Spirit of the Academy

When a visitor walks into Hotel Polaris, the first thing they will likely notice is the flawless design. Plush furnishings surround a roaring fireplace. Wood latticework softens a mid-century modern interior; a sleek bar is backlit by giant windows affording a view of the Front Range. First impressions matter, and Hotel Polaris, which opened its doors in November 2024, makes a good one.

The initial impression made by Hotel Polaris is more expansive for an Air Force Academy graduate. While they will notice the same ornate features, myriad other flourishes will begin to present themselves. Every entrance is color-coded according to graduating classes: red, blue, gold, and silver adorn everything from carpets to tile mosaics to hanging art pieces. Restaurants are aviation themed. An outdoor courtyard is modeled after an aerial view of the chapel. The design is modern, but each element is imbued with history.

“You see it in the eyes of those who walk into the lobby for the first time,” said Mark Hille, President and CEO of the U.S. Air Force Academy Association of Graduates (AOG). “It evokes the spirit of the Air Force Academy in every touch.”

Hotel Polaris has been in the works for over a decade, and Mark is one of the key players in bringing it to fruition. Partnering with him is Dan Schnepf, who championed the project from start to finish, spearheading its development as founder and CFO of Matrix Design Group. Mark and Dan met in 2010 and connected over their shared history as Air Force Academy graduates. Mark graduated in 1997, while Dan is the class of ’83—both mention their graduating class in the same breath as their names.

Both Mark and Dan share a deeply engrained set of principles they inherited in their days as cadets, chief among them service before self. That value has informed their career decisions beyond their years in the Air Force. “All of us at some point take off the uniform,” Mark said. “And we have a question … Will you continue to serve?”

As a cadet, Dan had thought he might one day serve as a pilot, but plans changed when he injured himself during a varsity wrestling match. He misjudged a takedown—a standing flip granby, to be precise—and was carried off the mat on a stretcher. He had broken his neck, barely avoiding a more serious injury that could have paralyzed him for life. He feared he would receive a medical discharge and lose his place at the Academy. Instead, his peers and officers rallied around him, advocating for him to continue his studies.

Dan’s injury changed the trajectory of his life, but one thing remained the same—his toughness. Under coach Wayne Baughman he had developed a tenacity that would propel him through any number of challenges in the years to come. He pushed through months of recovery and physical therapy, keeping up with his studies and graduating with his class. In the coming years, he would build a design company and tackle increasingly complex development projects, all of which culminated in his biggest challenge to-date: TrueNorth Commons.

The idea originated post-9/11, when the Air Force Academy closed its gates to the public for three years. In a time when the military was at the center of public discourse, the public had no access to the Academy grounds. Dan wanted to change that. TrueNorth Commons would offer an Air Force experience outside the security perimeter, comprising a visitor’s center, hotel, and commercial area with easy access for the public. The big question was how to fund it. Proposals were sent in 2015 and 2017 to open the project to public funding, but both were denied. In 2019, another proposal finally passed, but then COVID tanked the bond market, and everything fell through again. By this point, Dan had been working on the project for roughly a decade.

Other developers would have given up, but not Dan. He still had that toughness. He kept drafting proposals, putting months of work into other options, only to hit more dead ends. Then the event Dan calls “a miracle” happened. In 2022, the original bond buyers returned to the project and raised $422 million. Funding reached a tipping point. The City for Champions (C4C) project chose TrueNorth Commons as one of four projects designated to receive $120.5 million in Regional Tourism Act incentives. Air Force Academy graduates donated tens of millions directly, a number which continues to grow.

Today, TrueNorth Commons is becoming a reality. Located just outside the Air Force Academy’s North Gate, Hotel Polaris is up and running, the visitor center is projected to open by the end of the year, and a business complex will be added at a later date.

Hotel Polaris is a resort-style hotel that is somehow both cozy and cosmopolitan, offering a family-friendly diner and a chic top-floor bar. Visitors can fly an F-16 or a 737 in a state-of-the-art flight simulator room, staffed by workers with a background in aviation. This is the only simulator of its kind and, like the hotel’s restaurants, bar, and spa, is open to visitors as well as hotel guests. The hotel currently employs 225 people, a number that is expected to climb to 350 during peak summer months.

Most significantly, Mark and Dan see the hotel as a way to give back to Air Force graduates, honoring their philosophy of service before self. Through the AOG, millions of dollars were invested in Hotel Polaris. Once that grant and the bonds are repaid, the ownership of the hotel will be transferred to the AOG, and the flow of funds will reverse. “The proceeds will benefit the Academy for generations to come,” Mark said.

Hotel Polaris is an extension of the Air Force Academy, but it is also for locals who want to try a flight simulator, or eat burgers with their friends, or host a conference for 2,000 people. For young hopefuls touring military facilities in West Point and Annapolis, it’s the next essential stop on their route. For tourists visiting Garden of the Gods and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum, it’s the next exciting stop on their trip. And for Air Force Academy graduates, Hotel Polaris is a remembrance of their legacy and an investment in their future.