Inside the new All Inn Hotel on Colfax Avenue
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Inside the All Inn Hotel on East Colfax in Denver. Photo: Esteban L. Hernandez/Axios
The former All Inn motel on East Colfax Avenue sat unattended for years, morphing into an eyesore along the busy commercial corridor.
Yes, but: After $22 million toward its transformation — including Denver City Council-approved tax-increment financing — it's an eyesore no more.
Why it matters: The new All Inn Hotel is the latest in a line of local redevelopment projects attempting to revitalize the iconic Colfax corridor with stylish, upscale options.
Driving the news: The motel is reborn this month as a 54-room boutique property featuring an elevated restaurant, plans for a 6,000-square-foot wine garden and spacious outdoor seating.
Owner Brian Toerber says his renovated site sits in a "hotel desert," providing a place to stay near numerous attractions, including City Park, the Denver Zoo and the Museum of Nature & Science.
Context: The hotel sits near a future Colfax bus rapid transit stop.
- The project has caused major headaches to local businesses; Toerber says it delayed some sidewalk construction.
Flashback: Toerber initially acquired the hotel site in 2016, intending to turn it into housing, but neighborhood feedback led him to keep it as a hotel.
- Toerber wanted to maintain the location's historic charm and celebrate its inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places in July 2020. That inclusion helped add $4 million in tax credits, Toerber tells us.
Between the lines: The hotel will house the Mediterranean-inspired restaurant FiNO on its ground floor, serving plates like anchovy toast, bucatini al limone and pescado a la plancha.
- The restaurant opens March 18.
What they're saying: "It's Colfax, but it's just not your father's Colfax," Toerber, who grew up in Colorado, tells us. "It's still fun, but it's not at all dangerous."
What's next: The All Inn Hotel at Colfax Avenue and Milwaukee Street opens to the public March 26.