DENVER—The SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown at MSU Denver has been certified LEED Gold for New Construction by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).
Owned by the Metropolitan State University of Denver and managed by Sage Hospitality, the $45-million SpringHill Suites Denver Downtown is metro Denver’s first LEED Gold hotel and the second in the SpringHill Suites by Marriott brand portfolio, according to the company.
The public-private partnership between MSU Denver and Sage Hospitality created a hotel that opened in 2012, as well as the Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center (HLC), an environment for education and on-the-job training for students, who work along-side well-seasoned hoteliers from Sage Hospitality.
“Sage Hospitality is dedicated to operating eco-friendly hotels, so we are extremely proud to receive Denver’s first LEED Gold certification,” said Walter Isenberg, president & CEO of Sage Hospitality. “This property gives both business and leisure guests an amazing green lodging option in the heart of downtown Denver and we are using it as a model of sustainability for all future development projects.”
The 150-suite hotel and HLC earned a total of 62 LEED points, including those for water efficiency, innovative design and sustainable site and materials selection.
Unique green features include:
- More than 90% of regularly occupied areas offer natural day lighting, reducing the need for artificial lighting
- The use of only high efficiency plumbing fixtures and low VOC paints and flooring
- Secure bicycle storage plus lockers and changing rooms to encourage employees and students to use alternative transportation
- Both buildings offer full recycling in guestrooms, classrooms and offices
- Nearly 20% of the building was constructed using recycled materials and 25% of total building materials were locally sourced
- More than 78% of material waste from the construction was recycled
- All compostable food from the hotel’s banquet and catering department, as well as from the student classes, is composted
- The housekeeping and food & beverage departments in the hotel and HLC use only green, natural cleaning products, including vinegar.