A rendering of the Moxy hotel at 1253 Pleasant St. (Courtesy BMC Investments/Nichols Partnership)
Around 2018, several years into trying to develop a hotel in Boulder, Matt Joblon needed help.
By that point, the CEO of Denver’s BMC Investments had already completed a couple hotels in Cherry Creek — he’s now up to three — as well as high-end apartments. He had more projects in the neighborhood in the works. Some have started construction within a year or so.
Matt Joblon
But on The Hill a 40-minute drive to the northwest, things were going slowly.
“I needed someone with real experience in Boulder to get it done,” Joblon said. “That’s the truth.”
Joblon ended up bringing on board Denver-based Nichols Partners, led by Randy Nichols, whom he’d known and respected for years. That firm had recently completed a 175,000-square-foot office building along Boulder’s Pearl Street.
“He knew the nuances, he knew the planning department, the city attorney,” Joblon said. “He knew how to navigate it all. And I just hit a point where it would be better to partner with him on it.”
They finally broke ground in 2022. And in May, the two firms will open the 189-room Moxy hotel at 1253 Pleasant St., across the street from the University of Colorado Boulder campus. Joblon said that’s nine-and-half years from when he started work on it.
“It’s been a long journey,” he said. “But it’s exciting we’re getting very close.”
Randy Nichols
Joblon said the project was originally going to be an independent hotel, more high-end. He said he’d worked with the Boulder City Council to address what they wanted to see on the project, and was set to get some public financing in connection with adding extra spaces for the general public in the building’s parking garage.
Then there was an election, and new council members no longer were interested in the arrangement.
“When that public financing opportunity went away, we had to basically start from scratch and redesign the whole building and the whole program,” Joblon said.
Joblon then worked toward flagging the property as an AC Hotel by Marriott. But when city leaders expressed interest in a public courtyard within the property, he went back to the drawing board again and settled on Moxy, another Marriott brand.
It’s his second Moxy. He opened a 170-room one within Cherry Creek in 2017. The brand’s rooms are smaller, which allowed for more within the three-story project, helping it pencil out financially.
Joblon declined to detail the project cost, but said it’s more than double what he spent building the Cherry Creek Moxy. He attributed that due to a variety of factors, including an increase in construction costs, Boulder being generally more expensive to build in and different materials, which helped the brand — whose design is typically more playful — fit in with the city. The interior is also a step up.
“This will be the nicest Moxy in the United States,” Joblon said.
Nichols executive Robbie Nichols said the firm joined the project in time to help decide on the change to Moxy. He said the college town has “a super challenging development environment.”
“Boulder is just a little more resistant to change,” Nichols said. “They really place an emphasis on meeting the needs of the neighbors and the existing businesses in the area.”
The hotel replaces a parking lot and a couple of small retail centers. It’s next to a sorority, and Nichols said the sisters grew used to over the years, cutting across the property to save time on the way to class.
“We had to set up a paved pathway that’s lit and landscaped,” Nichols said.
A rendering of the check-in counter in the hotel’s lobby. (Courtesy BMC Investments/Nichols Partnership)
Tennessee-based Vision Hospitality Group will manage the hotel, as it does the Moxy in Cherry Creek. Aviano Coffee and Mister Oso, two restaurants from Denver’s Culinary Creative Group, will take retail space. Joblon said there are two remaining spaces, and food and beverage concepts are being targeted for both.
The Moxy will be the first hotel to open in Boulder since 2018, according to its developers. But a Limelight hotel is also under construction kitty-corner from it. That project is being developed by Aspen Hospitality Co., a division of Aspen Ski Co., and will incorporate the Boulder Convention Center with about 25,000 square feet of meeting space. It’s expected to open next year.
“It is going to throw off a tremendous amount of demand for both hotels,” he said.
Joblon said CU Boulder has been one of the largest universities in the country without a hotel “at its front door.” Bookings have been strong with minimal marketing — especially for the upcoming football season.
“The Deion effect is real,” Joblon said.
Nichols said the hope is that the Moxy will be “catalytic” for The Hill, an area just off campus that he said has “become a little bit destitute over the years.” It will bring foot traffic even when class isn’t in session.
Joblon said his firm had always wanted to develop in Boulder, and noted there are positives to the town being a challenging place to construct a hotel.
“There’s pros and cons to everything,” he said. “It’s not easy to develop up there, but that creates a barrier to entry.”
