A two-level parking garage for the Downtown Durango Hotel is nearing its completion.
According to Mike Ward, Lamont Cos. on-site supervisor for the project, the parking garage is 86% complete after 14 weeks of work. That part of construction is expected to be finished next week.
Lamont Cos., the developer of the dual-branded Hampton and Marriott hotel project under construction in the 400 block of East Second Avenue, will begin early morning concrete pouring at 5 a.m. Wednesday to complete the structures for a basement and two-level parking garage.
Concrete pouring is expected to continue for the next several weeks.
Chris Simpson, city land use and building inspector, said noise complaints from residents and businesses are common during construction. The city plans to monitor decibel levels per the noise ordinance as concrete pouring begins Wednesday.
“Sometimes, construction companies have to ask for early pours. That’s where we’re at this week, a 5 a.m. early pour,” he said.
Noise caused by concrete pouring tends to vary project-by-project, Simpson said. He does not know how loud one can expect these pouring efforts to be, but the city is sensitive to the activity and wants neighbors to know about it when it occurs.
The city code regulates decibel levels with higher or lower noise thresholds according to city zoning, Simpson said.
For residential zones, activities can be up to 55 decibels loud between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. The threshold is 60 decibels for commercial zones and 80 decibels for industrial zones.
“I have no idea (how loud this could be), but I’m ready and willing … We’re corresponding, working with the team in-house and we’re there to help the community if we need to,” Simpson said.
Daniel Murray, development services manager for the city, said hotel construction has been going at a steady pace since it began in June. A two-level parking garage structure is visible on site, and it’ll receive the concrete pouring treatment.
He said all pouring will be staged on East Second Avenue. In some cases, concrete will be gravity-fed from concrete trucks to where it’s needed, and some pumping may be needed to pour the concrete in elevated areas.
The hotel development is expected to take 20-22 months total. After concrete pouring is completed, the developer will move on to framing the next floor of the structure. Murray said on-site framing should take about six months.
Sporadic concrete pouring will commence Wednesday morning, but that’s a small piece of the project, Ward said. In the next two to three weeks, the real work will consist of infrastructure work on site utilities.
The project’s big milestone at this point is that the enormous, empty hole that sat unused since it was excavated in 2019 has been filled by site development.
After that, about 80 modular units will be trucked in to complete the final two to three stories of the hotel.
An immense amount of work is still required before the units can be installed.
Welding and water proofing in the garage will take at least six weeks, Ward said. Residents will “hear a lot of action but won’t see it,” according to Ward, since the work will take place within the parking structure.
Ward said December is a realistic time frame to expect to see modular units start going up.
When complete, the dual-branded hotel will feature a 102-room AC Hotel by Marriott and a 100-room Hampton Inn and Suites by Hilton.
The project was designed with modular units in mind to reduce neighborhood, Jeff Lamont, CEO of Aberdeen, South Dakota-based Lamont Cos., told The Durango Herald in 2021.
The dual-brand hotel is a significant development in downtown Durango that has sent neighboring residents on a roller coaster of emotions, ranging from concern to frustration and, for some, resignation.
Residents like Bill Perry, who lives in the 500 block of East Third Avenue, say the hotel and its proximity to downtown businesses will be a boon to local tourism, and they can’t blame the city for seizing the opportunity.
When completed, the hotel will stand six stories tall at its highest point.
Ward said in May that it’s common to see Marriott hotels built side-by-side, but it’s unheard of until now to see a dual-branded Hampton and Marriott hotel project, with the Durango building being the first such project in the country.
cburney@durangoherald.com
