Developer secures $500M in private financing for Colorado hotel

A developer in Aurora, Colo., Rida Development, secured $500 million in private financing for the $824 million Gaylord Rockies hotel, enough to move forward with construction.

The 1,500-room conference hotel recede a commitment for roughly $300 million in funding in the form of tax incentives from the city of Aurora in 2011, and the Colorado Economic Development Commission approved another $81.4 million in May 2012. However, in the time since the project has been caught in limbo. 

Virtual Event

Hotel Optimization Part 3 | January 27, 2021

With 2020 behind us and widespread vaccine distribution on the horizon, the second half of the new year is looking up, but for Q1 (and most likely well into Q2) we’re very much still in the thick of what has undeniably been the lowest point of the pandemic. What can you be doing now to power through and set yourself up for a prosperous 2021 and beyond? Join us at Part 3 of Hotel Optimization – A Virtual Event on January 27 from 10am – 1:05pm ET for expert panels focused on getting you back to profitability.


Gaylord Entertainment, the original developer of the property, backed out of the project two weeks after it received Regional Tourism Act incentives from the Colorado EDC, and after Rida became involved with the project 11 Front Range hotels filed a lawsuit for the EDC to reconsider the funding application. Two courts have ruled for Aurora so far in the lawsuit, but the hotels have appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court.