Article by Madeline Osberger: Aspen Daily News
Parcels acquired for $25 million a decade ago
The Snowmass Mall is for sale for an undisclosed amount, and bids are being taken until Feb. 10 on the nearly one-acre property with real estate advisory firm Newmark Grubb Knight Frank.
Owner Related Colorado, through its Snowmass Holding Company LLC, recently listed the majority section of the resort’s original commercial avenue first developed in 1967 as part of a European-style village designed by architect Fritz Benedict.
The property is leased to 45 tenants, is 89 percent occupied and claims to produce a net operating income of $1.84 million, according to Newmark Grubb Knight Frank’s website. Executive managing director Dan Grooters was not available to comment.
Jim D’Agostino, president of Related Colorado, said Thursday it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the property is being marketed for sale.
“As we shared with the community previously, we received a lot of interest in the mall recently and believe that it’s a great time for a new owner to implement their vision for this incredibly unique property,” he said.
The mall parcels controlled by Snowmass Holding Company LLC were acquired separately in 2005 for $25 million by a group led at the time by Pat Smith. Smith in 2007 was part of the Related WestPac venture that bought Base Village from Aspen Skiing Co. and Intrawest for $169 million; he is no longer involved with either development.
Madeleine Osberger/Aspen Daily News
The owners first bought the addition to the original Snowmass Mall that’s located closest to the RFTA bus stop (once known as the Gateway Building) for $10.8 million in May 2005; the same entity later that year acquired the three commercial buildings that include iconic businesses like the Stew Pot, as well as the mall’s open space thoroughfare, for $14 million, according to the Pitkin County Assessor’s Office.
“It’s basically from Snowmelt Road to Chaffin Light’s building on one side and abuts the Silvertree and Wildwood (now the Westin and Holiday Inn Express) on the other side,” said deputy assessor Larry Fite, in describing this parcel.
Separately owned are Chaffin Light’s mid-mall real estate building, the Westin and Wildwood hotels (led by a group whose principal is David Wasserman) and the slopeside building owned by film producer Lance Hool that houses Venga Venga.
D’Agostino didn’t comment specifically about whether a sale was part of its local exit plan or if proceeds could help finance improvements to finish construction on Base Village, which has been stalled since 2009.
During the past seven months, Related has sold its property management contracts for two Snowmass complexes and has seen its Snowmass Center go under contract to Eastwood Development, which owns the commercial space in the Aspen Highlands base area.
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