Jan. 10, 2012--Powers Boulevard, between Platte Avenue and Woodmen Road, arguably has become Colorado Springs' No. 1 retail destination over the last 10 to 12 years, with shopping centers, restaurants, groceries, big-box retailers and entertainment venues dominating the corridor.

Now, the central portion of Powers is getting something it's lacked up to now: A brand name hotel.

An $8.5 million, 82-room Holiday Inn Express will be built at the First & Main Town Center shopping complex, southeast of Powers and North Carefree Circle, according to plans announced Tuesday by RHW Management Inc. of Overland Park, Kan., and Nor'wood Development Group of Colorado Springs.

The hotel will be built next to the Cinemark movie theater complex at First & Main; it's scheduled to open in spring 2013 and will employ about 25 people.

Several hotels have been built along Powers south of Platte Avenue and near the Colorado Springs Airport. The Holiday Inn Express, however, will be the first along the stretch of Powers that's become a retail hotbed in recent years.

Nor'wood is First & Main's developer and one of the Springs' largest real estate companies. RHW describes itself as a 30-year-old company that specializes in the development, construction, and management of hotels in the United States and Mexico. RHW operates 15 hotels and 1,800 rooms in seven states.

Check back with gazette.com and Wednesday's print edition of The Gazette for more information.

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