Denver’s newest downtown hotel, The Populus, announced an opening date of Sept. 18.

The Populus aims to be the first carbon positive hotel in the nation, and its first program highlights that mission with “One Night, One Tree” with the National Forest Foundation, according to a news release.

The hotel will plant one tree for every night’s stay sold, “representing up to 20,000 newly planted trees in 2024.”

Other environmentally friendly features of the Denver building inspired by Colorado’s aspen trees at 240 14th Street include: regenerative agriculture, 100% renewable electricity and zero-waste dining with all food waste being turned into compost and returned to local farmers, according to a news release.

“We’re excited to invite guests to join us in our commitment to plant one tree for every night of their stay, right here in Colorado, taking the guesswork out of sustainable travel and helping to reshape our environment one tree at a time,” General Manager George Prine said in the release. “Populus will show that conscious traveling doesn’t need to be a sacrifice. In fact, it can significantly enhance the guest experience through thoughtful design, engaging programming, delicious food and drink, superior service, and the knowledge of making a positive impact.”

The Populus Hotel was designed by global architectural firm Studio Gang to resemble aspen trees with windows shaped like the characteristic dark scars on the trees’ bark. Denver-based Superbloom worked on the landscape architecture, notably the project’s “green roof.”

The hotel is being developed by Denver-based Urban Villages — who have also worked on downtown’s Larimer Square and the Sugar Block — and will be managed by Aparium Hotel Group.

The 265-room hotel will have two restaurants led by Executive Chef Ian Wortham, who previously worked at Frasca Food and Wine in Boulder and Tavernetta along 16th Street Mall.

The restaurant downstairs will be called Pasque and the hotel’s rooftop bar and restaurant will be called Stellar Jay.

The ground-floor restaurant is named after a Colorado wildflower, purple in color and found in meadows. The inside of Pasque takes inspiration from the forest floor and will incorporate organic shapes, textures and soft light — tying into the hotel’s biophilic design. Pasque will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The rooftop terrace with views of downtown Denver will serve dinner through “live-fire cooking” of wild game, farmed meats and fresh seafood. Stellar Jay, named after a Colorado bird that feeds off of Pasque wildflowers, will be both indoors and outdoors. It will also have a private dining room for special occasions.

The first reservations don’t appear to be available until Oct. 1, according to its website. Per-night room rates range from $263 to $1,346 for the Mountain Studio Suite.

Denver Gazette business reporter Bernadette Berdychowski contributed to this report.