Proposed Hotel & Convention Center in Downtown Durango

The owner of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, Al Harper, has partnered with Karen Langhart, to build the proposed Grand Central Station Hotel at Railroad Center, a 220-room hotel and 26,000 square foot multi-use convention center that could accommodate 400 to 600 people. The building will also contain retail shops and an underground parking structure. All construction will be done according to Colorado Green Built standards. The $52M project will be located in downtown Durango on the corner of College Drive and Camino del Rio, which currently serves as a parking lot for the railroad.

The proposed project will be built without any public funding; however, the convention center will need help with its projected annual operating deficit.

A convention center in Durango is much needed and long overdue. Durango can attract more visitors to the area by promoting the use of the convention center for corporate and private gatherings. If all goes according to plan, the partners would like to see the complex completed in one phase by the summer of 2010.