Making Thornton the Center

Picture a 350-room hotel, glistening conference center, a light rail station nearby and piles of other development bursting around it all. Shake downtown Denver out of your mind for a second and start thinking about Thornton. City leaders were enamored recently with a study regarding a convention center that would likely be located at either 144th or 136th—two prime sites along Interstate 25. On about 15 acres, the city could get a convention center that would compliment the Colorado Convention Center in Denver as well as a tony hotel to add to its bed base. This seems like a no brainer if officials can pull it off.

[What’s Next] The city will continue studying the issue and will have to figure out how to pay for it, likely in the form of a public/private partnership. Money well spent.