Article By Madeline Osberger of the Aspen Daily News:
Aspen Skiing Co. wants to develop its luxury Fanny Hill Cabins at the same time it builds a Limelight hotel in Snowmass, a move that the town’s planning commission will recommend to council during a Jan. 19 public hearing.
Once seen as an incentive for the substantial completion of Snowmass’ Base Village by the master developer (which at the time was SkiCo), the 10-unit slopeside Fanny Hill townhomes were supposed to have started only after Phase 2B of the original Base VIllage project, which includes the stalled fake front buildings along Wood Road, was finished.
In requesting the phasing change, SkiCo’s vice president of hospitality Don Schuster has noted that the units would provide essential funding for the 102-room Limelight hotel project. The passage of time between Base Village’s original 2004 approval, and the project’s ownership changes, also factored into Schuster’s argument about why the phasing condition should be removed.
Because vesting on the Fanny Hill Cabins expired in 2014, the developer will have to provide about 1,640 square feet of employee housing mitigation, up from 1,230 square feet at the time of the original approval, according to the staff report.
The planning commission last week acted on SkiCo’s request by resolution, according to the town’s senior planner, Jim Wahlstrom. It includes “further assurances for the construction of the hotel, Building 5 on Lot 2 in Base Village,” he said by email.
Assurances are what the town is seeking in the wake of pronouncements by SkiCo CEO Mike Kaplan in December that the Limelight’s future in Snowmass could be in peril, given the uncertainties of the overall Base Village project.
In particular, SkiCo wants to know what the front door of the resort will look like now that master developer Related Colorado has approval, but no final architectural plans, for three key Base Village buildings. SkiCo has also pointed to uncertainties that include a shared agreement on a public plaza in the heart of Base Village as another piece of unfinished business.
The ability to stage two construction projects simultaneously, however, was seen as a plus by the town staff in its Jan. 6 resolution.
http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/169641
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