Holiday Inn owners offer free land for conference center
Times Staff Report
Originally published 2009-10-29



The owners of the Holiday Inn Express have a deal for you. Build a conference center behind their establishment, located at the eastern entrance to town, and they’ll donate the land for free.

That’s the concept that the investment group Pennbridge Capital, which owns the hotel and adjacent property, is kicking around.

“The original concept of this hotel was to have a conference center,” explained Tom Lewis of Pennbridge, which is located in Lehi, Utah. They bought the Gunnison property in April 2008 from local developers Bob and Steve Meldrum. The scope of Pennbridge’s investment, however, didn’t include the capital for a major expansion of the facility.

But they’ve got the land, 5.3 acres in all. Of that, Lewis said 1.7 acres could be made available to anyone wishing to build a conference center.

Lewis envisions that the most likely partner on a deal such as this would be a public entity — namely the City of Gunnison. Having the ability to host more large groups in town would be a benefit to the city overall, he noted.

The benefits to the Holiday Inn Express from having an adjacent conference center include the potential for additional room and food and beverage revenue.

Lewis said he is also open to exploring partnerships with a private investor, who at the least could glean revenue from charging for meeting space. Other profit sharing ideas are open for discussion.

“Generally speaking, that’s the idea,” Lewis said. “We’d love to see it happen. Gunnison needs more meeting space to bring in groups, and this is a good location for it.”

Anyone wishing to discuss the idea is welcome to call Lewis at 1.801.407.3200 or local Holiday Inn Express Manager Christie Matthews, 641.1288.