DENVER – Construction crews broke ground Friday on a new high rise hotel near Union Station that will make use of a historic fire station that sits on the site.

The lot at the corner of 20th Street and Chestnut Place is currently home to the vacant Hose Company No. 1 building, which was built in 1883 for the city’s then volunteer fire department. The building has seen a number of other uses over the decades but has been sitting empty for years.

Rather than demolish the brick firehouse, developers will incorporate it into a 12-story Hilton Garden Inn hotel.

Denver Fire Chief Eric Tade was on hand for the groundbreaking and praised the preservation of the historic firehouse.

“Back when the Hose Company No. 1 was in operation, this area was called ‘The Bottoms,’ Tade said. “Not only did this building serve as a fire station, but it was also a social gathering point. Thanks to the thoughtfulness and care of this project, it will once again become a community lodge for all to enjoy.”

Denver-based Johnson Nathan Strohe designed the hotel, which will have 233 guest rooms and 6,300 square feet of ballroom and meeting space when it’s completed. The Hose Company No. 1 building will be renovated to house a yet-unnamed restaurant.

Construction work is expected to be completed by Jan. 2019.

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