The Royal Palace Motel, a long-abandoned building right at the corner of one of Denver’s busiest intersections, is coming down.
Crews on Monday started tearing into the building at Colorado Boulevard and Colfax Avenue. The sound of crunching metal and crushed wood marks the end of the Royal Palace, which opened in 1969 and closed in 2013.
In the 12 years since its closure, the vacant building has been subject to much speculation about its future. At one point, there was brief momentum to turn it into a shelter for unhoused people.
The building was sold to a developer last year.
Local real estate firm Laramar Group bought the building in January 2024 for $7.3 million, according to the Denver Business Journal.
City records show the developer has submitted plans to build a six-story multi-family apartment building with 155 residential units. As of April, Denver has not yet approved the application.
Whatever is built on the property will contend with the Royal Palace’s reputation — the motel was the site of a still-unsolved 1998 murder, and one 2010 review for it described it as “very icky.”
Meanwhile, the motel’s ornate branding will live on elsewhere. The motel sign — with royal-looking font and an elaborate gold crown — has found a new home with Jonny Barber, the founder of the Colfax Museum.
