Council approves Snowmass Center redevelopment
The redevelopment allows the town to purchase land for workforce housing
Design Workshop/Courtesy Photo
Snowmass solidified their plan to purchase land for workforce housing Tuesday.
Town Council unanimously approved a Snowmass Center redevelopment design, presented by owners Eastwood Snowmass Investors, in a council meeting after months of deliberation by the local government. The approval enables the town to purchase over three acres of land behind the center for $12.5 million to use for up to 130 units of workforce housing.
The design increases the total footprint of the center by 24%, expands Clark’s Market, and doubles the size of the post office.
But the approval comes with conditions by council to ensure public usage, safe traffic patterns, and attempts to facilitate the longevity of existing businesses in the space.
“I want to be sure that any existing tenant is not facing a bill that’s going to put them out of business in order to stay in the Snowmass Center,” said Council member Cecily DeAngelo.
The current food and beverage tenants may extend their lease with Snowmass Eastwood Investors as the building is redeveloped. Clark’s can extend their agreement until 2054, Taster’s and the Daly Diner can extend until 2041, and Sundance can extend until 2044.
“The interest that we have is exactly what you have, is we want to have those tenants stay,” said Richard Shaw, principal at Design Workshop, which designed the redevelopment.
In accordance with the conditions set by town council, the design will reserve multiple locations for restaurants, including chases and utility infrastructure, such as plumbing for grease interception used by restaurants.
But Brian McNellis, Snowmass senior planner, said based on his discussions with the local businesses, he’s not sure they will stay after the redevelopment.
“Is there a lot of confidence that they’re going to be able to make the transition? I mean, quite frankly, I would have to say no in those discussions,” McNellis said.
Council passed a condition requiring the landowners to rent the space to tenants at fair market rates for at least 10 years. Eastwood Snowmass Investors General Partner Jordan Sarick said he can’t say exactly what those rates would be.
“This is difficult to predict,” he said.
DeAngelo worries that Snowmass’ market rates in a renovated building would make it difficult for current tenants to afford.
“It could be a point where tenants cannot afford to stay any longer,” she said.
Council member Susan Marolt suggested that the town aids businesses with the financial impact of building out a new space.
They also discussed the impact of the winter on the community spaces in the design. The redevelopment would include a central indoor gathering space, an upstairs atrium and a rooftop pavilion as public gathering spaces. But council members asked that the spaces be versatile for seasonal use.
“Like the pavilion you already put there, but it would be a space that is encloseable and usable in the wintertime,” DeAngelo said.
Council agreed to engage with Eastwood as partners after the redevelopment to commit the pavilion for formal public use and open the door to enclosing the space.
In the approved design, the redevelopment will include a two-lane drive lane in the parking lot and 90-degree parking in front of the center. But council member Britta Gustafson said she’d prefer a one-way drive lane to a two-lane drive lane.
“The blindspots that’s going to create, and the chaos, will cause safety issues, I’m sure,” Gustafson said.
Council amended a condition to approval giving them the ability to hire an engineer to assess the safety after 18 months of parking lot use to determine if traffic patterns would be safer with a one-lane drive lane.
The town also agreed to fund 19% of the Rim Road construction around the development, contributing $2.2 million.
The redevelopment distinguishes land parcel use of the Snowmass Center and the adjacent land, differentiating between commercial and residential.
Skyler Stark-Ragsdale can be reached at 970-429-9152 or email him at sstark-ragsdale@aspentimes.com.
39th annual National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic comes to Snowmass
Co-hosted by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Disabled American Veterans (DAV), the clinic runs from March 31 to April 5 and welcomes approximately 400 Veterans with spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, amputations, and vision loss.
