenberg, Owner of Sage Hospitality, Metro President Stephen Jordan, Dawn Bookhardt, a member of Metro’s Board of Trustees, Denver Mayor Bill Vidal, John Dienhart, chair of the Hospitality, Tourism and Events department, and former state Senator and head of the Colorado Tourism Office, Al White lift their shovels March 31, during the groundbreaking for the new Hotel Learning Center. Photo by Sean Mullins • smullin5@mscd.edu Sage Hospitality, said he was excited by the involvement with the HLC. “Metro has a great program, and I think this is just going to enhance the program and really produce a lot more great students that are going to be ready to go to work,” Isenberg said. “Just knowing that it exists was a big deciding factor for me in attending Metro … as opposed to Johnson and Wales,” said Jeremy Smith, a Metro freshman and hospitality major. “That vast amount of knowledge that can come from those hands-on experiences is priceless, really.” The HLC will be run as a public-private partnership with Sage Hospitality. The project is being financed through bonds issued by Metro last November and through private fundraising. Metro was able to obtain an interest
SPORTS
rate of 4.34 percent for its bonds, which is extremely low, said Dawn Bookhardt, a member of Metro’s Board of Trustees and bond lawyer. Bookhardt also served as the emcee for the groundbreaking. “The thing that we were most concerned about was the interest rate,” Bookhardt said., “and we got such an incredible interest rate.” Metro’s Board of Trustees in August of last year approved the creation of a special purpose corporation that will own the HLC. At the meeting, Loretta Martinez, the general legal council for Metro, said it was the best way to protect Metro from excessive debt responsibilities associated with the building of the HLC. While Metro is ultimately responsible for the $58 million of debt from the bonds, all of those involved with the project said they believe the venture would end up making money for
Regis/Metro baseball rivalry renewed • 14 Football team to stay strictly club • 16
Metro. “We had four different financial performances done … looking at a very, very low room rate and a very, very low occupancy rate, well below any standard in recent history in Denver. And even then, it breaks even,” Jordan said. Once the hotel is fully operational, Metro will be paying back $3.6 million a year against the bonds issued. Even with that debt, Bookhardt was excited about the future of the HLC. “All of the studies…indicate, and they were conservative, this hotel is going to be incredible and incredibly profitable, which is the big secret.”
METROSPECTIVE
Local group not letting arts funding skate by • 11