Aspen Skiing Co. buys Basalt building for $6 million
The Aspen Times
Aspen Times file photo |
Aspen Skiing Co. completed the purchase of a retail and office building in Basalt on Monday in a $6 million deal, according to a deed filed with the Eagle County Clerk and Recorder’s Office.
Skico purchased the building at 255 Gold Rivers Court in the Ute Center subdivision. The building is known as Riverside Plaza, Lot A. It’s in a prime position at the intersection of Two Rivers Road and Midland Avenue. The ground floor is the home of Toklat Gallery, Traffic clothing, Community Bank of Colorado, Sierra Pacific Windows and Burn Fitness. The top two floors are vacant offices formerly occupied by Total Merchant Services.
The 28,380-square-foot building was constructed in 2001. Skico spokesman Jeff Hanle said last week that the retail operations will remain and be tenants of Skico. The company will use the upper floors for office space for departments that don’t have to be located at the headquarters at the Aspen Business Center. The company is assessing its needs but doesn’t anticipate moving any departments to the building until after ski season.
Basalt officials are excited about the business the occupied offices could generate for downtown restaurants and shops, based on comments at a recent Town Council meeting.
The Riverside Plaza, Lot A building was developed by a firm affiliated with longtime Aspen real estate broker Robert Ritchie. He defaulted on a loan in the original amount of $9.8 million, according to the Eagle County public trustee’s website. U.S. Bank National Association, the holder of the note, made a successful bid of $3.2 million for the property in a September 2014 trustee’s sale.
Ritchie’s company had a total indebtedness of $12.3 million, so there was a deficiency of $9.1 million after the sale, the trustee’s website shows.
The bank assigned a certificate of purchase for the property to 255 Gold Rivers Court Holdings LLC, according to public records. That company shares an address with CW Capital Asset Management of West Bethesda, Maryland.
The owner was attempting to lease the vacant office space. Skico and Pitkin County government were among the parties investigating a lease. The owner abruptly shifted gears and offered the property for sale, according to a Skico official. The company decided to make an offer because it’s running short on office space, already has a large share of its off-slope work force commuting from the midvalley and anticipates building more affordable housing in the Basalt area.
