The Royal Palace Motel, seen here in 2021, opened in 1969 and closed in 2013. (BusinessDen file)
The shuttered Royal Palace Motel near the intersection of Colorado Boulevard and Colfax Avenue is poised to abdicate its dilapidated throne to a new development.
Chicago-based Larmar Group purchased the motel property at 1565 N. Colorado Blvd. for $7.3 million on Tuesday, public records show. The purchase comes roughly a year and a half after the firm submitted plans to the city to replace the structure with an apartment complex.
The deal works out to about $155 per square foot for the land.
Jeff Oberg, a Denver developer who purchased the property for $850,000 in 2004, saw a 750 percent return based on the sale price.
Both parties did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
The most recent iteration of redevelopment plans submitted in April 2023 call for a six-story, 153-unit apartment building across nearly 200,000 square feet. The first two floors will consist mostly of parking spaces, while the upper floors will house the bulk of the units.
The property’s seller paid $850,000 for it in 2004. (BusinessDen file)
The five-story, yellow-and-turquoise Royal Palace Motel was built in 1969. Interstate 70 was completed around the time of the building’s construction, sending Colfax Avenue — and the motel industry along it — into decline.
The Royal Palace closed in 2013. Oberg, the now-former owner of the property, applied for a certificate of demolition eligibility in 2021.
Motels nearby have faced similar fates to what likely awaits the Royal Palace – redevelopment.
There’s the All In Motel, 3015 E. Colfax Ave., now closed, which was purchased out of bankruptcy in 2016 for $3.6 million. The city voted to provide tax increment financing in 2022 to transform the site into a new boutique hotel. Others have turned the old motels into apartments.
The Royal Palace Motel, seen here in 2021, opened in 1969 and closed in 2013. (BusinessDen file)
The shuttered Royal Palace Motel near the intersection of Colorado Boulevard and Colfax Avenue is poised to abdicate its dilapidated throne to a new development.
Chicago-based Larmar Group purchased the motel property at 1565 N. Colorado Blvd. for $7.3 million on Tuesday, public records show. The purchase comes roughly a year and a half after the firm submitted plans to the city to replace the structure with an apartment complex.
The deal works out to about $155 per square foot for the land.
Jeff Oberg, a Denver developer who purchased the property for $850,000 in 2004, saw a 750 percent return based on the sale price.
Both parties did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
The most recent iteration of redevelopment plans submitted in April 2023 call for a six-story, 153-unit apartment building across nearly 200,000 square feet. The first two floors will consist mostly of parking spaces, while the upper floors will house the bulk of the units.
The property’s seller paid $850,000 for it in 2004. (BusinessDen file)
The five-story, yellow-and-turquoise Royal Palace Motel was built in 1969. Interstate 70 was completed around the time of the building’s construction, sending Colfax Avenue — and the motel industry along it — into decline.
The Royal Palace closed in 2013. Oberg, the now-former owner of the property, applied for a certificate of demolition eligibility in 2021.
Motels nearby have faced similar fates to what likely awaits the Royal Palace – redevelopment.
There’s the All In Motel, 3015 E. Colfax Ave., now closed, which was purchased out of bankruptcy in 2016 for $3.6 million. The city voted to provide tax increment financing in 2022 to transform the site into a new boutique hotel. Others have turned the old motels into apartments.
