Snowmass Village, CO: Article by Madeline Osberger, Aspen Daily News
Kaplan asks community to publicly support project
Aspen Skiing Co. wants to break ground on a Limelight hotel in Base Village next year, but it will probably take a village to make that happen.
During remarks made Thursday at the inaugural “Upload for the Download” event at Elk Camp restaurant, SkiCo president and CEO Mike Kaplan told a crowd of more than 200 people that despite existing legal and administrative road blocks, SkiCo hopes to break ground in 2017 on the 102-room hotel.
“We’re pushing, we’re driving, we’re doing everything we can to start the Limelight this spring,” said Kaplan.
Earlier, he had offered a brief history of the Base Village project, beginning with SkiCo’s purchase of the base area land in 1999; its partnering with Intrawest Corp., sale to a concern that included Related, and SkiCo’s attempts to buy back in when the assets were sold in distress in 2011.
Kaplan said he was “haunted” by the unsightly base area project that was stalled by the recession and that he said should have resumed three years ago.
SkiCo has been under contract since 2013 to buy the hotel lot from the limited liability company controlled by Related Colorado but the development has been complicated by many factors.
Those include: a longer-than-expected approval process; owner Related Colorado’s awkward attempts to sell the property, which resulted in a current lawsuit, and allegations of inappropriate talks between an elected official and former councilman. That suit by citizen Richard Goodwin, who made claims under what is called a Rule 106 that allows residents to challenge a government’s decision, was ruled in favor of the town on Monday.
As SkiCo gets ready to open a Limelight in Ketchum, Idaho but has made little progress on one for Snowmass, Kaplan emphasized time is of the essence: “The completion of Base Village is as important if not more important than in 2000.”
Jordan Curet/Aspen Daily News
“Let’s get this done,” he said, noting that Base Village’s finish has frequently been listed as the top town priority. But in order to break ground on the project that’s seen no vertical movement since 2009, “It will take the town, Related and all of you weighing in to make this happen.”
A model of what a Limelight Snowmass hotel room would look like will soon be set up in the Base Village parking garage, said Don Schuster, vice president of hospitality.
‘Get involved, reach out’
During a comprehensive review of the summer plan proposed for Snowmass ski area that is currently under the NEPA review process by the U.S. Forest Service, general manger Steve Sewell said public input could be a factor in the decision. The proposal includes 10 new mountain biking trails, an alpine coaster, climbing wall, zip line and a challenge course.
If the Forest Service selects a preferred alternative by April 2017, Sewell said SkiCo could begin constructing the approved facilities in June, which could be open to the pubic one year later.
Another speaker, SkiCo’s vice president of marketing Christian Knapp, spoke of how vital air service is to the resort, noting the steady, recent growth in seats into the market. There were 202,000 commercial seats offered last year, he said, which is among the highest in the airport’s history. Knapp also said the average one way ticket price dropped last year to $393 each way, which was lower than in 2014.
Increased competition could help drive prices lower but the airport will need to grow in order to accommodate the next generation of regional jets, which are wider than the runway can legally handle.
“This airport is maxed out,” Knapp said, adding, “This is a big, looming issue for the community.” He encouraged those in attendance “to get involved and reach out” in support of the proposed expansion of the runway and terminal of Sardy Field.
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