A rendering of the Moxy hotel at 1253 Pleasant St. (Courtesy BMC Investments/Nichols Partnership)
Around 2018, several years into trying to develop a hotel in Boulder, Matt Joblon needed help.
By that point, the CEO of Denver’s BMC Investments had already completed a couple hotels in Cherry Creek — he’s now up to three — as well as high-end apartments. He had more projects in the neighborhood in the works. Some have started construction within a year or so.
Matt Joblon
But on The Hill a 40-minute drive to the northwest, things were going slowly.
“I needed someone with real experience in Boulder to get it done,” Joblon said. “That’s the truth.”
Joblon ended up bringing on board Denver-based Nichols Partners, led by Randy Nichols, whom he’d known and respected for years. That firm had recently completed a 175,000-square-foot office building along Boulder’s Pearl Street.
“He knew the nuances, he knew the planning department, the city attorney,” Joblon said. “He knew how to navigate it all. And I just hit a point where it would be better to partner with him on it.”
They finally broke ground in 2022. And in May, the two firms will open the 189-room Moxy hotel at 1253 Pleasant St., across the street from the University of Colorado Boulder campus. Joblon said that’s nine-and-half years from when he started work on it.
“It’s been a long journey,” he said. “But it’s exciting we’re getting very close.”
Randy Nichols
Joblon said the project was originally going to be an independent hotel, more high-end. He said he’d worked with the Boulder City Council to address what they wanted to see on the project, and was set to get some public financing in connection with adding extra spaces for the general public in the building’s parking garage.
Then there was an election, and new council members no longer were interested in the arrangement.
“When that public financing opportunity went away, we had to basically start from scratch and redesign the whole building and the whole program,” Joblon said.
Joblon then worked toward flagging the property as an AC Hotel by Marriott. But when city leaders expressed interest in a public courtyard within the property, he went back to the drawing board again and settled on Moxy, another Marriott brand.
It’s his second Moxy. He opened a 170-room one within Cherry Creek in 2017. The brand’s rooms are smaller, which allowed for more within the three-story project, helping it pencil out financially.
Joblon declined to detail the project cost, but said it’s more than double what he spent building the Cherry Creek Moxy. He attributed that due to a variety of factors, including an increase in construction costs, Boulder being generally more expensive to build in and different materials, which helped the brand — whose design is typically more playful — fit in with the city. The interior is also a step up.
“This will be the nicest Moxy in the United States,” Joblon said.
Nichols executive Robbie Nichols said the firm joined the project in time to help decide on the change to Moxy. He said the college town has “a super challenging development environment.”
“Boulder is just a little more resistant to change,” Nichols said. “They really place an emphasis on meeting the needs of the neighbors and the existing businesses in the area.”
The hotel replaces a parking lot and a couple of small retail centers. It’s next to a sorority, and Nichols said the sisters grew used to over the years, cutting across the property to save time on the way to class.
“We had to set up a paved pathway that’s lit and landscaped,” Nichols said.
A rendering of the check-in counter in the hotel’s lobby. (Courtesy BMC Investments/Nichols Partnership)
Tennessee-based Vision Hospitality Group will manage the hotel, as it does the Moxy in Cherry Creek. Aviano Coffee and Mister Oso, two restaurants from Denver’s Culinary Creative Group, will take retail space. Joblon said there are two remaining spaces, and food and beverage concepts are being targeted for both.
The Moxy will be the first hotel to open in Boulder since 2018, according to its developers. But a Limelight hotel is also under construction kitty-corner from it. That project is being developed by Aspen Hospitality Co., a division of Aspen Ski Co., and will incorporate the Boulder Convention Center with about 25,000 square feet of meeting space. It’s expected to open next year.
“It is going to throw off a tremendous amount of demand for both hotels,” he said.
Joblon said CU Boulder has been one of the largest universities in the country without a hotel “at its front door.” Bookings have been strong with minimal marketing — especially for the upcoming football season.
“The Deion effect is real,” Joblon said.
Nichols said the hope is that the Moxy will be “catalytic” for The Hill, an area just off campus that he said has “become a little bit destitute over the years.” It will bring foot traffic even when class isn’t in session.
Joblon said his firm had always wanted to develop in Boulder, and noted there are positives to the town being a challenging place to construct a hotel.
“There’s pros and cons to everything,” he said. “It’s not easy to develop up there, but that creates a barrier to entry.”
