by Jessica Hughes
With its distinct design, the Populus hotel will be the first carbon-positive hotel in the country. Rendering provided by Studio Gang
On April 22, 2022, a groundbreaking ceremony was held in Denver for the first ever carbon-positive hotel in the country. With plans to open in late 2023, Populus will be a 13-story hotel comprised of 265 rooms, with a rooftop restaurant and bar, all designed to serve as an architectural landmark while making strides toward a future of sustainable travel and a sustainable planet.
Developed by Urban Villages, a leading real estate developer and environmental steward based here in Denver, Populus will be the first of its kind to be entirely carbon positive beginning with its construction by calculating the carbon footprint of the entire project, including the extraction, production, transportation, and construction of every element of the building.
“We are relentless in our research in selecting materials that minimize waste, by opting for low-carbon concrete mixes and high-recycled content materials, while also taking steps to minimize the carbon footprint in the transportation of materials,” said Grant McCargo, Co-Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Chief Environmental Officer, and Partner of Urban Villages.
In addition to their on-site sustainable building efforts, Urban Villages also puts into place significant ecological initiatives offsite, including an initial commitment to planting trees that represent over 5,000 acres of forest — offsetting an embodied carbon footprint equivalent to nearly 500,000 gallons of gas and removing additional carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
In April, a ground breaking ceremony was held in Denver for the first-ever carbon-positive hotel. Photo credit: Ryan Dearth
“We determined that planting 5,000 acres of trees would sequester that same amount of carbon out of the atmosphere, storing it in our soils,” said McCargo. “We are also committed to continually planting more trees to offset the energy we consume every day after the hotel opens. In that capacity, we are leaving the planet in a better place than we found it.”
Urban Villages is partnering with the architecture firm, Studio Gang, to help create a space that is not only carbon positive but also architecturally attractive. Populus will be Studio Gang’s first building in Colorado, designed with distinctive features that could alter the Denver skyline and the way we approach new builds in the future.
“Populus was designed with specific elements that allow it to perform efficiently in Denver’s wide-ranging climate,” states McCargo. “The building’s distinctive windows, which echo the “Aspen eyes” and façade are designed for high environmental performance — self-shading, insulating, and channeling rainwater — as part of the architecture’s larger green vision.”
A rendering of hotel Populus nestled amongst Denver’s Civic Center neighborhood. Rendering provided by Studio Gang
The first floor will hold a mix of restaurants and shops; the second floor will house meeting spaces; and the top floor will feature a series of hospitality-style suites. But the most coveted area of the hotel will be the rooftop bar and restaurant. “The public rooftop will feature an expansive garden terrace planted with regional vegetation, which serves as a lush place to socialize and a visual representation of Populus’ green ethos while naturally and efficiently cooling the building,” said McCargo.
Populus continues with its unique design by becoming the first new-build hotel in Denver without any onsite parking. “By removing parking entirely, we encourage residents and travelers to use public transportation,” said Jeff Hermanson, Urban Villages partner and longtime owner and steward of Denver’s Larimer Square. “Parking garages are built of steel and reinforced concrete, which heavily increase carbon profiles, so by eliminating onsite parking, Populus is both significantly reducing its carbon profile.” Of course it might, in effect, just steal parking from existing parking to the deterrent of the whole neighborhood, critics argue.
The hotel will join Denver building icons, such as the Denver Art Museum and the Denver Public Library, in the Civic Center Park neighborhood. Occupying the corner section at 14th Street and Colfax Avenue, Populus might serve as the catalyst for the revitalization of this historic Denver neighborhood.
“We chose Civic Center Park as it is a prominent and central location in downtown Denver and has great potential to become an energizing connector for the neighborhood. Civic Center Park exists at the nexus of history, culture, government, and business enterprise, and this will be the area’s first true leisure hotel, breathing fresh life into its social scene,” said Hermanson.
Additional information about this project can be found at urban-villages.com/ portfolio/populus.