State approves funding for Go NoCO tourism projects

DENVER — The state’s Economic Development Commission on Thursday approved the funding of four tourism projects in Northern Colorado, but how much of the $80.7 million requested to help offset the cost of building the attractions will be determined in the coming month.

“This is just the beginning,” said commission member J.J. Ament.” There is still a long way to go.” The terms and conditions are expected to be finalized by Dec. 10, at which time they will be announced by the commission.

The four projects will cost $334 million to construct. They include the PeliGrande Resort and Conference Center in Windsor, The Indoor Waterpark Resort of the Rockies and the U.S. Whitewater Adventure Park in Loveland, and the Stanley Hotel Auditorium and Film Center in Estes Park, which will expand the hotel’s annual film festival it has been holding for the past three years.

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The funds will be administered by the Office of Economic Development and International Trade and generated by the Regional Tourism Act passed in 2009. The act allows the rebating of state sales-tax revenue that new, out-of-state visitors would generate in a predetermined tourism zone.

Go NoCO, a nonprofit created by government entities and private businesses in Northern Colorado, applied for the grants. The projects will be paid for by developers, local government incentive packages and the state funding.

OEDIT’s executive director, Fiona Arnold, who recommended that the commission approve the Go NoCO request, said she “was struggling” about the uniqueness of Martin Lind’s PeliGrande project, a key metric used in granting funds.

“A hotel and a conference center are not unique, but the added elements of a golf course that hosts PGA events and the Boathouse Restaurant makes the overall project unique,” she said. Lind and the PGA are in negotiations for a 10-year contract to bring a seniors tour event to the Raindance Golf Course that is being designed by PGA golfer Fred Funk.

Lind, president of the Water Valley Land Co, told BizWest that the golf course would be built even if he did not move forward with the hotel and conference center. Arnold, in her letter of recommendation to the commission, said the hotel and conference center, without the funding, would not be completed within the foreseeable future.

The Boathouse Restaurant at the PeliGrande would be only the second in the United States, with the first being in Orlando at Disney World. The nautically themed restaurant would include “romantic” Captain’s guided tours aboard an Italian water taxi and amphicars — amphibious autos that would launch from the land into the lake that surrounds the site.

Arnold said that she recently learned of a whitewater park that is planned for Colorado Springs, and the developer is not asking for RTA funding. Commission chairman Dick Monfort said the proximity of the whitewater park to the indoor park in Loveland still makes it appealing.

 About the projects

The PeliGrande Resort and Conference Center: A four-star golf resort and conference center to be built along the shore of Lake Water Valley in Windsor. The 300-room hotel features two full-service restaurants, including the Boathouse Restaurant, upscale lounge, a luxury spa, a fitness center, 58,500 square feet of ballroom and meeting space, and retail services. The yet-to-be built Raindance Golf Course has received a promise from the PGA to hold a Champions Tour event there in 2018.

Stanley Hotel Auditorium and Film Center: A permanent home of the horror-film genre, building off the hotel’s storied history of inspiring Stephen King to write “The Shining,” which later was made into a movie that is a classic scary movie.

The Stanley Film Center will include a 500-seat auditorium, creative classrooms, digital audio- and film-mixing studios, a sound stage, film discovery center and archive that will exhibit many of the crown-jewel artifacts of the film industry, outdoor theater for films under the stars and more. It would be built and operated in partnership with an advisory board of filmmakers and is expected to draw visitors from around the globe.

Indoor Waterpark Resort of the Rockies: The Indoor Waterpark Resort in Loveland would be accessible and visible from Interstate 25. It would feature a 75,000-square-foot indoor waterpark, 330-room hotel, a 55,000-square-foot outdoor waterpark and more than 20,000 square feet of other indoor attractions in its Family Entertainment Center.

U.S. Whitewater Adventure Park: The park, north of the Budweiser Event Center in Loveland, would be built around a 20-acre artificial whitewater river system using recycled water that offers varying levels of difficulty designed to Olympic standards. It also would have recreational attractions, including zip lines, high-ropes course, obstacle courses, a canopy tour, climbing wall, canyoneering, children’s play area and team-building area. The park would also contain a restaurant, retail shops, an amphitheater, multipurpose event space, and a variety of outdoor structures, including bungalows and outdoor patios.

Go NoCO is financially backed by the city of Loveland, the town of Windsor, Larimer County and about 20 private partners led by Water Valley Land Co. in Windsor, Loveland-based McWhinney Real Estate Services Inc., the Grand Heritage Hotel Group based in Maryland, Fort Collins-based Spirit Hospitality LLC and FirstBank.