Several dilapidated mid-century motels and restaurants line Denver’s historic Colfax Avenue. Luckily developers and designers are coming together to bring new light to this street and its dust ridden buildings. Sopher Sparn Architects is leading the design of one of these mid-century motels, the La Vista Motel at Colfax and Hudson.

The Location

Colfax Avenue is over 154 years old and houses numerous neglected properties from housing to dining. In between these shuttered spots are bustling business and pedestrian-filled sidewalks. This street perfectly combines the past and present, young and old, rich and poor. With pockets of hip dive bars between abandoned industrial properties, several areas of Colfax are in need of some TLC. East Colfax Avenue is full of character in every sense of the word; graffiti, music venues, motels, neon signs, mid-century buildings, and local businesses. Among this array of character lies the La Vista Motel at 5500 E. Colfax Avenue.

La Vista Motel circa 1950

1950’s USA travel was car-centric. An increase in travel filled the nation and created an influx of visitors from east to west. This made Colfax Avenue the center of tourist activity for the Front Range. Thus a plethora of motels, hotels, and restaurants was erected to accommodate the increase of visitors.

Built-in 1956, the La Vista was a comfortable family-friendly lodging spot, with an array of cars out front, families hanging out on the balconies and a fun bright-colored exterior. But in 1964 when Interstate 70 was completed (which bypassed Colfax), a steady decline of visitors and traffic followed.

The Present

The La Vista Motel is notorious for its insect-infected rooms, 2.4-star rating, and massive need for repair. This motel is hard to miss with its dusty red stucco between large diamond shapes with boarded-up doors and windows. What was once a charming lodging destination is now a disheveled building in disrepair and a hotspot for criminal activity along the Colfax corridor. The motel which borders the ever-changing neighborhood of Hale & South Park Hill along the Colfax corridor is nearby family homes, schools, and business owners who are looking for a change. They are hopeful for the restoration of these forgotten buildings along Colfax Ave. from dangerous crime zones into positive and vibrant reuses to create a safer and walkable main street for the neighborhood and its surrounding residents. The La Vista Motel will be at the forefront of this mission, and SSA is looking forward to working with local resident and developer St. Bernard Properties on this exciting renovation project.    

SSA’s Denver Studio is eager to kickstart the firm’s very first Denver project through the revitalization of the La Vista Motel. By looking at old photographs of the Motel in its heyday, the project’s goal is to bring the bones of the building back to their original charm, while incorporating modern building materials and techniques that ode to the Motel’s iconic Mid-Century Modern past. The renovated hotel will provide short-term and long-term rental rooms along East Colfax with new amenities and a Lobby Bar. SSA’s Denver Studio is excited about the challenge to retrofit the existing bones of small motel rooms, with space-saving and micro-housing design techniques, as well as collaborate with Xan Creative on the interior design of the hotel room and amenities.

It is an honor to be a part of this big shift of revitalizing buildings along Colfax Ave. and aiding in the efforts of creating exciting change for the residents of East Colfax in a small but meaningful way.