Fort collins hotel proposal sparks opposition

A new 107-room hotel and restaurant could be going up near the edge of the Poudre River in Fort Collins.
 
The nearly 102,000 square-foot structure will be three stories tall, with a restaurant space measuring 4,700 square feet.
 
The hotel will be branded as a Staybridge Suites, with the project itself on the 300 block of E. Lincoln Avenue called the Spirit at the River.
 
The project has garnered the opposition of a group called Save the Poudre because, say members of the organization, it will be built too close to the Poudre, which runs in a meandering pattern north to east through Fort Collins.
 
By being built near the river, the project, says its critics, will endanger flood prevention land as well as wildlife habitat.
 
One section of the proposed project in particular, the part housing the restaurant, will be partially within a buffer zone between the 4.4-acre site itself and the river.
 
Developer Spirit Hospitality has said that it plans to use such devices as flush curbs and permeable interlocking concrete pavers to mitigate the impact of the project. The company has also promised to add some 1.5 acres of restored habitat to a portion of the site.
 
Plans have long been in the talking stage in Fort Collins to build a Poudre River corridor that would include both public and commercial space.
 
If approved by the City of Fort Collins, work on the new combined hotel/restaurant project could begin later this spring.

By Garry Boulard