$900M Mixed-Use Denver Airport Project Moves Forward with Design Unveiling

July 30, 2010
By Barbra Murray, Contributing Editor

Plans for a $900 million mixed-use project at Denver International Airport, the 10th busiest airport in the world, take on a greater sense of reality as officials unveil renowned architect Santiago Calatrava’s conceptual design for the South Terminal Redevelopment Program.

The project will be constructed in phases, with the first stage carrying a development price tag of $650 million. Phase I will consist of a 500-room hotel to be designed by architectural firm Gensler, approximately 40,000 square feet of meeting space. “We think there will be great demand for the hotel,” John Ackerman, Acting Deputy Manager of Revenue and Business Development,” told CPE. “The nearest hotel to the terminal is about five to six miles away and the next nearest hotel is about 10 miles away, so we will have the only hotel situated directly on the airport property. And, with a strategic location in the middle of the country there will be robust demand from companies planning to fly people in and out for day-long meetings.”

In addition to the hotel, there will be a plaza featuring approximately 38,000 square feet of retail and concession offerings. “We want a blend of restaurants and amenities for our customers,” Ackerman said. “We’re in the early stages of looking at a mix of offerings to complement what we already have in the terminal. The project’s mixture of uses will be a regional draw to people to experience the plaza retail offerings and the hotel.” The first phase will also produce a rail bridge and a terminal train station that will ultimately be incorporated into commuter rail service between the airport and Union Station in downtown Denver.

No date has been set for the commencement of Phase II of the South Terminal Redevelopment Program; however, should plans proceed to the second stage, the cost of the entire redevelopment endeavor will increase by $250 million for a final development cost of $900 million.

Financing for the program will be provided predominantly through General Airport Revenue Bonds to be repaid by airport revenues. Airport officials will forego usage of taxpayer dollars altogether.

Mortenson, Co. is on board as construction manager and contractor for DIA’s South Terminal Redevelopment Program. Completion of Phase I, which will result in the creation of over 6,000 jobs, is on schedule for 2016.