Pat Ferrier

patferrier@coloradoan.com

The iconic Armstrong Hotel is being sold.

Owner Steve Levinger confirmed the 95-year-old hotel in Old Town Fort Collins is under contract with the sale scheduled to close April 13. Levinger declined to name the buyer but said the hotel had not been put on the market.

Levinger and his wife, Missy, bought the vacant hotel, then called the Mountain Empire Hotel, in 2002 for $1.45 million from Old Town Hotels, LLC. The name of the hotel at 259 S. College Ave. reverted back to its origins, named for Andrew Armstrong, a pioneer builder in Fort Collins.

The Levingers pumped more than $2 million, including nearly $200,000 from the state Historical Fund and the Downtown Development Authority, into renovations on the top two floors of the 36,000-square-foot hotel, preserving the existing lobby and leasing the remaining space for retail operations, including Mugs Coffee Lounge, HuHot Mongolian Grill and Choice City Butcher and Deli.

The quaint and cozy Armstrong, with its 38 rooms, sweeping iron staircase, terrazzo floor and pressed tin ceiling, became a favorite for out-of-town business travelers and tourists. It has been the lone hotel in Old Town for the past 15 years, a title it will give up in September when The Elizabeth Hotel opens on Mountain Avenue.

More: Construction continues on the Elizabeth Hotel

In 2010, the Levingers added Ace Gillett Lounge, named for the man who operated the Armstrong and Northern hotels.

Armstrong management confirmed Oreo, the hotel's most famous resident, will remain at the hotel even after it is sold. Oreo is now 13.