Owner praises CEDC helps establish new Club Hotel
Lyndsey Valdez
president CCEDC
Lindsey Valdez, president and
CEO of the Clear Creek Develop-
ment Corporation, welcomed the
packed house in the new meet-
ing room to hear demographic
and state-of-the-economy reports for both Clear Creek
and Gilpin Counties. Kelly Flenniken, board chair of the
Clear Creek EDC, also presided. The room was filled with
county commissioners, city managers, council members,
city officials, organization members and guests.
The challenge with that
type of economy is a bedroom
community with many indus-
trial resident payrolls lost to
other areas.
Photo by Don Ireland
know the local business owners during the past couple of
years. They have been fantastic. This has been quite a chal-
lenging project. We had to strip this building down to studs
before adding new plumbing and those kinds of things. We
had to clean up a lot so it didn’t have any lingering odors
from its previous use. We had our soft opening in January.”
Senior Reporter
Jonah and Lana Hearne had praised for the Clear Creek
Economic Development Council, which helped the couple
purchase and remodel a problem-filled old building into
what recently opened as the Club Hotel in Idaho Springs.
It was interesting in Craig that when our economic de-
velopment efforts were successful, some older residents
told us we were destroying the town with newcomers
and rising home prices. A few crusty residents sold their
homes for five-fold profits and left town. Locally, gaming
created a housing shortage in the area, and much higher
prices exist today. Great if you already own a home.
“All of the chairs, the big TV and all of the furniture and
fixtures were taken care of by the loan we obtained from the
CCEDC. They helped us take this from what it was into a
nice, 10-room boutique hotel,” said Hearne, who noted that
the soaps, coffee and tea for the hotel come from local shops
in Idaho Springs.
Jonah Hearne said the creation of the Victorian-feel Club
Hotel at 1601 Colorado Blvd., formerly the Hanson Lodge,
was possible because of loan funding through the CCEDC.
The hotel was the site of the CCEDC’s first “Rural Resil-
ience” economic development mixer last week, which at-
tracted business owners and elected leaders from Gilpin and
Clear Creek counties.
Living in the foothill mountains of Eastern Colorado,
there will be continued growth for fresh mountain air,
solace, and privacy, and a growing demand for people to
escape the ever-increasing city populations and poverty
challenges.
Henry and Sophia Wilson built The Club Hotel as a pri-
vate, two-story residence in 1862. A decade later, they
rented the establishment to the Idaho Springs Club, a
gentlemen’s club run by Denver businessmen. The building
served as a hospital during the Spanish Flu epidemic in 1918
before it was struck by two fires in 1921. In 1943, the Hanson
family purchased the building the Hansons owned the hotel
and restaurant. In the 40 years since then, the property has
served many purposes: a restaurant, cocktail lounge, bed-
and-breakfast, and a halfway home.
Don and I wisely sat on the front row where we could
read the fine print on the many demographic charts
shown by Greg Totten from the State of Colorado demog-
raphy office. The charts showed that mining, tourism,
and restaurants, but not gaming, were the two major
employers in both counties. Ireland took furious notes on
the chart statistics found elsewhere in this week’s edition.
“I was looking for a good investment property,” Hearne
told the audience at the meeting. “I wanted to put some
money into something, fix it up and start a business. My
wife and I were looking at a place in Boulder County. We
couldn’t find the right price, so we kept on looking around.
We stumbled upon this “gem” – it was a little rough at the
time.”
Seeing the energetic audience welcoming growth and
development and creating a sound economy for jobs
and business was heart-warming. The welcome mat is
definitely out for Martin Marietta and the stellar Climax
Molybdenum, who provide most jobs in Clear Creek
County and huge amounts of taxes. Gaming may last
longer than mining somewhere in the distant future, but
we will always have the majestic mountains and tourists
seeking beauty.
A gripping portion of the program came from Ryan
Englund, president of Better Cities, who has been con-
sulting with business leaders in Rollinsville. He said the
historic railroad community wants to become a more
viable destination and significant community. There is a
strong movement, led by Gov. Jared Polis, to commence
railroad passenger service from Denver through Rol-
Continued Hearne, “My wife is a little brave because she
signed off on purchasing the property before she even vis-
ited it. Fortunately, we were able to get to the right price [on
it]. We got kick-started on the project in 2022. We came to a
good resolution with the historical preservation committee
on what this building should look like. We’ve also gotten to
After the Hearne’s acquired the property, they removed
most of the interior walls to create 11 guest rooms and in-
stalled new plumbing, electrical and heating systems. The
dining room, added in 1927, is the meeting hall used for re-
ceptions and groups, including last week’s CCEDC meeting.
However, we may need oil lanterns when the sun
doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow.
Jonah Hearne, owner of the Club Hotel in Idaho Springs.
We no longer write this, “But all had a good time.”
Photos by Don Ireland
