La Vista Motel was once a hotspot for highway travelers coming down East Colfax Avenue in the late 1950s. However, as time passed, crime in the area became common, including a recent murder investigation on La Vista Motel’s premises in 2021. Despite its history, Denver developer Nathan Beal is giving the motel a second chance in hopes of reviving the grandeur it once had for the public while adapting to the East Colfax of today.
“We’re just trying to provide a safe, clean amenity, you know, this hotel had a checkered past, and a lot of crime issues surrounding it, so we’re just wanting to bring it back as a safe place for people to stay and a positive aspect of the community,” Beal said. “I think we’re doing additional lighting, so it’ll be a nice, you know, friendly, lit environment.”
La Vista Motel has been under construction since 2021. Initial plans for it to transform into affordable apartment units were halted by feedback from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure after concept review due to the city’s decision to implement a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system along East Colfax.
Ryan Goold, senior architect for Sopher Sparn on the La Vista Motel renovation project, explains how the decision by the city to build a bus transit lane along East Colfax caused Beal and his team to pivot.
“Those were costs that Nathan had not anticipated, that the city also already had funding for, so they’re going to make changes to the roadway no matter what we did on the site,” Goold said. “Nathan was pretty adamant that he would not be responsible for the roadway costs, so we changed up the plans to go to a hotel renovation. It’s the first hotel in his portfolio and became an exciting prospect for the whole team once we made that decision.”
The new La Vista Motel is undergoing a complete gutting in its interior with new systems, drywall, insulation, windows and 23 guest rooms. A mid-century modern design style that features colored four-by-four tiles, custom woodwork and furniture are features that Beal hopes will give the motel a motor lodge aesthetic reminiscent of its past.
The common areas will consist of a bar and a cafe that will be open until late. Beal has been collaborating with nearby businesses on East Colfax, like Supreme Chicken, which will be stocking the motel’s coffee shop with breakfast burritos.
“I think it’ll be a great way for people to experience this kind of rebuilt corridor, you know, by staying in a historic property that was kind of built when Colfax had its heyday, whenever it was kind of the main road here coming through Denver,” Beal said. “So it’s a good way to kind of see the new Colfax that we’re building right now with the BRT, but also kind of harking back to its heyday by standing up in a historically renovated roadside motel.”
The exterior of the La Vista Motel will stay true to its mid-century modern origins and has successfully applied for historic preservation certification. Much of Sopher Sparn’s work consists of repurposing the existing structures of buildings rather than demolishing and building something new, as Goold is also working with Beal on a project that involves transforming a historic church into a cafe with new townhomes accompanying it.
“I think the biggest takeaway for me is really trying to make the most of our existing building stock, adaptive reuse, and also just renovation of existing buildings,” Goold said. “It’s not a new use but reinvigorating an old motel like this into a new boutique experience really stands out to me as a way to develop in Denver, and beyond that, it’s really responsible in terms of climate and sustainability. The most sustainable building is the one that’s already standing.”
La Vista Motel’s renovations are expected to finish up for a soft opening in October. Beal hopes that the newly renovated roadside hotel will make East Colfax a “little more attractive place for people to go” once opened and after the BRT lane is finished in 2027.
“Success for me would be a nice, functioning motel that’s affordable, that people enjoy seeing and that makes people really interact with the community and surrounding businesses,” Beal said. “And hopefully, you know, I can provide some jobs to the people that want to work here and the management of the motel.”
