Friday, September 24, 2010

Mountain Town News


By ALLEN BEST - MTN TOWN NEWS SERVICE

Jackson Hole hotel facing foreclosure

JACKSON HOLE, Wyo. -- The real estate fallout continues in Jackson Hole. There, at the base of the ski area by the same name, steps have been taken to foreclose on a hotel, the Inn at Jackson Hole, because of $17.6 million in unpaid debt to Wells Fargo.

This is the third high-profile, multimillion-dollar property to face financial troubles in the last two years at the base of the ski area. The other two, however, are lots where hotels were planned, notes the Jackson Hole News&Guide.

The Inn at Jackson Hole was developed in the late 1960s, one of the first properties at the ski area. It remains a mid-range property. But plans had been formulated to raze the property and replace it with a condo-hotel.

But condo-hotels at Jackson Hole haven't necessarily done any better. Bank of America has been taking steps to claim a one-acre parcel where a hotel had been planned. The bank bid $12.5 million to take back the land, and the developer, Tramline Development, has until late November to repay the debt or lose the property.

Real estate expert David Veihman tells the newspaper that the scheduled foreclosure auction of the Inn at Jackson Hole may not be the last—"especially people that bought in 2005 through 2008, when we had that run on condo hotels and hotels."

Not many new lifts this year at ski areas

DENVER, Colo. -- While Canyons, the slightly renamed ski area at Park City, has pledged a major investment in infrastructure, Colorado ski areas this year have gone lightly, reports The Aspen Times.

Vail and Arapahoe Basin will have new high-speed quads, and Crested Butte has added a small amount of intermediate-level terrain. But beyond that, the upgrades are less capital intensive, such as more free parking at Copper Mountain and a "magic carpet" conveyor at Eldora Mountain.

Michael Berry, president of the National Ski Areas Association, takes the long view. He said that ski areas spent a huge amount of money between 1990 and 2008. Now, he expects ski areas to concentrate on "invisible investments" like snowmaking for another three or four years, then return to more eye-catching projects as the first generation of high-speed chairlifts needs replacing.

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Solar farms all over the high country

RIDGWAY, Colo. -- The high country of Colorado is awash with news of solar farms under construction or pending.

In Ridgway, near Telluride, comes the story of a solar farm now authorized for 20 acres that will produce two megawatts, or about enough for 40 average-sized homes. The Telluride Watch said it will be the largest solar farm yet run by a rural electrical cooperative in the United States.

Meanwhile, in the Aspen-Glenwood-Vail area, Colorado Mountain College has started $3.7 million in energy upgrades. The program will include more efficient lighting and other energy saving retrofits, plus the more sexy solar farms.

Also being installed is a geoexchange system, which draws upon the steady 56-degree temperature about 10 feet below ground to provide heat in winter and cooling in summer. The goal of the upgrades is a 15 percent savings in energy.

Yet another big box for the I-70 corridor

SILVERTHORNE, Colo. -- The Interstate 70 corridor will pick up another big-box store. The Silverthorne Town Council approved a site plan for Lowe's, the hardware chain, according to the Summit Daily News.

The town already has a Target and has been in discussions with The Home Depot. Farther west along I-70 is a Super Wal-Mart at Frisco, both a Home Depot and Wal-Mart in Avon, and then a bunch more at Glenwood Springs. The mountain towns are becoming mainstream America.

St. Regis to be sold and updated

ASPEN, Colo. -- Another hotel upgrade is on the way in Aspen. The 179-room St. Regis Aspen will be sold by Starwood Hotels and Resorts to a Thailand-based investor, OptAsia Capital Co. The Aspen Times reported a purchase price of $70 million in the deal, which is to be consummated near the end of September.

The buyer has agreed to a $30 million renovation of the rooms. With conference, ballroom and other venues, the property has 24,000 square feet. Starwood will continue to manage the hotel.

The Times notes that this will be the third major hotel renovation in Aspen in recent years. The Aspen Skiing Co. spent $18 million to renovate rooms at the Little Nell Hotel last year. And the owners of the Hotel Jerome have been authorized to spend between $45 million and $50 million, though that project is on hold.

As for the sales price, sources told the Times that the St. Regis sale was not made under distress, though the recession did affect the sales price to some degree.




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