Aspen Business News

SNOWMASS VILLAGE, Colo.—In 2007, before Skico and Intrawest sold Base Village to Related-WestPac, the developers threw a sizzling party for what was to be a Westin. That same year, the developer flew a group of local realtors to Scottsdale on a private jet and wined and dined them at a signature Westin property to prime the pump for the upcoming sales initiative. The energy and excitement of the time was unforgettable.

There was virtually no doubt in anyone's mind that the new Snowmass Village would become one of the ultimate ski destination. There were even whisperings that the Village would become such a hot spot that it might steal Aspen's thunder.

Fast forward five years and Snowmass Village is sneaking its way out of the great recession with a resurgence in restaurants and retail as well as notable on mountain improvements. Still, questions remain about the future of the Base Village and how it will tie in with the mall and the new Westin Hotel.

To put this all in perspective, ABJ sat down with two experts on business and life in Snowmass Village,  Realtors Greg Rulon and Greg Didier.

ABJ: What will have to change for Snowmass to capture people's imagination in the same way again?

Greg Rulon: I think it's starting to happen, but it's going to be a slow climb. Whether we reach those heights again, I don't know. But Snowmass mountain is the mountain. If you ski two weeks a year, that's the mountain for you. It offers something for everyone, every family. What we have been through in the last few years, nobody forsaw. First step is the Westin, this next year.

Greg Didier: I agree with everything Greg said. It's actually already started. My experience in just the last couple weeks−the difference in the buyers that are coming in−is that they are starting to get excited again. The Westin coming in, Gorsuch coming on the mall, the new restaurants coming in−all that excitement that was there in 2007 will come back.

I was talking to a few locals and we were having the magic wand conversation. Push a button and it's done−what's it look like? Once it all get's built we will have the critical mass to create the excitement and it will become the number one ski resort in North America. We have nothing but good stuff to talk about.

GR: The number of showings is up exponentially, and offers are flying around. I have had more showings in the last few weeks than in the last four months combined.

GD:  I just received an offer on a house I have had listed for three years. Our walk-in traffic on the mall was like the old days, My wife, Terry Rogers, had seven walk-ins in one day. I had five walk-ins one day. People are having a great time with their families and the warm weather. You sense there is different energy.

ABJ: Short sales, bank owned sales, etc have been common in the last few years. In a way, the Base Village was the ultimate distressed sale. The foreclosure is finally done. What does this mean for Snowmass?

GD: We are working our way back up. Chaffin Light is the listing agent for (Base Village condos), and we sold five of the 12 they gave us−there were seven sales total. The year before there was one sale and the year before that there were zero. We went in there and beat them up on price. We told them that the Base Village condos had to be the same price as the other condos, but they are new so that will give you a competitive advantage.

GR: It's amazing, the best values are selling first−what a concept. But you can feel the optimism coming back−it's a national thing. Americans aren't good at being pessimistic. It's been two or three years and people are over it.

ABJ: We can only assume that Skico has been at the table with the bank, but so far nothing has materialized. Do you think Skico regrets selling Base Village?

GR: I don't think so. And the Crowns, to their credit, put most of that money right back into the community both in Snowmass and Aspen with the Limelight, the Gondola, Sam's Smoke House, the new Elk Camp restaurant. They have reinvested in the future. They are at the table with Base Village probably trying to decide what economic model will work and at what price point. The old models don't work. The $2,800 per foot days are gone, and everyone is trying to figure that out.

GD: I don't think it will exist how it was approved, but it will be reconfigured to work in today's world.

ABJ: The new owner of the Silvertree, David Wasserman, recently told ABJ that for Snowmass to grow, it has to keep people at the resort after they get off the slopes. Will he succeed? How?

GR: Snowmass will succeed. The Silvertree renovation is a part of that, Base Village is part of that. The critical mass and energy is important. It's got all the bones, and as David Wasserman said there are no other hotels like this on the slope. It just needs the upgrade and it's coming with a pretty aggressive schedule−$40 million in seven months.

GD: I hope he succeeds. It always blows me away that you have 10,000 people skiing on the mountain and you can't capture those people. Base Village gets packed quickly−but with such a small portion of the people who come off the slopes.

They go into Aspen because Aspen can handle it.  Snowmass doesn't have the bars and restaurants to hold what's up there. Hopefully that changes and he creates great public spaces to keep people here. They're right here in front of us−we just need a butterfly net to catch them.

ABJ: With Wasserman's planned renovation of the Westin, will the focus and the energy shift to the mall?

GR: I think it will be split.

GD: Again, it's about having enough people in Snowmass to occupy both. There are locals who say that it's going to be competing. That's true, unless you have enough people to occupy both. For après, Base Camp and Sneaky's are packed. You want to go somewhere where you can sit and not be crammed.

GR: They will feed off each other. That's the hope.

ABJ: Does the existing Base Village work or do we need the next phase of development to make the magic happen?

GR: It's out of scale, the business to the residential. The next component of residential will get built and feed the commercial. Aspen has always had that problem. You have people say we need more lodging. Well, it's always out of balance.

GD: I think Base Village works for après ski. But I have spent a lot of time down there and I think it's missing a few key elements: little things like a quick grab and go like pizza; a general store; or even a little liquor store. You still need to come up to the mall for that or go to the Center. As more residential units get built those types of things will happen. The commercial can't be supported with 89 condos down there.

ABJ: Despite challenges, new businesses having been popping up in what ABJ referred to as a mini-renaissance. Are you sensing a retail/restaurant resurgence?

GD: Certainly on the mall. Aspen Sports did a beautiful remodel. Venga Venga was the first one−they did an awesome exterior renovation that looked separate from the mall. The fact that the Westin is coming in is giving confidence to other retailers on the mall−they want to be a part of that. It will be interesting to see if the mall goes higher end.

GR: I think business begets business. You can't single out one business. Gorsuch helps Aspen Sports and vice versa. That helps dinners at Il Poggio which helps Venga Venga. The more people that stay in the village, the more options that are out there, the more natural it is for people to just pop in.

GD: When you start telling people about the Artisan and the Edge at Timberline, people say, "Where?" One of the problems is that guests don't always know what all the options are.

GR: It's a continuing education. But that's also indicative of new visitors, which i have seen a lot of in the past few weeks.

GR: All of these are pieces of the puzzle. The Westin is one of them. We went to a wine tasting the other night at the Viceroy and that's another piece. I think when you bring 400 workers next summer and they are renting homes that haven't been rented for four years−every dollar turns over five times in a community−it's going to really reinvigorate Snowmass Village.