Two additional hotels are planned for the Colorado Outdoors development in Montrose, where developers expect to break ground on a previously announced Hampton Inn & Suites before October.
The Hampton would be followed successively by a Home2 Suites by Hilton and a SpringHill Suites by Marriott, representatives of Lamont Companies told the Montrose Urban Renewal Authority board Wednesday.
Together with the existing Fairfield Inn & Suites, a Marriott brand that opened in April 2024, the projects would eventually bring four hotels and roughly 400 rooms to Colorado Outdoors.
The Montrose Business Times previously reported plans for the Hampton, which also previously received approval for $1.4 million in MURA funding for infrastructure improvements at the site. The new developments are the identification of the Home2 Suites and SpringHill Suites as the next two hotels planned for the site and a clearer timeline for the Hampton to begin construction.
The idea of multiple hotels at Colorado Outdoors is not new, either, said David Dragoo, Mayfly Outdoors founder and leader of the Colorado Outdoors project. The development was planned from the beginning with the potential for multiple hotel properties, although the timing and specific brands had not been determined.
“That was the plan all along,” Dragoo said. “We just didn’t know when it would crystallize. And now it’s doing that.”
Lamont Companies said via a press release that all three would be built from the ground up south of the existing Fairfield Inn & Suites, between Mayfly Drive and North Grand Avenue.
Site planning has been completed for all three hotels, with specific building sites, parking areas and access laid out. The Hampton would sit immediately south of Tributary Street, followed by the Home2 Suites and SpringHill Suites farther south.
The Hampton project has not yet broken ground.
Jeff Lamont of Lamont Companies told the MURA board Wednesday that the company expects to begin construction before October, in accordance with its agreement with MURA.
“The Hampton Inn is the next one on deck,” Lamont said. “That’s the one that’s moving forward.”
Dragoo said plans and specifications for the Hampton are complete and Lamont Companies is preparing to submit them to the city.
The $1.4 million previously approved by MURA is dedicated solely to horizontal infrastructure associated with the Hampton development. The funding is already available and does not require the authority to borrow money or create another financing mechanism.
The Home2 Suites and SpringHill Suites would then be developed successively after the Hampton. Lamont Companies has already received approval from Hilton and Marriott for the two hotel flags in the Montrose market.
No development agreements or MURA funding packages have been approved for either of those future hotels.
Dragoo said the performance of the Fairfield Inn & Suites has helped demonstrate the strength of the Montrose lodging market and bring the broader hotel plan into focus.
“Now that the market’s there, I think Jeff (Lamont) has always said, ‘Look, we have a pathway to strategically add more rooms that the city and the community need,’” Dragoo said.
The hotels are expected to contain approximately 100 rooms each, although developers said the final counts could be adjusted based on market conditions and the performance of the hotels developed before them.
The Hampton is expected to include a mix of traditional hotel rooms and some larger extended-stay accommodations. Developers said the hotel will help them determine the appropriate mix of shorter- and longer-term accommodations for the hotels that follow.
The phased development plan also allows some infrastructure improvements to be shared between hotels.
Dragoo said an entrance associated with the Hampton property is designed to also serve the next hotel, reducing some duplication of roads, landscaping and other site work. That could lower the amount of horizontal infrastructure needed for the later hotels, although construction costs continue to increase.
The hotels are also expected to include meeting space. The developers made clear the meeting rooms would generally range from about 500 to 1,000 square feet and would not amount to large convention facilities.
The Hampton design could accommodate larger gatherings by opening its meeting room into adjacent public space, potentially allowing events of up to about 100 people, he said.
MURA board member and City Council member Dave Frank welcomed that element of the project, noting that Montrose has limited hotel-connected meeting space.
Dragoo said additional hotel rooms could also make Colorado Outdoors more attractive to restaurants, retailers and entertainment businesses by bringing a steady stream of visitors to the development and the broader community.
“It does, because our occupancy rates are really consistent throughout the year,” Dragoo said. “And so, it brings new guests and, you know, hundreds if not thousands of new visitors to town that shop at our restaurants and visit our retailers all around town, but particularly over here it’d be wonderful for those businesses.”
The projects could also significantly strengthen MURA’s long-term financial position.
Dragoo said hotels are substantial tax generators, producing both property and lodging tax revenue. Additional hotel development within the urban renewal area would increase the authority’s ability to support other projects, including retail businesses and mixed-use development.
“As of now, if it didn’t build another one, it would be OK,” Dragoo said of MURA’s financial outlook. “But if we build three more, it’ll be excellent.”
A stronger tax base could also help MURA fund public improvements that have long been contemplated for Colorado Outdoors, Dragoo said, including an expansion of the river trail, additional trailhead parking and areas for community events.
Those projects have been part of the development’s long-term vision but depend in part on MURA having the financial capacity to fund them.
With additional hotel projects now taking shape, Dragoo said, the authority can begin modeling future revenue more concretely and planning those improvements farther in advance.
That additional planning time could allow engineers and designers to develop projects more efficiently and potentially secure better pricing amid high construction costs, he said.
“That’s what’s probably right under the surface that people aren’t thinking about,” Dragoo said. “You can just plan better.”
The timing of the Home2 Suites and SpringHill Suites has not been determined. Developers said they will follow the Hampton in succession, with the performance and market response of each phase helping shape the projects that come after it.
Justin Tubbs is the Montrose Business Times editor. He can be reached by email at justin@montrosebusinesstimes.com or by phone at 970-765-0915 or mobile at 254-246-2260.
